HOW CHEESE IS MADE

The basic cheese making process is similar for all types of cheese but slight adjustments to the procedure help to produce the many wonderful varieties of cheese available.

The process usually starts with the milk being pasteurised although this is not always the case. The first addition to the milk is a starter to “sour” and thicken it, if necessary a colouring agent is next and finally rennet is added. Rennet, which is usually of non-animal origin to make the cheese suitable for vegetarians, is a coagulant that creates the cheese curd.

The curd is left to set until the correct acidity has been reached for the cheese being produced and, once this process is complete, the curds are cut, either by hand or by machine to allow the whey to be released. The finer the cutting, the harder the final cheese will be.

They are then either scalded or stacked on top of each other (cheddaring) and this process helps to determine the texture of the cheese. Scalding involves slowly raising the temperature of the curds while they are being stirred. They are then allowed to settle and as much of the whey as possible is drained off. Stacking or cheddaring is used to drain off more whey. When the drained curds have formed a mass they are cut into slices and stacked on top of each other. They are turned and stacked several times during this process which normally takes about 1½ hours.

The curds are then milled or broken into small pieces so that they can be pressed together in moulds or hoops to create the desired shape. The milled curds are then usually salted although some cheeses are salted by placing them in a brine solution after pressing.

The curds are then placed in moulds or hoops to create the finished shape of the cheese and then are gradually pressed to allow the remaining whey to slowly drain out.

Most cheeses then need to be matured or ripened although some fresh cheeses are sold without going through this process. Cheeses to be matured are kept on shelves in a maturing room at the correct temperature and humidity for the cheese in question. The time taken to mature the cheese depends on the cheese type and the texture required. Soft mould ripened cheeses take about 1 month but hard cheeses can take anything between 3 months and a year or more depending on the degree of maturity required.

Blue vein cheeses are produced in the same way as other cheeses except that the mould penicillum roqueforti is added to the milk. Subsequently they are pierced with stainless steel needles prior to maturating to allow air circulation internally and the blue veining to develop