Chapter 3 Flashcards
According to “Mastering Cheese”, what are the 9 developmental steps of cheesemaking
- large format “commodity”
- blue cheese
- smoked
- mixed milk
- leaf wrapped
- commodity cheese
- vegetarian renneted cheese
- monk or monastery cheese
- bloomy rind
Historically, what steps were taken to be able to form large wheels of cheese?
-rennet coagulation (either by cutting the stomach into strips or a brine solution)
- cooking, pressing and salting.
Which was the first cheese to receive designation protection?
Roquefort in 1925
Where are the mold strains for Roquefort procured from, traditionally?
Mold from bread that was powderized
How was smoking cheese developed?
Multi purpose-used to keep warm while making cheese and keep pests away
Gamonedo and Idiazabal are two examples
Mixed milk cheeses
Smaller farms would combine milks from different animals to be able to have enough to merit cheese msking
Why was leaf wrapping of cheese used?
Protection during transport; added flavor.
Banon and Brin d’Amour are classic examples
Partial skimming
The removal of some cream from the milk in order to make butter.
What is cheddaring?
A method of “passive pressing”: repeated cutting, stacking, rotating of blocks of salted curds
What cheese innovations allowed for commodity blocks of cheese to be produced?
-partial skimming of milk
- milk used from 2-3 consecutive milkings (higher acidification)
-scalding
-pressing
-cheddaring
-salting of curds
Which group of people advanced the use of vegetarian rennet in cheesemaking?
Sephardic Jews in Iberia (western Spain/eastern Portugal)
Kosher diet
What area is the home of bloomy style cheeses?
Ile de France and Normandy
What about milk makes cheese possible?
It is an emulsion-all of the milks solids are not completely dissolved.
Essentially curds can be separated out from the whey.
What are the components of milk?
Water
Fat (butterfat)
Protein (casein)
Sugar (lactose)
Vitamins
Minerals
What is the percentage of water in milk?
80-87%
What is fat in regards to cheese?
It will become the integrated into the body of the cheese; will breakdown during aging into free fatty acids (lipolysis) and contribute to flavor
What form is fat in milk?
Globules which are emulsified in whey
What form does protein exist in milk?
Micelles
What are some amino acids that can form during proteolysis?
Tyrosine
Tryptophan
Lycine
Valine
Taurine
What is lipolysis?
The breakdown of fat triglycerides into fatty acids.
What is proteolysis?
The breakdown of proteins into amino acids
What role does lactose have in cheesemaking?
Acts as “the food” for bacteria, including starter cultures that will convert it to lactic acid
What are the two components of lactose
Glucose and galactose
What vitamins are in milk?
A
B1,2,3,6,12
D
E
K
What are the principle minerals in milk?
Calcium and Phosphorus (form of calcium phosphate)
What minerals are found in milk?
Calcium
Phosphorus
Sodium
Potassium
Magnesium
(Zinc, iron, manganese, copper -trace)
What % do vitamins and minerals make up of milk?
About 1%
What can affect the makeup of the milk (fat to protein ratio, % of solid content, etc)?
Seasonality
Lactation cycle
What is colostrum?
The beginning milk of the lactation cycle
Unsuitable for cheese production; doesn’t coagulate properly
In early lactation, how would you describe the milk consistency and makeup?
Milk will be higher in fat and protein and concentrated
In mid lactation, how would you describe the milk consistency and makeup?
Volume of milk will increase, but will be more diluted
In late lactation, how would you describe the milk consistency and makeup?
Volume of milk will decrease, but the milk will become more concentrated again
If you have a high concentration of fat and protein, you will end up with what type of cheese yield?
A high yield aka more cheese
How many times a day are animals usually milked?
Twice
Which has a lower fat content-the morning or evening milking?
Evening
In what ways can water affect cheesemaking?
Ground/melt (effect on grazing pastures)
Drinking water
Water used in brines
On average, how many units of milk are needed to produce 1 unit of cheese?
6-12
What is TMR
Total Mixed Ration
Composed of hay, grasses, flowers, legumes
What is silage?
Hay or plant fodder that has been stored in a silo
Not good for cheesemaking milk as it can produce off flavors due to fermentation of the hay
What are the 8 basic steps of cheesemaking?
- Setting the milk (acidification/coagulation)
- Cutting curds
- Cooking and Holding
- Dipping and Draining
- Knitting (curd fusion)
- Pressing
- Salting
- Special treatments/curing
If unable to make cheese with freshly gathered milk, what must be done before cheesemaking can begin?
Must be chilled (for food safety) and then reheated before making cheese
In what ways can acidification begin with cheesemaking?
From a previous milking due to naturally occurring bacteria
Starter cultures
Why use starter cultures over naturally occurring from ambient bacteria?
More consistent results
What is the function of starter bacteria in cheesemaking?
Starter bacteria eat lactose, converting into lactic acid.
Once they die, releases enzymes which kickstart proteolysis and lipolysis
During early cheesemaking steps, what measurable factor will influence and determine the final cheeses pH, moisture and mineral content?
The rate of acidification
TA-titratable acidity
What are secondary cultures?
Cultures that are added after the initial acidification; can be applied directly to the forming curd or applied after the cheese is formed.
Provides unique flavors/textures
What are the two main categories of starter cultures?
Mesophilic and Thermophilic
What is the optimum temp range for mesophilic cultures?
Best at temps around body temperature 86-98F
What is the optimum temperature for thermophilic cultures?
91-111F
Used for cooked curd cheeses (Gruyère, pasta fillata)
What are the 7 main species of secondary cultures?
Propionibacterium
Geotrichum Candidum
Penicillium glaucum
Penicillium Roqueforti
Penicillium Camberti
Penicillium Candidum
Brevibacterium Linens
This secondary culture give Swiss cheese it’s characteristic holes and flavor
Propionibacterium
This secondary culture is a mold that acts like a yeast. Used in surface ripening for bloomy and some washed rind cheeses
Geotrichum candidum
“Brainy mold”
One of the secondary cultures for blue cheeses, which imparts a green-blue hue
Penicillium glaucum
Used in Gorgonzola
One of the secondary cultures for blue cheeses that imparts a deeper blue hue
Penicillium Roqueforti
Secondary culture that is crucial for Camembert
Penicillium Camemberti
Will turn white when cheese is young and gray out as it ages.
Secondary culture that stays white throughout the aging process
Penicillium Candidum
Used for bries
Secondary culture used in many washed rind and Tomme style cheeses
Brevibacterium linens
Secondary culture used in many washed rind and Tomme style cheeses
Brevibacterium linens
What types of starter cultures are used in cooked curd and pasta filata style cheeses?
Thermophilic
What are the two chemical reactions that make coagulation possible?
- The fermentation of lactic acid bacteria
- The clotting action of enzymes found in rennet
What are the two enzymes in rennet?
Chymosin and Pepsin
What are the types of rennet?
- animal
- microbial
- vegetable
What is the source of animal rennet?
The fourth stomach of young ruminants (abomasum)
What is the source of vegetarian rennet?
Plants; most often the cardoon thistle
How are microbial rennets made?
Synthesized in a lab by implanting genetic material into molds
If using a rennet coagulant, about how long will it take for coagulation to occur?
30-60 minutes
*depends on recipes, temp and characteristics of the milk and coagulant type
How long will acidification continue in cheesemaking?
Will continue until the lactic acid bacteria have died due to:
- too high acid level in the curds for them to thrive
- temp is no longer conducive to their growth
- run out of lactose to ferment
How would you describe curds that were set solely by acid coagulation?
Less firm and elastic
More fragile and lead to a softer cheese (higher moisture content)
What is going to determine the path that a newly formed cheese will take?
The acid level
What is the main difference between Brie de Melun and Brie de Meaux?
Brie de Melun is an acid coagulated cheese where coagulation can take up to 18 hours.
Brie de Meaux uses rennet coagulation; curd formation in about 30 minutes
What is microfiltration?
Forcing milk through a porous membrane in order to separate out bacteria, mold spores or other particles
What is the optimum temperature milk needs to be at for optimum acidification/coagulation?
86-96F; sometimes up to 110F
If the milk is too cool in the first stages of cheese making, what can occur?
Cultures won’t be activated
If the milk is too warm in the early stages of cheesemaking, what will occur?
Can end up with a rubbery curd
Can also have overactive bacteria and the acidification stage may stall in later stages (not enough bacteria available for length of process)
If a milk has a higher protein content, how will that affect the final cheese?
Curds will coagulate faster and you will have a firmer set curd
If milk has a lower protein content, how will be final cheese be affected?
Slower coagulation
Produce thinner and more fragile curds
What is the schedule of acidification?
The measured and monitored pace of acidity levels within the body of the cheese until the addition or presence of of other elements (salt, heat, molds/bacteria, aging) cause it to cease
Why would you stir curds after coagulation?
Keep curds from knitting together
More whey removal
Why is milk stirred during coagulation?
Allows the fat globules to remain emulsified so that as curd is formed, the fat is fully integrated into the cheese
How should milk and curds be stirred?
Gently
If too harsh, will damage the fat globule and you would lose fat to the whey
What is synerisis?
The natural contraction of curds to coagulate into a regular mass and expel whey/water
How can the rate of synerisis increase?
The more the curds are cut, the greater the surface area and the higher the rate of synerisis
If making a hard cheeee, what shape should curds be cut?
Smaller pieces=more whey removal
If making a softer cheese, how should the curds be cut?
Larger pieces=more moisture within the curd
The moment when curds have coagulated to a point where a sample separates in the desired fashion is called:
The break
If curds are heated too quickly, what can occur?
Curds can develop a skin, inhibiting additional whey removal when pressing
What is the manual testing of allowing cooked curds to stick to fingers, observing the adhesiveness is called:
The grip
Washing curds is:
Method of removing whey and replacing with water
What is the purpose of washing curds?
Can help to lower acidity
Can raise the moisture and/or lactose content
-dependent on when the curds are washed (at the beginning or end of the cook process) and the temperature of water used
The removal of whey is:
Draining
The transferring of curds by way of scoop or ladle to a mold is:
Dipping
The knitting process where masses of curds are cuts into slabs, stacked and restacked is called
Cheddaring
During pressing, are bacterial cultures still active?
You hope so! Will need these cultures to continue during the aging/affinage process
How are bloomy cheeses pressed
Little or not at all. Usually “pressed under their own weight
How can salt be applied to cheese?
Either dry or wet:
- dry salting can occur before (directly added to the curd) or after pressing (rubbed onto the surface
-wet salting =brining
What two steps in cheesemaking have the biggest impact on the final cheeses moisture content?
Draining and salting
How does salt affect pH?
Will inhibit lactic acid bacteria, slowing down the fermentation of lactose
What are some affinage techniques?
- Rubbing
- spraying
-cloth/leaf/bark wrapping - brushing
- Washing
- turning
What three components in cheese make up its flavor?
Casein - through proteolysis
Butterfat - through lipolysis
Lactose - Glucolysis (conversion of lactose into lactic acid)
What are the two principle sources of aromatics?
- about 20-30% are coming from what the animal ate and digested
- remaining 70-80% are from the breakdown of casein, fat and lactose during cheesemaking and ripening
What is naturally abundant in the milk of pasture raised animals?
Short chain fatty acids
