Kitchen-Made Cheeses And Creams © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. All Rights Reserved. Chapter 15.

Kitchen-Made CheesesAnd Creams

© 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Chapter 15

A Brief History of Cheese

• Archeologists suggest that people began domesticating goats and sheep in the region of the Mediterranean somewhere between 6,000 and 10,000 years BC

• The Bible contains numerous references to cheese

• Toussaint-Samat documents the existence of cheese 20 centuries before Abraham

• The Iraq Museum in Baghdad has a Sumerian fresco of 2500 BC that depicts a peasant milking a cow

A Brief History of Cheese

• Dairymen of the Lake Constance Stone Age community developed a pottery colander for draining whey in about 2000 BC

Early Varieties

• 7000 BC: Ancient Sumerian and Mesopotamian cultures of the Tigris-Euphrates basin raised cows and sheep and engaged in dairy production

• 3000 BC: First historical reference to cheese, found in a Sumerian frieze

• 800 BC: Homer mentions cheese in his Iliad• 329 BC: Greek historian Xenophon wrote about

a goat cheese that had already been made for centuries

• 54 BC: Julius Caesar invades Britain and finds the Britons making Cheshire cheese

Early Varieties

• 50 AD: The Roman food writer, Columella, outlines the basic steps for cheese making

• 702 AD: Japan develops first written law codes and establishes regulations for making dairy products, including cheese

• 800 AD: Gorgonzola is first made in Italy.• 1070 AD: Roquefort cheese is discovered

in France• 1200 AD: Parmesan cheese and Pont

l’Évèque are made

Early Varieties

• 1400 AD: Ementhaler Swiss cheese is first produced in the canton of Bern’s Ementhal Valley

• 1680 AD: A French document refers to Camembert as “a very good cheese, well suited to aid digestion washed down with good wines”

• 1722 AD: Gruyère cheese is introduced in France.

• 1740 AD: The London cheese shop Paxton & Whitfield opens, selling Cheddars, Gloucesters, Cheshires, Stiltons, and other English cheeses

Early Varieties

• 1815 AD: The first factory for the mass production of Swiss cheese opens in Bern

• 1824 AD: Colby cheese developed in Vermont, USA

• 1851 AD: The first American cheese factory is established in Rome, New York

• 1865 AD: Marin French Cheese Company opens in Petaluma, California

• 1876 AD: McCadam Creamery opens in Heuvelton, New York (moved to Chateaugay, New York, in 1934)

Value to Cheese Makers and Consumers

• Highly nutritious• A means of preservation

– Use of excessive production of milk

• Ease of storage• Food for carriage

– Very portable and a staple for those who worked in the fields

Cheese Today

• Categories of production recognized in France, Italy, Switzerland, and other cheese-producing countries– Fermier: cheese made in a farmhouse– Artisanal: an individual producer uses milk

from animals raised on his farm– Cooperatives: cheese made in a single dairy

from milk provided by members of the cooperatives

– Industrial: milk is bought from a number of producers, sometimes from distant regions

Classification of Cheese

• By ripening agent:– Unripened– Using mold as the agent, ripened from

outside– Using mold as the agent, ripened from inside– Using bacteria as the agent, ripened from

outside– Using bacteria as the agent, ripened from

inside


• By texture and method of ripening:– Soft fresh (unripened)

• soft cheeses, uncooked and unripened; generally have a fresh, mild, creamy flavor and texture

• Have a slight tinge of tartness, but not very acidic

• High moisture that will keep under refrigeration for only a few weeks

• Examples: Feta, cottage cheese, ricotta, cream cheese, Neufchâtel, Queso, Blanco


• By texture and method of ripening:– Soft Ripened

• Soft, velvety surfaces, often referred to as the “blooming rind”

• Penicillium condidum is sprayed or dusted on the surface of the cheese, allowing it to ripen from the outside toward the center

• Ripen quickly; are at their peak for a few days

• Examples: Bel Paese, Brie, Camembert


• By texture and method of ripening:– Blue Cheeses

• Blue-veined cheeses• Prized for their pungent tastes and

creamy textures• Examples: Danish Blue, English Stilton,

French Roquefort, Italian Gorgonzola, and American Maytag


• By texture and method of ripening:– Pasta Filata

• String curd cheeses• Made by pulling and stretching until they

are firm.• Examples: string cheese, mozzarella,

provolone


• By texture and method of ripening:– Firm Cheeses

• Firm, solid texture suitable for slicing• Very mild, like Colby, to very sharp, such

as aged Cheddar• Examples: Monterey Jack, Swiss

Ementhaler, Gruyère, Jarlsburg


• By texture and method of ripening:– Hard Cheeses

• Very hard grating cheeses• Dry, grainy texture, often sold already

grated• Examples: Parmesan, Pecorino Romano,

Queso Enchilada, Mimolette, aged Asiago, Grana Padano, Parmigiano-Reggiano


• By texture and method of ripening:– Processed Cheeses

• Made in an artificial manner—by grinding one or more natural cheeses; then blending with flavorings, colors, and emulsifiers; then heated for pasteurization and hardened in molds

Varied Uses of Kitchen-Made Cheeses and Creams

• Cooking ingredient• Stuffing and binding agent• Accompaniments• Functional garniture• Appetizers• Sandwiches and rollups• Soups• As a course

Commercially Made Cheeses

• Steps– Incoming milk is tested for purity and quality– The milk is weighed and heat-treated or

pasteurized– A starter culture and/or enzymes are added to

help curdle the milk– The rennet (a milk-clotting enzyme) is added to

coagulate the milk and to form a gel-like mass– The coagulated mass is cut into small pieces to

begin the separation of the curds (solids) from the whey (liquid)


• Steps– The curds and whey are cooked and stirred until

the desired temperature and firmness of curd is achieved

– The whey is drained for further treatment and other uses

– The curds are salted and manipulated according to their particular cheese variety

– The curds are pressed into a cheese mold to form their characteristic shape; the curds knit and release any additional whey


• Steps– For cheeses that are aged, they are

stored in humidity and temperature-controlled rooms to allow full development of flavor and texture, known as ripening.

Kitchen-Made Cheeses

• Basic Equipment– Measuring cups and spoons– Dairy thermometer– Double-boiler pots– Stainless-steel slotted spoon– Curd knife (with stainless-steel blade)– Commercial cheesecloth– Butter muslin


• Basic Equipment– Cheese molds– Cheese press– Cheese boards– Cheese mats


• Care and Sanitation of Equipment– All equipment must be of a certain

material: glass, stainless steel, copper, or enamel-lined vessels

– Most failures are caused by unsanitary equipment

– “Friendly bacteria” are used; introducing harmful bacteria will create an unwanted variable that could produce disastrous results


• Cleaning and Sanitizing Equipment– The chef may choose one from a list of

alternatives• Immerse nonporous equipment and utensils,

for 5 minutes, in boiling water• Steam nonporous equipment and utensils for

5 minutes in a tightly covered container• Boil or steam porous equipment, such as

wood, cheese boards, and mats, for at least 20 minutes


• Cleaning and Sanitizing Equipment– The chef may choose one from a list of

alternatives• Plastic equipment, including food-grade

materials, should not be boiled or steamed; these items should be sterilized with a solution of bleach and water (2 tablespoons bleach to 1 gallon water)

• Clean and sterilize all counters and work surfaces using a cleaning towel that has been rinsed in a bleach solution

Basic Ingredient Identification

• Cow’s Milk– 87% water– Less than 3.7% butterfat

• Goat’s Milk– 87% water– Nearly 3.8% butterfat– Has 13% less lactose than cow’s milk– Milk fat particles are small, making it

superior to cow’s milk for digestibility


• Buttermilk– Cultured by the addition of bacteria

• Cream– Half-and-half: mixture of milk and cream

containing 10.5% to 18% milk fat– Light cream contains between 18% to 30% milk

fat– Light whipping cream contains between 30% to

36% milk fat– Heavy cream contains no less than 36% milk fat


• Yogurt– Culturing a mixture of milk and cream

with lactic acid–producing bacteria, Lactobacillus Bularicus and Streptococcus thermophilus—sweeteners, flavorings and other ingredients may be added

– Contains 3.25% milk fat, unless it is the low-fat variety


• Fresh Starters– Aid in the the coagulation of the milk– Aid in the flavor development of the

cheese• Types

– Mesophilic: thrives at about room temperature and cannot survive at higher temperatures

– Thermophilic: used when the curd is cooked to as high as 132ºF (55ºC)


• Rennet– Active ingredient in rennet is the enzyme

chymosin, also known as rennin– Obtained from the stomach of newly

born slaughtered calves– Vegetarian cheeses are made using

rennet from either fungal or bacterial sources such as fig leaves, melon, and safflower


• Vinegar– Contains acetic acid that will coagulate milk

• Lemon Juice– Contains citric acid that can “denature” the

proteins in the milk globules

• Tartaric Acid– Promotes graceful aging and crispness of flavor

• Salt– Adds flavor and inhibits growth of undesirable

microbes

Basic Steps in Cheese Making

• Milk Preparation– Pasteurization

• Acidification and Coagulation– Lowering the pH (increasing acid content) of the

milk to make it more acidic– After acidification coagulation begins—

separating milk into curds and whey• Methods

– Acidifying the milk by bacterial action producing lactic acid

– Coagulating the milk with rennet or a similar coagulant– Direct addition of an organic acid such as acetic, citric,

lactic, or tartaric acid


• Cutting and Pressing the Curd– Curd is cut to release whey– Heating increases the rate at which the

curd contracts and squeezes out the whey– Small curds are pressed to form large

curds• Whey Separation

– Scooping and draining– Kneading or squeezing


• Finishing and Forming– Curd is cut into small pieces with a cheese

harp, and salt is added– Some cheeses are immersed in a brine

solution.– Salted-curd pieces are then put into forms

or molds to allow remaining whey to escape– May be pressed to expel more whey– Cheese is then removed from molds and

wrapped or waxed


• Ripening– Bacteria continues to grow to change chemical

composition, resulting in flavor and texture change– Surface-ripened cheeses such as Camembert and Brie

have outside coatings treated with a different type of Penicillium spore, which creates a feathery white mold, referred to as “blooming” or “flowery” rind

– Other surface-ripened cheeses have their surfaces smeared with a bacterial broth—these cheeses are called “washed” rind and must be washed regularly


• Forming Rinds– Formed during the ripening process– Many are naturally formed– May be brushed, washed, oiled, treated

with a covering of paraffin wax or simply left untouched

– Function is to protect the interior of the cheese to allow it to ripen harmoniously

Adding Flavoring Agents

• Most common method is to blend the flavoring agent with the freshly cut curd

• Salt is added after the curd is cut• Other ingredients are added when

salt is added

Adding Coatings

• Can be coated with fresh herbs, chopped nuts, cracked peppercorns, seeds, or spices, or merely wrapped in a shroud of pickled grape leaves

Caring for Cheese

• Methods:– It holds well when wrapped in waxed paper,

butcher’s paper, dampened cheesecloth, or aluminum foil; young cheeses, as well as goat’s cheese, favor being stored in tightly covered plastic containers

– The use of refrigerators is better than storing at room temperature; however, a cold, damp fruit cellar is preferred

– Light is damaging to cheese, and too much will cause it to oxidize rapidly and spoil

Serving Cheese

• Tasting progressions:– Milder to stronger– Lighter to heavier– Younger to older– Simpler to more complex– Local to regional

Kitchen-Made Cheeses And Creams © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. All Rights Reserved. Chapter 15.

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Transcript of Kitchen-Made Cheeses And Creams © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. All Rights Reserved. Chapter 15.