Making Cheese

Since cheesemaking started around 5,000 years ago, the process has advanced, evolved and refined, but even so it is still based on a simple technique and four very important and essential ingredients: milk, a starter culture, rennet and salt.

Milk is heated, then a starter culture added to acidify the milk. This acts on the milk sugar (lactose), converting it to lactic acid, effectively souring it. Rennet or a vegetarian alternative is then added to this, causing the milk protein to curdle, thus forming cheese curds. Curds are the solids and the whey is the liquid. The next step is to separate the curds from the whey. Once drained, the curds will then be stirred, drained and salted, and finally moulded or pressed to create the cheese. This is the first stage of creating a basic cheese.

The processes you follow in these initial stages of cheesemaking determine the type of cheese that will result – for example, when making soft cheese you would cut the cheese curds lightly and softly, whereas for a hard cheese you would cut the curds finely.

Once the cheese is in its mould, the final stage is ripening, which is when the cheese starts to develop flavour, texture and taste. Again, this is dependent on how and where the cheese is kept, the temperature and humidity – all these elements play a huge part in creating a cheese’s characteristics. Subtle changes in the process result in a varied end product.

INGREDIENTS

Cheesemaking, in the most basic terms, is the simple process of separating the milk solids (curd) from the milk water (whey). It requires only a few key ingredients, so the quality of these ingredients is essential to the finished product.

MILK

Milk is the most important ingredient in cheese, whether it’s from a cow (the most common), goat, sheep, buffalo, reindeer, moose, or even yak. The methods for making cheese may vary, but cheesemaking will always start with milk.

We often forget that milk is a miracle food, a life-giving substance that contains essential nutrients for infants, whether a human baby or a young calf. Every mammal on earth owes its life to milk. It has all the nourishment needed to sustain life, grow an immune system and bones and provide energy.

Milk contains water, proteins, minerals, lactose, milk fat, vitamins and milk solids. Ideally, you should be using the freshest milk you can get, direct from a good dairy farm, but if you are like me and live in the middle of the city that isn’t always possible. Yet if you have a good farmers’ market locally, this is perfect, and will give you a chance to talk to the farmers about where their milk comes from, about the animals producing the milk, the way they are kept, and any other advice you may need.

COW’S MILK Cow’s milk will probably be the most familiar to you, as it is the most affordable and readily available milk across most of the world. Cow’s milk is 88 per cent water, 5% lactose (milk sugar), 3.5–5 per cent protein and 0.3–5 per cent fat, which provides a rich flavour and texture to cheese. The rest is composed of minerals and enzymes.

GOAT’S MILK Goat’s milk has become more readily available in recent years, although it is a lot more expensive than other milks. Although it is similar to cow’s milk, goat’s milk has a lower lactose content, which means it is more easily digested, hence its appeal. It also varies in taste.

SHEEP’S MILK Unlike cow’s and goat’s milk, sheep’s milk is a lot harder to find, and it is very unlikely you will come across it in your local shop. But it can be ordered online or found at larger farmers’ markets. Again, sheep’s milk is not cheap.

Sheep’s milk is high in buttermilk and is a very high-quality milk, which is great for cheesemaking. This milk has a lower lactose content than both cow’s and goat’s milk, so the health benefits are great.

ACID

The acidification, or souring, of milk is one of the most important steps in cheesemaking. A starter culture is added to milk to change lactose (milk sugar) into lactic acid. (For information on different starter cultures and where to source them see here.) This process changes the acidity level of the milk and begins the process of turning milk from a liquid into a solid.

Acid-curdled cheeses, such as cottage cheese, are usually eaten fresh, with the whey drained off and some salt added. They tend to have little flavour because many flavour-producing enzymes do not work well in these acidic conditions.

There are different types of acid you can use, such as lemon juice, which can be found in most kitchens. I use it to make cheeses like paneer. Citric acid is also very easy to get hold of from most pharmacists. It is a weak natural acid that is found in citrus fruits. Vinegar is another natural acid that is used to make cheeses like ricotta and other fresh cheeses. With these natural acid options, you will be limited to making soft cheeses.

RENNET

By contrast, rennet is an enzyme used to coagulate milk. A simple way of looking at it is that before you add the rennet, the milk solids are suspended in water, and they repel each other. But when you add the rennet, the milk solids are now attracted to each other and it does not break them up, allowing them to join together in a much stronger network and form more elastic curds. Cheese made from these curds can be matured for long periods of time, developing complex flavours.

There are several different types of rennet. Animal coagulant is almost always calf rennet, since it is generally accepted that calf rennet produces better-aged cheeses. I would always use an animal rennet, but there are products commonly used as vegetable rennet in home cheesemaking, which are actually microbial rennets made from an enzyme produced by the fermentation of a fungus. While vegetable rennets work as well as animal rennets to coagulate cheese curds, animal rennet is preferred for aged cheeses. After a long ageing period, cheeses made with vegetable rennet may develop an ‘off’ flavour.

SALT

Cheese salt is a non-iodized salt. Iodized salt can inhibit bacterial growth and possibly slow the ageing process. Cheese salt is available in flakes as well as in grains – the flakes are more easily dissolved and absorbed. But don’t panic if you can’t get hold of cheese salt: use a good-quality sea salt, rather than non-iodized table salt, because it will be unbleached and will add fewer chemicals to the cheese.