Cheesemaking forms the basis for classifying cheese. (Other ways to classify cheese will be discussed in Domain 6: Cheese Types and Categories).
- Choices made by the cheesemaker, in both the technical and scientific choices, will dictate the type cheese he/she is making: Fresh, Surface-ripened, washed rind, pressed, washed curd, pasta filata, cooked curd, pressed curd, brined, acid-set, whey.
- The general yield of milk to cheese is between 8 and 12 pounds of milk to make 1 pound of cheese. The solids (fat and protein primarily) in the milk contribute to the yield ratio.
- Fat content in cheese is a required, reportable ingredient listed on the cheese according to the country of origin and country where sold. It can be reported in grams per serving or as Fat in Dry Matter (FDM).
- High fat is above 60% FDM; full fat is 45-60% FDM; medium fat is 25-44% FDM; low fat is 10 to 24% FDM and skim is below 10% FDM.
- To figure your FDM, you must first determine the amount of moisture in the cheese. For example in a one pound wedge of cheese with 65% moisture; the remaining solids account for 35%. If the FDM is 60% then the actual fat in that one pound wedge is 3.36 ounces. (16 ounces multiplied by .35 solid matter = 5.6 ounces of solids multiplied by .60 for the fat in the dry matter = 3.36 ounces of fat in the dry matter of the 16 ounce wedge.)
- Various equipment used in cheesemaking includes pumps, milk cans, vats, bulk tanks on trailer trucks, open vats, double O style vats, cheesecloth, wires and harps for cutting curd, molds and testing devices.
- Study Max McCalman’s (Mastering Cheese) chapter on the Eight Basic Steps in Cheesemaking as originally laid out by Frank Kosikowski (Trivia: Frank was the first president of the ACS). They are:
- Setting the Milk (Acidification and Coagulation) – starter cultures will “start” the process and rennet will cause coagulation to occur. It is also at the point that the cheesemaker must decide whether to pasteurize his milk or use raw milk to create his cheese.
- Cutting the Curds – size of the curd will dictate the moisture content in the cheese; the larger the curd, the higher the moisture content and the smaller the curd, the lower the moisture content of the cheese. For example, camembert may consist of one large single ladle of curd while a grana-style cheese will consist of curds the size of rice.)
- Cooking and Holding – some amount of heating and cooking the curds and holding the curds while the effects of acidification, cutting and heating proceed. The curds must be treated gently throughout the cheesemaking process so they won’t break and can dry at the desired, measured rate. Higher moisture cheese curds are heated to a lower temperature while lower moisture cheese curds will be heated to a higher temperature. (Surface-ripened cheese curds will be heated to no more than 75°F whereas a grana-style cheese curds may be heated to a temperature of as much as 125°F.)
- Dipping and Draining – at this point the curds can be ladled and transferred into molds where draining off of the whey can occur. Or the cheesemaker can simply open a valve in the vat and let the whey drain away.
- Knitting the Curd – during this stage, the curds fuse together into a uniform body and begin to form a distinct consistency. Depending on the cheese, the knitting can occur in the vat, hoop, basket, mold or press depending on the cheese-type goal of the maker. (This is when the Cheddaring of cheddar cheese occurs; a process unique to the cheese bearing its name.)
- Pressing – this step may take a few hours or several days with various degrees of pressing taking place depending on the style cheese being made. Soft and semi-soft cheese may be subjected to little or no pressing.
- Salting – one of the main ingredients in cheese for taste but also for moisture reduction and control of bacteria and molds. Dry-salting can occur before or after pressing. Wet-salting is generally referred to as brining.
- Special Treatment (Curing) – at this point the cheese is entering the end of the making and special treatments are used to take the curds, which are now cheese, and make them into great cheese. Special treatments include rubbing, wrapping in cloth, leaves or bark, brushing, washing and spraying. Curing is the term used to describe the desired treatments to be used during the aging process.
Other Bullet Points to Know:
- Understand accepting steps and storage of milk before cheesemaking process begins. (ACS BOK 2)
- Know how to test milk before cheesemaking process begins. (ACS BOK 2)
- Know types of vats used in cheesemaking process. (ACS BOK 2)
- Know types of heat treatment used on milk. (ACS BOK 2)
- Thermization.
- Pasteurization.
- Adjustments made for seasonal differences in milk. (ACS BOK 2)
- Yield and standardization. (ACS BOK 2)
- Understand homogenization. (ACS BOK 2)
- Understand starters, cultures. (ACS BOK 2)
- Curd formation. (ACS BOK 2)
- Temperatures used in cooking cheese in each category. (ACS BOK 2)
- Temperatures for melting cheese in each category. (ACS BOK 2)
- Cutting the curd. (ACS BOK 2)
- Separating the curds and whey. (ACS BOK 2)
- Know and understand the eight basic steps in cheesemaking. (ACS BOK 2)
- Know basic characteristics of each family.
- Know basic defects that can occur in each family.
- Basic equipment used in cheesemaking. (ACS BOK 2)
- Why goat and sheep milk cheese is whiter than cow milk cheese. (ACS BOK 2)
- Understand lactose in cheese (ACS BOK 2)
- Understand effect of pH on cheesemaking process. (ACS BOK 2)
- Rind protection before aging. (ACS BOK 2)
- Understand desirable mold growth (ACS BOK 2)
- Understand basic/most common defects in cheese (ACS BOK 2)
- How it happens.
- Why it happens.
- How to avoid.
- How to correct.
- Understand most common surface defects (ACS BOK 2)
- How they happen.
- Why they happen.
- How to avoid.
- How to correct.
- Components in cheese (ACS BOK 2)
- Salt’s contribution to the cheesemaking process. (ACS BOK 2)
- Be able to calculate solids and % of dry matter in cheese. (ACS BOK 2)
- Microorganisms and enzymes that cause ripening. (ACS BOK 2 & 3)
- How curd size affects the final cheese. (ACS BOK 2)
- Know the difference between rennet-set and Lactic-set (ACS BOK 2)
- Temperatures needed for cooking cheese by category (ACS BOK 2)
- Reason(s) for using ash in cheese production. (ACS BOK 2)
- Temperatures for melting cheese – by category. (ACS BOK 2)
- Conditions that will prevent microorganisms from growing in finished product. (ACS BOK 2)
- Know primary bacteria that causes bloom to grow on soft-ripened cheeses. (ACS BOK 2)
- Whey components. (ACS BOK 2)
- Flavors added during cheesemaking process (ACS BOK 2)
- Definition of rennet (ACS BOK 2)
- Types of rennet and source of each
- Understand how rennet works
- Definition of Cheddaring (ACS BOK 2)
- Definition of brine. (ACS BOK 2)
- Use – when and why.
- Managing brine system.
- Definition of washed curd (ACS BOK 2)
- Definition of curdy (ACS BOK 2)
- Definition of phage (ACS BOK 2)
- Definition of geotrichum (ACS BOK 2)
- Definition of double crème (ACS BOK 2)
- Definition of triple crème (ACS BOK 2)
- Understand and know different bacteria on smear/washed rind cheeses (ACS BOK2)
- Salt’s effect on meltability of cheese. (ACS BOK 2)
- Blue Cheese (ACS BOK 2):
- How veins are created
- Different strains of bacteria used in blue cheese production:
- Penicillium roquefortii
- Penicillium Glaucum
Terms to know:
Acid Set Alpine Bloomy rind Cheddar Cheddaring Cheese Yield Cheesecloth Coagulation Dipping Draining Fat in Dry Matter (FDM) Fresh Cheeses Full Fat Grana Harp High Fat Homogenization Hoops; Hooping Inoculation Knitting Lactic Set Maillard Reaction Milk fat Content Open Vat Pasta Filata Pasteurization pH Meter Pressing Pressed Cheese Rennet Set Salting Surface-Ripened Syneresis Tomme Washed Rind
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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