Milk - from cow, sheep, goat, almond

Making cheese is a three stage process of controlled fermentation. The essential ingredient in all cheese is milk - from cow, sheep, goat, almond, soybean, rice, or nuts. The first stage is producing curd, the second stage is concentrating or coagulating the curd, and the third stage is ripening the curd.

In the first stage, a starter culture is added to warmed milk. The starter changes the lactose (milk sugar) into lactic acid, a process which equalizes the pH so the milk protein (casein) will coagulate into curds when rennet is added. Casein is an ingredient in most alternative cheeses except Soymage and Veganrella. Rennet is added to the cheese when the pH (acidity/alkaline balance) is at the proper level.

The main enzyme in rennet is rennin. It causes the individual cells of casein to clump together, forming curds and leaving a byproduct of whey. Rennet is extracted from the lining of an animal's stomach calf, kid or lamb, depending on the kind of cheese being made. Animal rennet is not used as often as it once was. Many cheesemakers, today use various types of vegetable rennet that have been organically derived from plant material.

Almost all English cheeses and many domestic cheeses are made with vegetable rennets. Many others are made with vegetable rennet but leave it somewhat ambiguous by merely stating "enzymes" on the label. It is best to assume that the type of rennet used is unknown in these cases.

Completion of the first step occurs as the cheese is allowed to set any where from 30 minutes to two hours. Temperature is an important factor in controlling the texture of the finished product. Temperature will be low for a soft cheese, high for a semi-soft cheese, and medium for a hard cheese.

In the second stage, the curds are cut up to expel the whey trapped in the network of curds. The size to which the curds are cut determines the final texture of the cheese. The smaller the curd, the more whey is released, resulting in a firmer, drier cheese with a tight texture. The larger the curd, the softer is the texture.

Some cheeses are cheddared. This is a method of treating the curd to further control the texture of the finished cheese. In this process the curds are piled up on top of each other, cut up and pressed together, and piled up again. As the name implies, this is used only for Cheddars and Cheddar style cheeses. For many other cheeses (Fontina, Enimentals, Gruyere, Mozzarella, Provolone) which I dreamed will be aged longer, the curds are reheated. For most cheeses the next step is to add salt. The cheese is then put into a mold and pressed into its final shape.

In the third stage, the goal is to ripen the prepared cheese and treat it as needed to produce a cheese that has the age, texture and flavor that distinguish it from others. Soft cheeses, like Brie, ripen quickly; hard cheeses take longer. During this process, friendly bacteria come into play. A bacterium called Propionibacter shermanili in the Emmental cheeses give off gasses which produce the holes in this classic "Swiss" cheese.

Penicillium roqueforti is responsible for the classic blue veins of Roquefort. The cheese is pierced with metal needles, introducing oxygen to the interior, which feed the bacteria. This type of blue cheese was originally developed by a delicious accident when a loaf of moldy bread was left in the eaves of Roquefort where cheese was ripening. Brie and Camembert ripen from the outside in, thanks to Penicillium candidum or Penicillium camemberti.

These bacteria act to produce a soft, bloomy rind on the outside of the immature cheese, then continue working from the outside in to ripen it. French Chaource Lincet and Coulommiers are molded into thicker shapes than most Bries. Because they are thick, they ripen unevenly, which means they become runny under their bloomy rind but their centers are firm and chalky. The French call this characteristic chalky center the "I'ame" or soul of the cheese.