Cheese Production

No two cheese varieties are produced by exactly the same method, but the basic steps are common to them all. They include milk selection, coagulation, curd treatment (cutting, heating, salting, knitting, and pressing), curing, and ripening. The yield from 10 pounds of milk is approximately 1 pound of cheese and 9 pounds of whey. Read more »

Nutrient Content in Cheese

Cheese is one of the most nutrient-dense foods. The primary ingredients by weight are water, protein, and fat, and these nutrients vary in concentration according to the cheese. A pound of cheese is equivalent in protein and fat to approximately 1 gallon of milk. Cheeses with higher moisture levels are less concentrated in their nutrients than those containing less moisture. On average, 1 ounce of cheese (a 1.25 inch cube or a packaged slice of pasteurized process cheese) provides about 100 calories (kcal), most of which are derived from fat. Read more »

Classification of Cheeses

There are many ways to classify cheeses. They can be defined by their microbial characteristics, appearance, mode of packaging, even their place of origin. The most common ways of classifying cheeses, however, are by the processing method, the milk source (cow, sheep, goat, etc), or the moisture content. Read more »

About Cheese

No one really knows when humans first started to consume cheese, but legend links its discovery to an anonymous shepherd who decided to carry milk in a bag made from a sheep’s stomach. The bag was warmed by the sun, and the natural rennin enzyme in the stomach lining acted on the milk, turning it from a liquid to a semi-solid. Read more »