Cheesemaking
Cheesemaking is a way to preserve surplus milk for an extended period.
Most likely, the cheese originated from the Middle East and was discovered by a lucky coincidence when transporting milk in a stomach from a slaughtered animal, causing the milk to curdle.
The taste of cheese will be heavily affected by the type of milking animals and even more of the fodder the animals consume. Ensilage is a killer to cheese making in its purest form.
For example, the Swiss Emmentahler is made from unpasteurised milk in its original recipe. That is only possible if the fodder is grass & hay.
Poor milk will make poor cheese; however, good milk will not necessarily make good cheese. It is the diligent cheese maker who makes good cheese.
Every animal will add its system to the chain and produce milk distinct from another’s. The possible variations are limitless but will produce a unique consistency throughout a herd or flock.
Sheep’s milk will contain between 60% and 100% higher total solids than cow’s milk.
Goat’s milk generally contains 1 or 2 per cent lower total solids than cow’s milk.
Therefore, a recipe designed for cow milk cheese will need to be quite drastically re-vamped to produce a similar cheese using sheep’s or goat’s milk.
Coute: James Aldridge “The artisan cheesemaker”.
Main categories of cheese, sorted by hardness and their ability to grow old and still be a pleasure to eat (for some people)
- Parmesan
- Grana
- Emmenthal
- Gruyere
- Cheddar
- Gouda
- Tilsiter
- Havarti
- Blue Cheese
- Brie
- Cottage cheese
- Quark
It would help if you decided for how long time you want to nurse/store your cheese:
- 1 to 2 years, go for groups 1 to 4
- 4 to 12 months, go for groups 5 to 8
- 1 to 6 weeks, go for groups 9 & 10
- 1 to 3 weeks, go for groups 11 & 12. Having some shelf-life but can be consumed immediately
It may all sound a bit foggy to you but don’t worry; with the proper guidance, you will get a grip on it fairly quickly.
