Episode 38.
How Are Different Cheeses Made? (Part 2)

Question:

Key Points:

• We did an overview of Last Week's episode
• There are only a limited number of common cheeses
• We could make a table of all the options and combinations of options and a common cheese that is made that way. Doing so, would likely have a large number of gaps in the table
• First Step: Prepare the milk
  • The fat content changes the milk, i.e. skim milk vs whole milk
  • A large amount of cheese is made from cow's milk, but some, e.g. Feta Cheese, are made from Goat's or Sheep's Milk
  • Most cheese is made with pasteurized milk, but "Raw Milk", i.e. un-pasteurized milk, is an option for making cheese. Because it results in more different kinds of bacteria, the cheese flavor ends up being somewhat different.
• Second Step: Add the LAB (Lactic Acid Bacteria)
  • This bacteria changes the lactose in the milk into lactic acid, which is what then curdles
  • All of the LABs that are used to make cheese are in the same family as the bacteria which causes strep throat
  • Note: we do not recommend trying to make cheese from the bacteria in the back of your throat if you get strep throat
  • Lactococcus lactis is used to make Cheddar cheese, whereas Lactobacillus helveticus is used to make Swiss cheese
• Step Three: Add the Curdling Agent
  • The Curdling agent used makes a big difference in the hardness of the cheese
  • Rennet is the main curdling agent. Anything other than a "fresh" cheese (e.g. creme cheese or queso blanco) requires rennet
  • Fresh cheeses often use a non-rennet curdling agent
  • The really hard cheeses require animal rennet, but semi-soft cheeses can utilize plant-based rennet