Cheese

The classification of cheeses


Cheeses are generally classified according to their firmness, which varies with the degree of humidity. Hard doughs contain as little as 30% moisture, while soft or fresh doughs can contain up to 80%. There are therefore fresh (or unripened) cheeses, soft, firm and semi-firm (or pressed), blue-veined, processed cheeses and goat cheeses.


Fresh cheeses


The fresh (unripened) cheeses have coagulated under the action of lactic acid bacteria and not by the addition of rennet. They are only drained. They are not aged and should be consumed quickly. This category includes: cottage cheese, ricotta, mascarpone, cream cheese, and quark.


They are mainly used in baking and in desserts, plain or seasoned with vegetables, fruits or spices.


Soft cheeses


Soft cheeses are ripened for a relatively short period of time, drained and molded, but not pressed and uncooked. Their moisture content varies between 50 and 60% and fat accounts for 20 to 26% of the weight of the cheese. They have a more or less velvety crust and are mostly eaten as is, with bread, as they lose a lot of flavor when heated.


Soft cheeses fall into two categories defined by the appearance of the rind: cheeses with a bloomy rind (covered with a thin layer of white down or mold) such as Camembert, Brie and Coulommiers, and cheeses with a washed rind (using a light brine which helps to maintain the humidity and suppleness of the dough and the rind) such as munster, pont-l'evêque or époisses.
Pressed cheeses


Pressed cheeses are divided into two categories: semi-firm and firm cheeses. Semi-firm cheeses have a pressed but uncooked paste, which gives them a dense consistency and a pale yellow color. Among them are cheddar, cantal, reblochon, edam, gouda and monterey jack.


The dough of firm cheeses is pressed and cooked, that is, the curd is heated for less than an hour in order to strengthen it. The result is a compact dough, sometimes with a tough crust, and the texture can be very grainy, as in the case of Parmesan and Romano. Gruyère, Emmenthal, Jarlsberg, Raclette and Beaufort also fall into this category.


Blue cheese


Blue-veined cheeses are also called “blue”. They are neither cooked nor pressed cheeses whose curds are seeded with molds deposited in the dough with the help of long needles, to obtain a fermentation which takes place from the inside out. These cheeses, such as Roquefort, Gorgonzola, Stilton, Bleu de Bresse or Danish Blue, have a peppery, strong and pungent taste and their texture is usually crumbly.


Processed cheeses


Processed cheeses (annealed pasta) are cheeses made from one or more hard cheeses, cooked or not, remelted, with the addition of milk, cream or butter; these cheeses have the advantage of keeping for a long time. Stabilizers, emulsifiers, salt, colorings, sweeteners (sugar, corn syrup) and seasonings (herbs, spices, fruits, nuts, kirsch) are added to the dough, depending on the product. We obtain a more or less soft and elastic texture and a weak flavor. In North America, these cheeses are mostly made from cheddar cheese, while in Europe Emmenthal and Gruyere predominate.


Goat cheeses


Goat cheeses are soft cheeses with a natural rind and can be made from 100% goat's milk or can be mixed with cow's milk. They usually have a fresh or soft texture with a bloomy rind, are whiter than cow's milk cheeses and have a more pronounced flavor. They are often very salty in order to prolong their shelf life.

In this category, we find the crottin de Chavignol, the valençay, the buckshot, but also the feta.

The discovery of cheese


The discovery of cheese was probably a coincidence; we do not know the precise origin but we know, thanks to archaeological discoveries, that cheese has been made since the origins of breeding, around 10,000 years ago. The “discovery” or “invention” of cheese would be the result of observing the coagulation of milk left at room temperature, which coagulation is accelerated by heat. Draining the curd in a mold produces the cheese. Legend has it that a nomad carrying milk in a pouch made from the stomach of a sheep discovered along the way that the milk had curdled.


Milk and cheese were the food of gods and heroes in mythology. In ancient Rome, goat and sheep cheeses were everyday foods; the Romans developed varieties of hard cheese such as parmesan and pecorino; cheese making reached a high degree of sophistication and the Romans spread this knowledge throughout their empire. Following the fall of the Roman Empire and barbarian invasions, the Benedictine and Cistercian monasteries became important centers of cheese making throughout the Middle Ages. Several cheeses bear names evoking such an origin (saint-paulin, pont-l'evêque, livarot, limburger, munster).
Cheese making


There are 4 main stages in cheese making, namely the coagulation (or curdling) of the milk, the shaping of the curd, salting and inoculation, then maturing.


Coagulation (curdling) is the phase of curd formation, when casein (proteins contained in milk) coagulates under the action of ferments or rennet.

Draining involves removing water (whey or whey) from the curd and making it firmer.

Salting acts as an antiseptic, slows down the development of microorganisms, promotes good preservation of the cheese, accelerates drying and the formation of a rind.

Ripening (or maturation) is the period during which the dough is transformed under the biochemical action of the bacterial flora contained in the cheese. This is the crucial stage where consistency, smell, flavor and, if desired, rind develop (fresh cheeses or processed cheeses are not ripened).