Dairy products, including various cheeses.
Many types of cheese can be found throughout the world, so the recipes and processes for making them vary widely. Despite the variety of cheeses, recipes, and procedures, several basic steps are often involved in the cheesemaking process. Starter cultures and rennet are added to milk to start the coagulation process, resulting in curds and whey. The curds and whey are further manipulated and then salted, shaped and aged to make cheese.
Goat cheese.
The initial process of making cheese involves adding cultures and rennet to milk. The type of milk and cultures can vary from one cheese to another. Starter cultures are bacteria that are used to produce different flavors in cheese. The cultures also start the process of converting lactose to lactic acid, commonly known as acidification. An enzyme known to aid in the process may also be added.
Aged cheese wheels on shelves.
After the acidification process has taken place, curds and whey will have formed from the original milk. The curds will result in cheese after the entire cheese making process is complete. Depending on the type of cheese being made, the curds can be sliced, cheddarized, or boiled. Cutting the curds allows them to release more moisture, resulting in a harder cheese. Cheddar is made to create small curds that form in molds, and cooking curds involves heating them to produce a softer cheese.
Cheese factory.
Salting does two things in the cheesemaking process: it adds flavor to the cheese and it preserves it during the aging process. Cheeses get their flavors from several sources, one of which is salt added to the curds during the cheesemaking process. To preserve cheese during the aging process, you can rub salt on the molded cheese or rub a cloth dipped in brine on the cheese.
Havarti cheese slice.
Shaping cheese involves pouring cheese curds into various shapes to shape the cheese. Specific molds are used for some varieties of cheese. Ripening is usually the final stage of the cheese-making process. This step consists of allowing the cheese to mature under ideal conditions. The area where the cheese is placed to mature is controlled to keep the temperature and humidity at optimum levels. For some cheeses, additional steps are taken in the aging process, such as injecting mold into the air, putting mold in or around the cheese, or washing the cheese with certain solutions.