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Making Cheese

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  The basic principle involved in making all natural cheese is to coagulate or curdle the milk so that it forms into curds and whey.

Today's methods help the curdling process by the addition of a starter (a bacterial culture which produces lactic acid) and rennet the coagulating enzyme which speeds the separation of liquids (whey) and solids (curds). There are two basic categories  of starter cultures.

bulletMesophilic starter cultures have microbes that can not survive at  high  temperatures and  thrive at room temperatures. Examples of cheeses made with these bacteria are Cheddar and Gouda.
bulletThermophilic starter cultures are heat-loving bacteria. They are used when the curd is cooked to as high as 132ºF. Examples of cheeses made from these bacteria are Swiss and Italian cheeses.

The least sophisticated cheeses are the fresh, unripened varieties like Cottage Cheese. These are made by warming the milk and letting it stand, treating it with a lactic starter to help the acid development and then cutting and draining the whey from the cheese.  The cheese can then be salted  and eaten fresh.  This is the simplest, most basic form of cheese. 

Milk Test Pasteurization Adding Starter Cultures Add Rennet/Set Curd Cutting Curd Cooking Curds Draining Whey Manipulating The Curds Pressing The Curds Aging & Curing Making Cultures

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