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Cheese is a Food made from the Curd led Milk of Cow s, Goat s, Sheep , Buffalo or other Mammal s. The milk is curdled using some combination of Rennet (or rennet substitutes) and Acidification . Bacteria acidify the milk and play a role in defining the texture and flavor of most cheeses. Some cheeses also feature Mold s, either on the outer rind or throughout. There are Hundreds Of Types Of Cheese produced all over the world. Different styles and flavors of cheese are the result of using different species of bacteria and molds, different levels of Milk Fat , variations in length of aging, differing processing treatments (cheddaring, pulling, brining, mold wash) and different breeds of cows, sheep, or other mammals. Other factors include animal diet and the addition of flavoring agents such as Herb s, Spice s, or Wood Smoke . Whether or not the milk is Pasteurized may also affect the flavor. For a few cheeses, the milk is curdled by adding Acid s such as Vinegar or Lemon juice. Most cheeses, however, are acidified to a lesser degree by bacteria, which turn Milk Sugar s into Lactic Acid , followed by the addition of rennet to complete the curdling. Rennet is an Enzyme traditionally obtained from the stomach lining of young Cattle , but now also laboratory produced. It acts by breaking down the major milk protein Casein into small fragments, leading to coagulation. Substitute "vegetable rennets" have been extracted from various species of the '' Cynara '' thistle family. Cheeses are eaten raw or cooked, alone or with other ingredients. As they are heated, most cheeses melt and Brown . Some cheeses, like Raclette , melt smoothly; many others can be coaxed into doing so in the presence of acids or Starch . Fondue , with wine providing the acidity, is a good example of a smoothly-melted cheese dish. Other cheeses turn elastic and stringy when they melt, a quality that can be enjoyed in dishes like Pizza and Welsh Rabbit . Some cheeses melt unevenly, their fats separating as they heat, while a few acid-curdled cheeses, including Halloumi , Paneer and Ricotta , do not melt at all and can become firmer when cooked. HISTORY Cheese is an ancient food whose origins may predate recorded history. Probably discovered in Central Asia or the Middle East , cheesemaking spread to Europe and had become a sophisticated enterprise by Roman times. As Rome's influence receded, distinct local cheesemaking techniques emerged. This diversity reached its peak in the early industrial age and has declined somewhat since then due to mechanization and economic factors. Cheese has served as a hedge against famine and a good travel food. It is valuable for its portability, long life, and high content of Fat , Protein , Calcium , and Phosphorus . Cheese is lighter-weight, more compact, and has a longer shelf life than the milk from which it is made. Cheesemaker s can place themselves near the center of a dairy region and benefit from fresher milk, lower milk prices, and lower shipping costs. Cheese's substantial storage life lets a cheesemaker sell when prices are high or money is needed. Origins The exact origins of cheesemaking are unknown, and estimates range from around 8000 BCE (when Sheep were Domesticated ) to around 3000 BCE. Credit for the discovery most likely goes to nomadic Turkic tribes in Central Asia , around the same time that they developed Yogurt , or to people in the Middle East . A common tale about the discovery of cheese tells of an Arab nomad carrying milk across the desert in a container made from an animal's stomach, only to discover the milk had been separated into Curd and Whey by the rennet from the stomach. Folktales aside, cheese likely began as a way of preserving soured and curdled milk through pressing and salting, with rennet introduced later— perhaps when someone noticed that cheese made in an animal stomach produced more solid and better-textured curds. The earliest Archaeological evidence of cheesemaking has been found in Egyptian tomb murals, dating to about 2300 BCE. The earliest cheeses would likely have been quite sour and salty, similar in texture to rustic Cottage Cheese or Feta . From the Middle East, basic cheesemaking found its way into Europe , where cooler climates meant less aggressive salting was needed for preservation. With moderate salt and acidity, the cheese became a suitable environment for a variety of beneficial Microbe s and molds, which are what give aged cheeses their pronounced and interesting flavors. Classical times Ancient Greek mythology credited Aristaeus with the discovery of cheese. Homer 's '' Odyssey '' ( 8th Century BCE ) describes the Cyclops making and storing sheep's and goats' milk cheese. From Samuel Butler's translation: :We soon reached his cave, but he was out shepherding, so we went inside and took stock of all that we could see. His cheese-racks were loaded with cheeses, and he had more lambs and kids than his pens could hold... :When he had so done he sat down and milked his ewes and goats, all in due course, and then let each of them have her own young. He curdled half the milk and set it aside in Wicker strainers... By Roman times, cheese was an everyday food and cheesemaking a mature art, not very different from what it is today. Columella 's ''De Re Rustica'' (circa 65 CE) details a cheesemaking process involving rennet coagulation, pressing of the curd, salting, and aging. Pliny's ''Natural History'' (77 CE) devotes a chapter (XI, 97) to describing the diversity of cheeses enjoyed by Romans of the early Empire . He stated that the best cheeses came from the villages near Nîmes , but did not keep long and had to be eaten fresh. Cheeses of the Alps and Apennines were remarkable for their variety then as now. A Ligurian cheese was noted for being made mostly from sheep's milk, and some cheeses produced nearby were stated to weigh as much as a thousand pounds each. Goats' milk cheese was a recent taste in Rome, improved over the "medicinal taste" of Gaul 's similar cheeses by Smoking . Of cheeses from overseas, Pliny preferred those of Bithynia in Asia Minor. Post-classical Europe Rome spread a uniform set of cheesemaking techniques throughout much of Europe, and introduced cheesemaking to areas without a previous history of it. As Rome declined and long-distance trade collapsed, cheese in Europe diversified further, with various locales developing their own distinctive cheesemaking traditions and products. France and Italy are the nations with the most diversity in locally made cheeses— today with approximately 400 each. (A French proverb says there is a different French cheese for every day of the year, and Charles De Gaulle once asked "how can you govern a country in which there are 246 kinds of cheese?"Quoted in Newsweek , October 1, 1962 according to ''The Columbia Dictionary of Quotations'' (Columbia University Press, 1993 ISBN 0-2310719-4-9 p 345). Numbers besides 246 are often cited in very similar quotes; whether these are misquotes or whether de Gaulle repeated the same quote with different numbers is unclear.) Still, the advancement of the cheese art in Europe was slow during the centuries after Rome's fall. Many of the cheeses we know best today were first recorded in the late Middle Ages or after— cheeses like Cheddar around 1500 CE, Parmesan in 1597, Gouda in 1697, and Camembert in 1791.1. Full text , Chapter with cheese timetable . In 1546, , it is more likely that Heywood was indulging in Nonsense . Modern era The first factory for the industrial production of cheese opened in Switzerland in 1815, but it was in the United States where large-scale production first found real success. Credit usually goes to Jesse Williams, a dairy farmer from Rome , New York , who in 1851 started making cheese in an Assembly-line fashion using the milk from neighboring farms. Within decades hundreds of such dairy associations existed. The 1860s saw the beginnings of mass-produced rennet, and by the turn of the century scientists were producing pure microbial cultures. Before then, bacteria in cheesemaking had come from the environment or from recycling an earlier batch's whey; the pure cultures meant a more standardized cheese could be produced. Factory-made cheese overtook traditional cheesemaking in the World War II era, and factories have been the source of most cheese in America and Europe ever since. Today, Americans buy more Processed Cheese than "real", factory-made or not.2. p 54. "In the United States, the market for process cheese {Link without Title} is now larger than the market for 'natural' cheese, which itself is almost exclusively factory-made." Worldwide, cheese is a major Agricultural product. According to the Food And Agricultural Organization of the United Nations , over 18 million Metric Ton s of cheese was produced worldwide in 2004. This is more than the yearly production of Coffee beans, Tea leaves, Cocoa beans and Tobacco combined. Germany is the largest importer of Cheese from France, the major exporter. CULTURAL ATTITUDES Cheese is rarely found in are sometimes misleadingly referred to in English as "Chinese cheese", due to their strong flavor. Strict followers of the dietary laws of ''.) As cheese is a dairy food under kosher rules it cannot be eaten in the same meal with any meat. Many Vegetarian s avoid any cheese made from animal-based rennet. Most widely available vegetarian cheeses are made using rennet produced by fermentation of the Fungus ''Mucor miehei''. Vegan s and other dairy-avoiding vegetarians do not eat real cheese at all, but some vegetable-based substitute cheeses (usually Soy based) are available. Even in cultures with long cheese traditions, it is not unusual to find people who perceive cheese — especially pungent-smelling or mold-bearing varieties such as Limburger or Roquefort — as unappetizing, unpalatable, or disgusting. Food-science writer Harold McGee proposes that cheese is such an acquired taste because it is produced through a process of controlled Spoilage and many of the odor and flavor molecules in an aged cheese are the same found in rotten foods. McGee notes "An aversion to the odor of decay has the obvious biological value of steering us away from possible food poisoning, so it's no wonder that an animal food that gives off whiffs of shoes and soil and the stable takes some getting used to."McGee p 58, "Why Some People Can't Stand Cheese." TYPES OF CHEESE See Also: List of cheeses No one categorization scheme can capture all the diversity of the world's cheeses. These are some commonly used classifications. Fresh For these simplest cheeses, milk is curdled and drained, with little other processing. Examples include Cottage Cheese , Romanian Caş , Neufchâtel (the model for American-style Cream Cheese ), and fresh goat's milk Chèvre . Such cheeses are soft and spreadable, with a mild taste. Fresh cheeses without additional Preservative s can spoil in a matter of days. Whey cheeses are fresh cheeses made from the Whey discarded while producing other cheeses. Ricotta , Romanian Urda and Norwegian Geitost are examples. Traditional Mozzarella also falls into the fresh cheese category. Fresh curds are stretched and kneaded in hot water to form a ball of Mozzarella, which in southern Italy is usually eaten within a few hours of being made. Other firm fresh cheeses include Paneer and Queso Fresco . Distinctively aged Soft-ripened cheeses such as Brie and Camembert are made by allowing white '' Penicillium Candida '' or '' P. Camemberti '' mold to grow on the outside of a soft cheese for a few days or weeks. The mold forms a white crust and contributes to the smooth, runny, or gooey textures and more intense flavors of these aged cheeses. Goats' milk cheeses are often treated in a similar manner, sometimes with white molds and sometimes with blue. Blue-mold cheeses like Roquefort , Gorgonzola , and Stilton are produced by inoculating loosely pressed curds with '' Penicillium Roqueforti '' or '' Penicillium Glaucum '' molds. The mold grows within the cheese as it ages. These cheeses have distinct blue veins and, often, assertive flavors. Their texture can be soft or firm. Washed-rind cheeses are periodically bathed in a saltwater Brine as they age, making their surfaces amenable to a class of bacteria (the reddish-orange "smear bacteria") which impart pungent odors and distinctive flavors. Washed-rind cheeses can be soft ( Limburger ), semi-hard ( Munster ), or hard ( Appenzeller ). Other categories cheese market]] Categorizing cheeses by firmness is a common but inexact practice. The lines between "soft", "semi-soft", "semi-hard", and "hard" are arbitrary, and many types of cheese are made in softer or firmer variations. Harder cheeses have a lower moisture content than softer cheeses. They are generally packed into molds under more pressure and aged for a longer time. The familiar Cheddar is one of a family of semi-hard or hard cheeses (including Cheshire and Gloucester ) whose curd is cut, gently heated, piled, and stirred before being pressed into forms. Colby and Monterey Jack are similar but milder cheeses; their curd is rinsed before it is pressed, washing away some acidity and Calcium . A similar curd-washing takes place when making the Dutch cheeses Edam and Gouda . Swiss-style cheeses like Emmental and Gruyère are generally quite firm. The same bacteria that give Emmental its holes contribute to their aromatic and sharp flavors. The hardest cheeses — "grating cheeses" such as Parmesan , Pecorino , and Romano — are quite firmly packed into large forms and aged for months or years. Processed Cheese is made from traditional cheese and Emulsifier s, often with the addition of milk, more salt, Preservative s, and Food Coloring . It is inexpensive, consistent, and melts smoothly. This is the most-consumed category of cheese in the United States . The most familiar processed cheese may be pre-sliced mild yellow American Cheese or Velveeta . Many other varieties exist, including Easy Cheese , a Kraft Foods brand sold in a spray can. HEALTH AND NUTRITION , Switzerland .]] In general, cheese supplies a great deal of Calcium , Protein , and Phosphorus . A 30 gram (one ounce) serving of cheddar cheese contains about seven grams of protein and 200 milligrams of calcium. Nutritionally, cheese is essentially concentrated milk: it takes about 200 grams (seven ounces) of milk to provide that much protein, and 150 grams to equal the calcium.Nutritional data from CNN Interactive . Retrieved October 20, 2004. Cheese shares milk's nutritional disadvantages as well. The and Greece , which lead the world in cheese eating (more than 14 ounces (400 grams) a week per person, or over 45 pounds (20 kg) a year) yet have relatively low rates of heart disease.McGee, p 67. McGee supports both this contention and that more food poisonings in Europe are caused by pasteurized cheeses than raw-milk. A number of food safety agencies around the world have warned of the risks of raw-milk cheeses. The U.S. incidents were traced to pasteurized cheeses. Pregnant women may face an additional risk from cheese; the U.S. Centers For Disease Control has warned pregnant women against eating soft-ripened cheeses and blue-veined cheeses, due to the Listeria risk to the unborn baby. Listeria and pregnancy , from the American Pregnancy Association. Retrieved 28 February 2006. Some studies claim to show that cheeses including Cheddar, Mozzarella, Swiss and American can help to prevent Tooth Decay .National Dairy Council. Specific Health Benefits of Cheese . Retrieved October 15, 2005. Several mechanisms for this protection have been proposed:
Cheese is often avoided by those who are s, Rash es, and Blood Pressure elevations. MAKING CHEESE Curdling The only strictly required step in making any sort of cheese is separating the milk into solid Curd s and liquid Whey . Usually this is done by acidifying the milk and adding Rennet . The acidification is accomplished directly by the addition of an acid like Vinegar in a few cases ( Paneer , Queso Fresco ), but usually starter Bacteria are employed instead. These starter bacteria convert Milk Sugar s into Lactic Acid . The same bacteria (and the enzymes they produce) also play a large role in the eventual flavor of aged cheeses. Most cheeses are made with starter bacteria from the '' Lactococci '', '' Lactobacilli '', or '' Streptococci '' families. Swiss starter cultures also include '' Propionibacter Shermani '', which produces carbon dioxide gas bubbles during aging, giving Swiss Cheese or Emmental its holes. Some fresh cheeses are curdled only by acidity, but most cheeses also use Rennet . Rennet sets the cheese into a strong and rubbery Gel compared to the fragile curds produced by acidic coagulation alone. It also allows curdling at a lower acidity—important because flavor-making bacteria are inhibited in high-acidity environments. In general, softer, smaller, fresher cheeses are curdled with a greater proportion of acid to rennet than harder, larger, longer-aged varieties. Curd processing cheese, the as-yet-undrained curd is broken up by rotating mixers.]] At this point, the cheese has set into a very moist gel. Some soft cheeses are now essentially complete: they are drained, salted, and packaged. For most of the rest, the curd is cut into small cubes. This allows water to drain from the individual pieces of curd. Some hard cheeses are then heated to temperatures in the range of 35°C–55°C (100°F–130°F). This forces more whey from the cut curd. It also changes the taste of the finished cheese, affecting both the bacterial culture and the milk chemistry. Cheeses that are heated to the higher temperatures are usually made with Thermophilic starter bacteria which survive this step—either Lactobacilli or Streptococci . Salt has a number of roles in cheese besides adding a salty flavor. It preserves cheese from spoiling, draws moisture from the curd, and firms up a cheese’s texture in an interaction with its Protein s. Some cheeses are salted from the outside with dry salt or brine washes. Most cheeses have the salt mixed directly into the curds. A number of other techniques can be employed to influence the cheese's final texture and flavor. Some examples:
Most cheeses achieve their final shape when the curds are pressed into a mold or form. The harder the cheese, the more pressure is applied. The pressure drives out moisture — the molds are designed to allow water to escape — and unifies the curds into a single solid body. Aging A newborn cheese is usually salty yet bland in flavor and, for harder varieties, rubbery in texture. These qualities are sometimes enjoyed— Cheese Curds are eaten on their own—but usually cheeses are left to rest under carefully controlled conditions. This aging period (also called ripening, or, from the French , ''affinage'') can last from a few days to several years. As a cheese ages, microbes and enzymes transform its texture and intensify its flavor. This transformation is largely a result of the breakdown of Casein Proteins and Milkfat into a complex mix of Amino Acid s, Amine s, and Fatty Acid s. Some cheeses have additional bacteria or Mold s intentionally introduced to them before or during aging. In traditional cheesemaking, these microbes might be already present in the air of the aging room; they are simply allowed to settle and grow on the stored cheeses. More often today, prepared cultures are used, giving more consistent results and putting fewer constraints on the environment where the cheese ages. For the Blue Cheese s ( Roquefort , Stilton , Gorgonzola ), '' Penicillium '' mold is introduced to the curd before molding. During aging, the blue molds ('' P. Roqueforti '' or '' P. Glaucum '' ) grow in the small fissures in the cheese, imparting a sharp flavor and aroma. The same molds are also grown on the surface of some aged Goat Cheese s. The soft cheeses Brie and Camembert , among others, get a surface growth of other ''Penicillium'' species, white-colored '' P. Candidum '' or '' P. Camemberti ''. The surface mold contributes to the interior texture and flavor of these small cheeses. Some cheeses are periodically washed in a saltwater Brine during their ripening. Not only does the brine carry flavors into the cheese (it might be seasoned with Spice s or Wine ), but the salty environment may nurture the growth of the '' Brevibacterium Linens '' bacteria, which can impart a very pronounced odor ( Limburger ) and interesting flavor. The same bacteria can also have some impact on cheeses that are simply ripened in humid conditions, like Camembert . Large populations of these "smear bacteria" show up as a sticky orange-red layer on some brine-washed cheeses. CHEESE IN LANGUAGE
When the Romans began to make hard cheeses for their legionaries' supplies, a new word started to be used: ''formaticum'', from ''caseus formatus'', or "molded cheese". It is from this word that we get the French ''fromage'', Italian ''formaggio'', Breton ''fourmaj'' and Provençal ''furmo''. ''Cheese'' itself is occasionally employed in a sense that means "molded" or "formed". '' Head Cheese '' uses the word in this sense. In modern English Slang , something "cheesy" is Kitsch , cheap, inauthentic, or of poor quality. One can also be "cheesed off"— unhappy or annoyed. Such negative connotations might derive from a ripe cheese's sometimes-unpleasant odor. Almost certainly the odor explains the use of "cutting the cheese" as a Euphemism for Flatulence . A more upbeat slang use is seen in "the big cheese", an expression referring to the most important person in a group, the "big shot" or "head honcho". This use of the word probably derived not from the word ''cheese'', but from the Persian or Hindi word ''chiz'', meaning ''a thing''.Michael Quinion (2000). World Wide Words: Big Cheese . Retrieved October 15, 2005. A more whimsical bit of American and Canadian slang refers to school buses as "cheese wagons", a reference to and the Netherlands , both centers of cheese production, have been called Cheesehead s. This nickname has been embraced by Wisconsin sports fans — especially fans of the Green Bay Packers or Wisconsin Badgers — who are now seen in the stands sporting plastic or foam hats in the shape of giant cheese wedges. NOTES REFERENCES
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