How's Cheese Made?

Let's go back to the start! It starts with milk (obviously) which can be either fresh or pasteurized...

Coagulation

Coagulation is the step that brings milk from a liquid state to a more solid one. It can be obtained by using Starter Culture &/or Rennet*depending on the type of cheese.

(FYI For Blue Cheese: it’s during this step that Penincilium Roqueforti is added)

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Draining

Different steps can be used separately or altogether:

Cutting the curd: separates the whey and makes the curd become grainy.

Stirring & heating up: keeps the separation going and dries the curd.

Pressing: makes the grains in the curd stick to each other (pressing can be repeated).

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Salting

Depending on the cheese it can be soaked in a salted brine or just sprinkled/rubbed with salt

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Affinage (curing)

Some cheeses don’t require affinage (Fresh cheese)

Affinage can take between a few days and a few years!

For Blue Cheese: holes get drilled at that stage, allowing the blue mould to grow (beware: smurf cheese!)

For Washed Rind Cheese: well…that’s when the rind gets washed!

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*starter culture: bacteria that turns lactose (milk sugar) into lactic acid

*rennet: Rennet is a natural enzyme from animal or vegetal origin that starts the thickening process, coagulating the milk into cheese

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