ACS Body of Knowledge – Domain Seven – Cheese Assessment and Evaluation – Bullet Points
- Begin your study with ACS BOK Domain Seven – Cheese Assessment and Evaluation
- You should know how to evaluate and assess the quality of cheese using your five senses: sight, smell, taste, touch and sound.
- Evaluation of cheese begins with the cheesemaker and Affineur and continues throughout the chain to the distributor, retailer and ending with the consumer.
- Evaluation includes appearance, taste, smell, texture to determine condition of cheese and evaluate how the cheese will age in the following weeks.
- Know what constitutes “bad cheese”. i.e. ammonia smell indicates that soft-ripened cheeses are over-ripe and no longer edible.
- Understand what conditions will affect the quality and life of the cheese: quality of the milk; treatment of the milk; cleanliness of the manufacturing facility; temperature along the cold chain; packaging to protect the cheese along the supply chain; cleanliness of distributor and treatment of the cheese; cleanliness of the retail facility and treatment of the cheese.
- What causes textures and irregularities in cheese.
- Understand the different crystals in cheese.
- Know flavor defects.
- Know mechanical defects.
- Know rind/surface defects.
- Know odor defects.
- Know texture defects.
- Know origins of defects: milk composition, feed, moisture content, acid development, proteolysis, lipolysis, bacterial contamination, pathogens, yeast, mold, defects in packaging and shipping deficiencies.
- Each family has unique characteristics. Familiarize yourself with the basic characteristics.
- Each family has its own set of tendencies for defect. Know these.
- Familiarize yourself with the standards of specific cheese types: http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?CFRPart=133
Terms to know:
Amines Aromatic Hydrocarbons Butyric Acid Clostridium Diacetyl Ethyl lipolysis
Natamycin Phenois proteolysis Psychrotrophic Sulfur Umami
Taking the 2015 Exam? Please see my page on Tips for Studying for the Exam. Want support? Come join our 2015 Cheese Study Group.
Interviews with All Cheese Professionals: Cheesemakers and Cheese Professionals
List of all Interviews from 2013: Cheesemakers, Cheesemongers.
List of 2015 Cheese Professionals.
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Taking the ACS CCP Exam? Please see my page on Tips for Studying for the Exam. Want support? Come join our Cheese Study Group.
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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