Cheese making terms and techniques

The making of cheese certainly has its origins in prehistoric times. Several steps are necessary to make cheese.
The earliest traces of cheese making were left by inhabitants of the Middle East or by nomadic Turkish tribes in Central Asia. The manufacture of cheese is undoubtedly linked to the skins of animals and the internal organs used for the storage and transport of foodstuffs. It is likely that the process of making cheese was accidentally discovered by storing milk in a container made from an animal stomach, resulting in the transformation of the milk into curds and whey due to the natural presence. rennets in the stomach.
Another hypothesis suggests that the production of cheese began independently of the consequences of salting and pressing the milk in order to ensure its conservation. The observation that milk curdles in the stomach of an animal then probably led to the addition of rennet in order to facilitate production.
The earliest archaeological evidence of cheese making dates back to the time of ancient Egypt, found on wall frescoes in tombs and dating to 2000 CE. The first cheeses were to be sour and salty, similar in texture to cottage cheese or feta.
Cheese making in Europe, where the climate is colder than in the Middle East, required less salting for their preservation. Less salty and in fact less acidic, these varieties of cheese have become an environment conducive to the development of bacteria and molds, giving them a particular taste and texture.
Historically, cheese making has been the most popular processing of milk.
The production of cheese is based generally on the action of bacteria and rennet on the components of the milk which leads to the transformation of liquid milk into a compact mass.
In France, the name “cheese” is reserved, according to decree n ° 88-1206 of December 30, 1988, for the manufacture of fermented or unripened product, ripened or not, obtained from materials of exclusively dairy origin (whole milk , partially or totally skimmed milk, cream, fat, buttermilk), used alone or as a mixture, and fully or partially coagulated before draining or after partial removal of their water.

Cheese making : It begins with the preparation of milk, the two main stages in the manufacture of a cheese are then the coagulation et dripping secondarily followed byrefinement after salting :

During manufacture, the preparation of the milk in a cheese factory optionally comprises a phase of heat treatment of the milk or even a maturation step. The cheese maker can also adjust the levels of fat during production (partial skimming, addition of fat) and nitrogen (addition of milk powder), possibly those of minerals before production.

Coagulation: It is the first step in making cheese.
Coagulation can occur under the effect of acidification (lactic character) in the case of fresh cheeses or by the addition of coagulating enzymes (rennet character) or both (mixed coagulation). It leads to obtaining a gel called the curd which is the basis for making cheese.

Drainage: This is the second step in making cheese. Draining is the step of separating the curd (solid phase) and whey (liquid phase composed of water and soluble materials such as lactose, mineral salts and soluble proteins).

Casting and salting: it is the third step in making cheese. Salting can be done in the mass (salting of the curd grains), on the surface (dry salting) or in a brine bath. It completes the drainage and contributes to the formation of the rind, it acts directly or through the activity of the water of the cheese (Aw) on the manufacture of microorganisms and the enzymatic activities during ripening, it brings its characteristic taste and the property of masking or exhaling the flavor of certain substances formed during ripening.

Refining: This is the last step in making cheese. Ripening is the final stage of the manufacturing process, it consists of an enzymatic digestion of the curd under the action of coagulating agents and microorganisms and results in the production of a ripened cheese. This last step obviously does not concern white (or fresh) cheeses or spreadable cheeses.