Much of the information I have provided in these Bullet Points came from Michael Landis, ACS CCP and head of training, Institut du Fromage, at Gourmet Foods International and Bill Stephenson from DPI, Portland, who is a member of the ACS Certification Committee. My thanks to Michael, Bill, DPI and GFI for their generosity in training so many, including me, to understand and love cheese.
Affinage is the final step in cheesemaking that develops the flavors to create the cheeses that we love to eat. Affinage allows cheeses to ripen in their own time to bring out their best qualities. Affinage does involve science but it is also an art that is learned through experience, over time and a certain amount of creative instinct.
Affinage includes knowledge of temperature and humidity to create the desired finished cheese and allow the growth of desired molds without spoilage.
From Mastering Cheese: “Affinage depends on managing a set of variables with minute attention to detail. Among these variables are the setup of the cave; the temperature and humidity conditions (adjusted to proper levels); the duration of aging; and the type, degree and frequency of treatments.”
Affineur – the person to takes the cheese from the producer (cheesemaker) and ages it until it is ready for market. In Italy, the person finishing the cheese is known as a Stagionatura. The experienced Affineur will “sense” when his cheeses are ready; a “sense” that comes over time.
In ripening, the Affineur looks to the following criteria to age the cheese properly:
- Milk type
- Milk Quality (hopefully the cheesemaker has this consideration unnecessary – Certainly in artisan but maybe not in industrial cheesemaking)
- Seasonality of milk
- Environment
- Temperature
- Humidity
- Length of aging
- Length of distribution
- Length of storage awaiting delivery to consumer
Ripening Styles Issues to Consider:
- Natural rind
- Bandaged
- Alpine washing
- Mold
- Brushing
- Blue cheese
- Surface Ripened
- Penicillium Candidum
- Geotrichum Candidum
- Wrapping
- Wax
- Leaf
- Herbs, spices
- Plastic
- Washed Rind
- Brine
- Wine
- Beer
- Liquor
- Liqueur
Treatment during aging encourages the development of desired characteristics. Treatment depends on type cheese desired and is somewhat controlled by the environment in which cheese is aged. For example, blue cheeses must be aged in separate caves from other cheeses because blue cheese wants to make all cheeses blue.
Here are some physical treatments used in aging cheese:
- Turning wheels
- Brushing wheels, often to remove excess mites
- Patting to avoid uneven ripening, uneven rind development and to remove Mucor
- Washing to discourage unwanted bacteria/mold and to encourage wanted bacteria to grow, develop flavor and texture
Science:
Decision made by the cheesemaker create important flavor and texture develop for the Affineur to address and consider in the aging process. The three major chemical processes to address are Glycolysis, Proteolysis and Lipolysis.
- Glycolysis – breaks down sugars and turns them into lactic acid. While not a primary ripening process in cheese it does come into consideration to allow CO2 growth in Alpine-style cheese, creating eyes in final cheese.
- Proteolysis – breaks down proteins into peptides and amino acids. Depending on break location in the chain of peptides, certain flavors and aromas will be released. Breaking down protein chain will change texture
- Lipolysis – breaks down the fats; triglycerides into fatty acids which determine flavor and aroma. Lipase is the enzyme that breaks down fats. Too much lipase can create rancidity, off flavors and other defects.
Defects to know: Blowing, Color, Defective Crystals, Rind defects, Paste defects, Good mold vs. Bad mold
Crystals: Know difference between tyrosine and calcium lactate crystals and which cheese promote the growth of them.
Cheese Mites: Know benefits to rind development an understand when they become a problem.
Caves:
There are two, basic styles of cave: natural and man-made. The importance of both is to control temperature, humidity, air flow and ammonia exchange. Depending on the operation different caves may be necessary to age different styles of cheeses. As mention above, blue cheese mold must be contained in one cave to avoid every cheese developing blue cheese. Also, different styles require different temperatures and different humidities to achieve the desired final cheese.
Review temperatures and humidities for different styles but you don’t need to memorize them:
- Blue Cheese Caves – constant temperature and humidity with natural ventilation, where blue mold, penicillium roqueforti and penicillium glaucum can be contained.
- Washed Rind Caves – again to house specific bacteria that grows on washed cheeses.
- Natural Rind Caves – higher moisture to encourage growth on young rinds and prevent cracking. Mites may be present – understand how mites are helpful and how to control them to prevent over-population.
- Large format (such as needed for Alpine-style cheeses) – warmer temperature to encourage enzymatic action deep in the cheese. These cheese age longer and have longer shelf lives. More for maintenance of cheeses and to prevent growth of unwanted mold on the rind. Alpine-style cheeses are usually washed on occasion to hydrate the rind rather than encourage the growth of linens.
- Surface Ripened (aka Bloomy) – Used to house molds and yeasts specific to bloomy rind cheeses: Geotrichum candidum, Penicillium camemberti and Penicillium candidum.
According to Will Studd, temperatures for aging most cheeses are warmer than that in a home refrigerator: 10-14°C (50-57°F). Blue cheese likes the lower end of that scale (10°C or 50°F). (I have seen different numbers from different sources. Refer to ACS BOK for more definitive numbers.
According to Will Studd, humidity for aging also depends on the cheese and can be from 80% to 95%.
Once the Affineur determines cheese has reached desired aging in its life, the wheels will be transferred to a drying room for temporary ageing and to encourage the growth of secondary cultures, yeasts, molds before going into cold storage awaiting distribution and delivery to consumer.
Food Safety Issues of concern to the Affineur are the growth of pathogens that can be harmful to consumers. These pathogens include:
- Campylobacter,
- Coli 0157: H7,
- Listereria monocytongenes,
- Salmonella,
- Staphylococcus aureus
These were covered in Domain1 studies earlier this year.
Of equal concern are organisms that can spoil the cheese:
- Coliforms – can be found in water, soil, feces, vegetation or inside the plant and on cheese counter in retail setting.
- Pseudomonas – glows pink under a blacklight; causes bitterness from undesirable breakdown of protein in cheese
- Clostridium – causes mechanical defects such as cracks and fissures; can also cause late-blowing gas which can split the paste; causes off-flavor of butyric acid
Affineurs should consider developing a HACCP plan as detailed in Domain 1 studies earlier this year.
Terms to Know:
Affinage Affineur Amino Acids Bacillus Bacteriophages (aka Phage) Bloomy Rind Brevibacterium linens (aka B. Linens) Brining Calcium Lactate Campylobacter Caves Cheese Irons Cheese Mites Clostridium Coliforms Creamline Desiccation E. Coli 0157: H7 Esters FIFO Glycolysis GMO GRP HACCP Humidity Lipolysis Listeria monocytogenes MSDS Natural Rind OSHA Proteolysis Pseudomonas SSOP Salmonella Stagionatura Staphylococcus Temperature Tyrosine Wrappings Washed Rinds
Links:
https://culturecheesemag.com/ask-the-monger/unintended-mold-way-tell-cheese-gone-bad
https://culturecheesemag.com/ask-the-monger/temperature-affect-cheese-aging
https://www.foodsafety.gov/poisoning/causes/bacteriaviruses/listeria/
Click to access 10.-CHAPTER-6-ADDENDUM.pdf
file:///C:/Users/marce/OneDrive/Documents/2018%20ALL%20CCP%20EXAM%20DOCS/AFFINAGE%20RIPENING/Affinage%20(McCalman).pdf
file:///C:/Users/marce/OneDrive/Documents/2018%20ALL%20CCP%20EXAM%20DOCS/AFFINAGE%20RIPENING/Affineurs%20(Studd).pdf
file:///C:/Users/marce/OneDrive/Documents/2018%20ALL%20CCP%20EXAM%20DOCS/AFFINAGE%20RIPENING/Bacterial%20Surface%20Ripened%20Cheese%20(Studd).pdf
file:///C:/Users/marce/OneDrive/Documents/2018%20ALL%20CCP%20EXAM%20DOCS/AFFINAGE%20RIPENING/biochemistryofcheeseripening.pdf
file:///C:/Users/marce/OneDrive/Documents/2018%20ALL%20CCP%20EXAM%20DOCS/AFFINAGE%20RIPENING/Blue%20Cheese%20(Studd).pdf
file:///C:/Users/marce/OneDrive/Documents/2018%20ALL%20CCP%20EXAM%20DOCS/AFFINAGE%20RIPENING/CDR%20Article%20about%20tyrosine%20and%20Calcium%20Lactate%20Crystals.pdf
file:///C:/Users/marce/OneDrive/Documents/2018%20ALL%20CCP%20EXAM%20DOCS/AFFINAGE%20RIPENING/CFR-2000-Effective%20Bactericidal%20Treatment.pdf
file:///C:/Users/marce/OneDrive/Documents/2018%20ALL%20CCP%20EXAM%20DOCS/AFFINAGE%20RIPENING/Cheese%20Coatings_Wraps_Applications%20(Studd).pdf
file:///C:/Users/marce/OneDrive/Documents/2018%20ALL%20CCP%20EXAM%20DOCS/AFFINAGE%20RIPENING/cheese_mites%20by%20Walter%20V%20Price.pdf
file:///C:/Users/marce/OneDrive/Documents/2018%20ALL%20CCP%20EXAM%20DOCS/AFFINAGE%20RIPENING/CheesepHProteinConcentrationandFormation.pdf
file:///C:/Users/marce/OneDrive/Documents/2018%20ALL%20CCP%20EXAM%20DOCS/AFFINAGE%20RIPENING/Current_Options_in_Cheese_Aging_Caves-_An_%20Evaluation,_Comparison_and_Feasibility_Study.pdf
file:///C:/Users/marce/OneDrive/Documents/2018%20ALL%20CCP%20EXAM%20DOCS/AFFINAGE%20RIPENING/-effects%20of%20pH%20on%20early%20cheese%20maturation.pdf
file:///C:/Users/marce/OneDrive/Documents/2018%20ALL%20CCP%20EXAM%20DOCS/AFFINAGE%20RIPENING/Ivan%20Larcher%20Presentation.pdf
file:///C:/Users/marce/OneDrive/Documents/2018%20ALL%20CCP%20EXAM%20DOCS/AFFINAGE%20RIPENING/Marie%20Lesoudier%20-%20Aging%20Rooms.pdf
file:///C:/Users/marce/OneDrive/Documents/2018%20ALL%20CCP%20EXAM%20DOCS/AFFINAGE%20RIPENING/Microbes%20Make%20Cheese.pdf
file:///C:/Users/marce/OneDrive/Documents/2018%20ALL%20CCP%20EXAM%20DOCS/AFFINAGE%20RIPENING/Patrick%20Anglade%20-%20Lactic%20cheeses%20ripening.pdf
file:///C:/Users/marce/OneDrive/Documents/2018%20ALL%20CCP%20EXAM%20DOCS/AFFINAGE%20RIPENING/Special%20Treatments%20(McCalman).pdf
file:///C:/Users/marce/OneDrive/Documents/2018%20ALL%20CCP%20EXAM%20DOCS/AFFINAGE%20RIPENING/Surface%20Mould%20Ripened%20Cheese%20(Studd).pdf
file:///C:/Users/marce/OneDrive/Documents/2018%20ALL%20CCP%20EXAM%20DOCS/AFFINAGE%20RIPENING/Temp%20and%20Humidity%20in%20Maturation%20(Studd).pdf
In addition to being an American Cheese Society Certified Cheese Professional, I am a Certified ServSafe Food Production Manager with certifications that also include ServSafe Certified Instructor and Proctor. I am available for cheese events, cheese program development, cheese training, food safety training and 3rd party food safety auditing. See my About Me and Resume pages for more details or call me at 360 921 9908 to discuss availability.
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