Cheese

Question 1

What is the primary definition of cheese?

Answer 1

The fresh or ripened solid or semi-solid product in which the whey protein/casein ratio does not exceed that of milk obtained by coagulating (wholly or partly) the following raw materials: milk, skimmed milk, partly skimmed milk, cream, whey cream, or buttermilk, through the action of rennet or other suitable coagulating agents and by partially draining the whey resulting from such coagulation.

Question 2

What is the secondary definition of cheese?

Answer 2

The fresh or ripened solid or semi-solid product in which the whey protein/casein ratio does not exceed that of milk obtained by processing techniques involving coagulation of milk/and or materials obtained from milk which give an end product which has similar chemical, organoleptic, and physical characteristics as the product systemized under the classification of cheese.

Question 3

What are the 3 ways cheese is classified?

Answer 3

1. Hardness.
2. Fat content.
3. Curing technique.

Question 4

What are the 5 designations of cheese hardness and there associated moisture levels?

Answer 4

1. Extra hard (<41%).
2. Hard (45-60%).
3. Semi-hard (54-63%).
4. Semi-soft (61-69%).
5. Soft (>67%).

Question 5

What are the 5 designations of fat level and there associated fat percentage?

Answer 5

1. High fat (>60%).
2. Full fat (45-60%).
3. Medium fat (25-45%).
4. Low fat (10-25%).
5. Skim (<10%).

Question 6

What are the 3 curing options for cheese?

Answer 6

1. Cured or ripened (mainly surface or mainly interior).
2. Mold cured or ripened (mainly surface or mainly interior).
3. Uncured or unripened (Done with pasteurized milk).

Question 7

What is the first step of the cheese making process?

Answer 7

Milk pasteurization.

Question 8

What is pasteurization?

Answer 8

Heating milk to a specific temperature for a set period to kill harmful bacteria and extend shelf life.

Question 9

What are the pros of milk pasteurization?

Answer 9

1. Removal of bacteria capable of affecting the quality of the final product.
2. Removal of pathogenic organisms.
3. Standardization of favors.

Question 10

What is the con of pasteurization?

Answer 10

The removal of environmental organisms that produce specific flavors.

Question 11

Where is Low-Temperature Long Time (LTLT) Pasteurization used in?

Answer 11

Smaller cheese plants.

Question 12

Where is High-Temperature Short Time (LTLT) Pasteurization used in?

Answer 12

Large scale cheese plants.

Question 13

How long should cheese from unpasteurized milk be aged?

Answer 13

60 days.

Question 14

What is the second step of cheese making?

Answer 14

The addition of starter cultures and calcium chloride.

Question 15

What do starter cultures produce?

Answer 15

CO2 and lactic acid from protein and lipid breakdown.

Question 16

What are the 3 types of starter cultures?

Answer 16

1. Adjunct cultures.
2. Mesophilic cultures.
3. Thermophilic cultures.

Question 17

What do the bacteria in mesophilic cultures produce?

Answer 17

Lactic acid.

Question 18

What do the bacteria in thermophilic cultures produce?

Answer 18

Mainly CO2.

Question 19

What element is key in coagulum formation?

Answer 19

Calcium.

Question 20

What does low calcium in a cheese result in?

Answer 20

A soft coagulum that does not hold fine casein and fat due to reduced syneresis.

Question 21

How many g of CaCl should be added per 100kg of milk?

Answer 21

5-20.

Question 22

What are common coloring agents added to cheese?

Answer 22

1. Anatto.
2. Carotene.
3. Orleana.

Question 23

What is the third step of cheese making?

Answer 23

Coagulation/Renneting.

Question 24

How does rennet react with milk?

Answer 24

It forms a 3D gel net of casein micelles that trap fat in between them by reacting with k-casein.

Question 25

Where was rennet first obtained?

Answer 25

The abomasum of a young calf, specifically in the enzyme chymosin.

Question 26

What is the optimal temperature for rennet action?

Answer 26

35-40 C.

Question 27

What is the first stage of a rennet reaction?

Answer 27

Chymosin breaks k-casein on the position Phe105-Met106.

Question 28

What is the second stage of a rennet reaction?

Answer 28

The para-k-casein connect to each other through calcium phosphate to form a coagulum.

Question 29

What are the two other sources of rennet?

Answer 29

1. Vegetable/plants. 2. Microbial.

Question 30

What vegetables/plants is rennet derived from?

Answer 30

1. Artichokes. 2. Cardoon. 3. Nettles.

Question 31

How does the product of vegetable/plant rennet differ from that of animal rennet?

Answer 31

1. Softer coagulum. 2. Bitter taste from aging.

Question 32

Where does microbial rennet come from?

Answer 32

Microbes that either naturally produce rennet or have been genetically modified to do so.

Question 33

What is acid coagulation?

Answer 33

The use of acids or microbial fermentation to lower the pH of milk and additives to the isoelectric point, causing the micelles to fall out of solution.

Question 34

What is the fourth step of the cheese making process?

Answer 34

Curding/Cutting the coagulum.

Question 35

What does this curding process allow for?

Answer 35

Syneresis or the expelling of the whey from the curds.

Question 36

How small are the curds cuts?

Answer 36

3-15 mm grain sizes.

Question 37

What is the relationship between curd size and syneresis?

Answer 37

Inverse.

Question 38

What is the fifth step of cheese making?

Answer 38

Cooking and stirring?

Question 39

What is the objective of cooking and stirring?

Answer 39

To increase syneresis.

Question 40

What are the special steps that can be taken at this point, depending on the cheese being made?

Answer 40

1. Cheddaring. 2. Pasta filata/filatura/string cheese.

Question 41

What is cheddaring?

Answer 41

Cutting the curds into blocks and piling them up in a warm vat to increase syneresis and milk protein elasticity.

Question 42

How is pasta filata/filatura/string cheese made?

Answer 42

Curds are cooked in hot water and stretched until the curds form a string.

Question 43

What is the sixth step of cheese making?

Answer 43

Salting.

Question 44

What are the benefits of salting?

Answer 44

1. Altering texture. 2. Enhancing flavor. 3. Promoting syneresis. 4. Regulating microbial growth.

Question 45

What are the 3 types of salting?

Answer 45

1. Brine. 2. Dry salting. 3. Surface rubbing.

Question 46

What is the seventh step of cheese making?

Answer 46

Molding and pressing.

Question 47

What is the purpose of molding and pressing?

Answer 47

1. To drain off any remaining whey. 2. Form the final shape of the cheese.

Question 48

What is the eighth step of cheese making?

Answer 48

Aging.

Question 49

What are the steps of aging cheese?

Answer 49

1. Water evaporation. 2. Lactose fermentation. 3. Proteolysis. 4. Lipolysis. 5. Rind formation. 6. Flavor formation.

Question 50

What are the 5 rind types?

Answer 50

1. Bandaged/Cloth-Bound. 2. Bloomy. 3. Natural. 4. Washed. 5. Waxed.

Question 51

How are bandaged/cloth-bound rinds developed?

Answer 51

After the cheese is wrapped in cloth during aging.

Question 52

How are bloomy rinds developed?

Answer 52

A mold culture is sprayed on the exterior of the cheese.

Question 53

How is a bloomy rind described?

Answer 53

Soft, velvety, white.

Question 54

How is a natural rind developed?

Answer 54

Letting the cheese age w/o the addition of molds or washing.

Question 55

How is a waxed rind developed?

Answer 55

Dipping the cheese in one or more layers of food grade wax.

Question 56

What does a wax rind protect the cheese from?

Answer 56

1. Moisture. 2. Contamination.

Question 57

How are washed rinds developed?

Answer 57

By regularly washing the cheese with beer, brine, spirits, or wine.

Question 58

How is a washed rind described?

Answer 58

1. Sticky. 2. Orange or reddish.