Natural hard cheese

Natural hard cheeses get their taste, texture, and physical properties from high butterfat content, where the largest amount of fat and calories are contained.

A hard cheese, such as Cheddar, consists of roughly one-quarter protein, one-third fat and one-third water. Hard cheeses are largely free of additives. Processed cheese on the other hand, contains a variety of additives such as dried milk powder emulsifiers and flavors.

Cheddar cheese

As researchers have worked to reduce the butterfat content in hard cheese analogs, a decrease in flavor and in melting properties has also occurred. Lack of flavor is sometimes offset by adding herbs, peppers or smoke flavoring.

Natural hard cheese can be stored for extended periods but quality eventually deteriorates as the proteolytic and lipolytic activities in the curd become excessive. Storage life can be improved by processing. Decomposition of proteins and lipids results in a nutritionally defective product unsuitable for consumption.

Most hard natural cheeses with low water content can be frozen for up to 2 months.
Natural hard cheese

Processing of Feta cheese

Feta cheese belongs to the co-called ‘white pickled’ group of cheeses. It requires simple equipment for its manufacture and it keeps well.

Traditional Feta cheese is produced mainly in the mountainous regions of Greece from mixture of sheep’s milk and cow’s and/or goat’s milk. It is a table cheese, a favored ingredient in salads and pastries.

The milk is heated to 32-34 ° C and traditional rennet extract from lamb’s /kid’s abomasa is added to give a coagulum ready for cutting after 50 min. Rennet mixed is at 120 ml/1000g milk.

Coagulation process is essential for the development of a uniformed gel and finally Feta with firm texture.

The coagulum is the cut into 2 -3 cm cubes, left for 5-10 min in whey, and then transferred gradually into circular molds, placed on an inclined table, and turned occasionally. This facilitates whey drainage.

Feta cheese

The curd is stored overnight in a room maintained at 18 ° C and 85% relative humidity. At this temperature and RH a product of better texture and flavor is produced. The curd should achieve pH of 4.7 in about 24 hours

When the curd is firm enough, it is then removed from the molds, cut into slices and rubbed or sprinkled them with granulated salt. The cheeses are left until a slimy layer has formed within 1 to 2 weeks; then the surfaces are cleaned and the cheeses placed into barrels, leaving no space between slices.

Brine of 6-8% NCL is added and the barrels are closed. The cheese slices remain in ripening rooms until their pH reaches 4.4-4.6 and then transferred to cold stores at 3-4 C. Maturations of Feta cheese actually begins before the curd making is finished and can be separated into two phases. The first one takes place simultaneously with dry salting in the ripening plants, at 18 ° C while the second one occurs during the storage of Feta in refrigeration.

Usually formed in square-shape blocks, Feta cheese has a somewhat grainy consistency (and is therefore crumbly), usually is white and has tangy and salty flavor.

Feta cheese can only be produced under strict product specifications in certain areas of Greece. Feta is registered as a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) product.
Processing of Feta cheese

Processed cheese (or process cheese)

Process cheese is made from a mixture of natural cheeses and an emulsifier blended together with controlled heating.

It is prepared by comminuting and mixing with the aid of heat from selected cheddar cheese, although Swiss, Limburger, Brick and others are sometimes used.

The mixture is pasteurized for 3 minutes at 150 °F and salt is added. The careful selection of cheeses, emulsifying salts and processing factors allows making process cheeses of varied textures suitable for many end uses.

The emulsifier added is sodium citrate, disodium phosphate, or other additive that will be effective in binding the high fat content of the natural cheese ingredients with water that is added to the process cheese to produce a more soluble, homogenous, and smooth cheese that can withstand higher heat than natural cheese without coagulating.

Approximately one-third of the cheese produced in the United States is marketed as a pasteurized process cheese. Fast-food giants like McDonald’s and Burger King rely in the consistency in flavor and melting qualities of pasteurized process cheese.

The flavor of process cheese depends largely upon the favor o the cheese used which may be modified by flavoring materials added.

Process cheese sometimes called processed cheese or pasteurized process cheese, is convenient not only for food service, the primary user, but also retail because these cheese are available in regular and reduced-fat varieties, chinks, cubes, spreads, loafs, slices as well as in grated or shredded applications. Process cheese may be used in main dishes, for snacks and cheeseburgers, with cold cuts and salads on grilled or toasted sandwiches in numerous sandwich combinations and in casseroles.
Processed cheese (or process cheese)

What is so special about blue cheese?

Blue cheese may be made from raw, heated or pasteurized whole milk or from skim. 

The earliest makers of blue cheese used bread to begin production of the distinctive mold and then waited patiently for the veins of mold to grow and spread naturally between the curds. 

Consumers need to ask for a taste before buying moldy chees. A good always is flavorful but never is sour or harsh. 

Penicillium roquefortii is primarily responsible for ripening blue cheese. Proteolytic enzymes from the mold act to soften the curd and thus to produce the desired body in the cheese. 

This cheese is a heterogeneous microenvironment comprising different habitats for microorganisms in the core with its fissures and piercing channels and on the surfaces of the cheese. 

Most blue cheese are pierced at specific times during aging to allow the molds access to more oxygen once they have used up the supply inside the cheese. 

A complex microflora develops ripening and adapts to the pronounce pH and NaCl gradients and the large variation in content of O2 and CO2. 

The best known varieties today, worldwide are considered to be Gorgonzola, Roquefort, Stilton and Danablu, all which have been granted the status of Protected Designation of Origin. 

Roquefort is the original blue cheese. The designation ‘Roquefort’ is applicable only to cheeses made from ewe’s milk in the area of France. 

Gorgonzola is the principal blue mold cheese of Italy where it is claimed to have been made in the Po Valley since 879 AD. 

What is so special about blue cheese?

Ricotta cheese

Ricotta is an unripened soft cheese that originated from Italy. Like cottage cheese ricotta cheese is a high moisture cheese. Originally, ricotta was produced from whey derived from mozzarella or provolone cheese production. In Latin American and the Hispanic communities in North America, Ricotta is known as Requeson.

Ricotta is now prepared from whole milk with or without addition of whey. When made from blend of 95% sweet whey and 5% milk, ricotta contains 68-73% moisture 16% protein, 4-10% fat and 4% lactose.

Whole milk is added to make fresh ricotta, while skim milk is used to produce dry ricotta, which is usually used for grating.

Ricotta has a bland to slightly cooked but pleasing flavor. Its texture is soft, mild semisweet and creamy.

Ricotta cheese in addition to being an acceptable product itself, has many applications, including use as a base for whipped dairy desserts, cream cheese, and pasteurized processed cheese product and use in confectionary fillings and cheesecake.

Ricotta cheese also may be used in dips, spreads and traditional Italian dishes like lasagna and manicotti. Ricotta has a relatively short shelf-life about 3 weeks of properly packaged and stored at 4 °C or lower.
Ricotta cheese

Mascarpone cheese

Mascarpone is an Italian cheese best known as an ingredient in tiramisu. Mascarpone, sometimes called Italian cream cheese, is different from American cream cheese.

Both are rich, but while cream cheese is dense, with a pronounced tanginess, mascarpone is mellower and more buttery and lends a lighter texture to the finished cheese cake.

The high fat content and smooth texture of mascarpone cheese made it suitable as a substitute for cream or butter.

At 70-75% milk fat, mascarpone is almost as high in fat as butter. Its flavor and texture are a cross between cream cheese and butter or similar to a very rich clotted cream.

Delicious in desserts, spread thinly in toast, or swirled into hot pasta, mascarpone is a great alternative to traditional cream cheese.

Mascarpone originated around 1600 in Lombardy region of Northern Italy, where it is believed to have taken its name from Mascherpa, which is the local term for a short of ricotta cheese.
Mascarpone cheese

Cheese in fast food

Cheese is a milk based product that is made with rennet. It is a highly versatile dairy ingredient that can be used directly in an array of culinary dishes, formatted food product and ready-made meals.

Cheese or cheese products are frequently used as ingredients, sides or toppings in many fast foods, including bagels, hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza, sandwiches, tacos, burritos, quesadillas, salads, KFC’s, string cheese and many breakfast sandwiches.

In these applications, added cheese performs a number of functions; it contributes to structure, texture, flavor, mouth feel, melt properties and nutrition.

Functional cheese derivatives have been developed for use in specialty food products.

For example, quick melting cheese slices for cheeseburgers, cheese sauces for Mexican dishes, and high melt cheese products for filling meat product are commercially manufactured to meet demands of fast food and other food service businesses.

All cheeses produced must be coagulated from acceptable milk to form the curd followed by removal of the whey. Most cheeses are made from standardized and pasteurized milk.

Processed cheeses are frequently high in calories, transfats and sodium.
Cheese in fast food

Nutritional value of cheese

The essence of cheese making is the coagulation of milk and its conversion from a colloidal dispersion into a gel known as curd, and the subsequent release of water in the form of whey.

The cheese-makers have to ensure that the cheese is an edible, acceptable, marketable and nutritious food. 

Nowadays, the consumer has become more away of food composition and the risks – real or imaginary – that may associated with excessive intakes of certain components in foods.

Cheese has a high nutritional value as would be expected from the fact that a pint or 568 mL of milk produces only about 56 g cheese.

Cheese made from whole milk is known to contain most of the essential fatty acids.

The daily protein requirement for adults is approximately 1g/kg, of body weight so that, for a person weighing 70 kg, the daily requirements would be about 70 g of protein.

All cheese is a good source of high quality proteins with sufficient amounts of all the essential amino acids. Casein is the main protein in cheese, it contains all the indispensible amino acids in approximately the proportions that the human body needs.

Cheese is rich source of calcium, phosphorus and vitamin A and also contains useful quantities of other nutrients.

All cheeses, except cottage cheese, are good sources of vitamin A. Orange and yellow cheeses are colored with carotenoid pigments, including bixin (the carotenoid pigment in anatto) and synthetic beta-carotene. 

Hard cheeses are an excellent source of calcium: softer cheeses are a good source; cream cheese and cottage cheese are poor source.

It is much more concentrated food than milk but it less complete because of its lack of carbohydrate.

45 g of cheddar cheese contains:
Energy                769 kJ
Protein               11.5 g
Carbohydrate     0.05 g
Fat                     15.5 g
Calcium              324 mg
Iron                    0.1 mg

50 g cottage cheese contains:
Energy                207 kJ
Protein                6.9 g
Carbohydrate     1.1 g
Fat                     2 g
Calcium              35 mg
Iron                    0.2 mg
Nutritional value of cheese

Minerals content in cheese

Cheese supply important milk nutrients in concentrated forms. Minerals are essential for life, but they are also essential for making cheese.

Cheese is rich in calcium. Six ounces of Cheddar cheese supply as much calcium and phosphorus as a whole quart of milk.

One of the important mineral found in cheese is calcium. This mineral is essential for healthy teeth and bones and clotting of the blood. Calcium also needed for the smooth functioning of nerves and muscles and it is used for muscle cramps and arching bones.

Phosphorus produces energy for the cells and regulates the activity of proteins. It is necessary for the structure of bones and teeth.

In cheese making calcium is to assist in forming a firm curd and that traps fat and will hold up well to string, pressing and stretching of the curd.

100g of cheese can supply the daily calcium requirement of an average adult, plus nearly 50% of the phosphorus requirement, while the bioavailability is good compared with other foods.

Cheese also contains magnesium, zinc, selenium and folate.

The mineral content of cheese is influenced by the addition of salt, optional ingredients, the method of coagulation, the treatment of the curd and resulting acidity.
Minerals content in cheese

Cheese

Cheese is the generic name for a group of fermented milk based food products produced throughout the world in a great diversity of flavors, texture and forms.

At least 400 varieties of cheese are known and most are now made on a large scale in creameries.

Cheese is made by coagulating milk with enzymes or acid and then draining away the resultant liquid, leaving the solids or curds, the curd are then pressed together to form cheese. It involves the conversion of liquid milk which is unstable, bulky but highly nutritious material into cheese which is a stable, flavorsome, concentrated product that provides eating pleasure and has an extended shelf life.

Cheese is concentrated source of milk’s nutrients, including calcium, phosphorus and magnesium, as well as vitamins and trace elements.

Cheeses are classified according to how they are manufactured and the ingredient used:
*Hard pressed cheese – Cheddar, Derby
*Lightly pressed cheese – Caerphilly, Lancashire
*Blue veined cheeses – Blue Stilton
*Acid curd cheese – cottage cheese
*Processed cheese
*Cream cheese
Cheese

Parmesan cheese

Cheese, most commonly Parmesan is often used in pasta dishes. Sometimes it is part of the sauce, sometimes simply used as a garnish.

Parmesan is probably the most famous of all Italian cheeses. The history of Parmesan cheese dates back to the twelve century, when it was developed by Benedictine and Cistercian monks of Italy’s Po River Valley. 

Parmesan is hard granular light yellow cheese with a very strong flavor which blends extremely well with meat, tomato and vegetable sauces as well as some creamy sauces and soups.

Parmesan is also excellent eaten as a sliced cheese. It come in various qualities: Vecchio, which is two years old; Stravecchio, which is three years old, and the superior Stravecchione which is at least four years old and can be aged for twenty years or even more.

Parmigiano-Reggiano is a Parmesan cheese made in the area around Parma, Italy. It has a sweet, salty, nutty flavor with a slightly granular texture.

Parmesan is made from part-skim milk and thus is naturally low in fat.
Parmesan cheese

Hard cheese

The FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius defines as hard and extra-hard, those cheeses having values of moisture in fat-free basis and fat in dry matter lower than 56% and higher than 45% respectively.

The fat must be milk fat. Cheddar and Swiss are examples of hard cheeses, while Parmesan and Romano are classified among the hardest cheeses.

Cheeses aged less than six months can be considered a soft cheese. Others, such as Parmesan and Romano, are certainly considered ‘hard’ cheese for this purpose because they are typically aged for more than six months. Hard cheeses are pressed into molds and left to ripen by microorganisms.

Parmesan cheese is aged for at least a year of not longer. Swiss cheese is also considered a ‘hard’ cheese because the ‘holes’ in the cheese may be considered indicative of a significant aging process.

Hard cheese made from peak-season milk can have intensely rich, complex flavor profiles that evoke the lush pasture the animals grazed upon at the time.

Hard cheeses are excellent for the table or on a cheese platter, and this group also boasts some of the best cooking, baking, grating and melting choices.

There are many types of hard cheeses, but the most common are Cheddar, American, Swiss and Monterrey Jack. Cheddar and American cheese, cream to orange in color with mild sharp taste.

While Swiss or emmental has a creamy, yellow, firm, smooth, sweet nutty taste and large holes.
Hard cheese

Roquefort, Gorgonzola and Blue Cheese

Roquefort, Gorgonzola and Blue Cheese
The main different among these cheese is that Roquefort is made from sheep’s milk while Gorgonzola and blue are made from cow’s milk. Also, to be labeled, Roquefort cheese must be made in France.

Blue cheese may be made from raw, heated or pasteurized whole milk or from skim milk and cream mixtures, but butterfat content should be about 3.5%.

Raw milk or milk that hass been heated at temperatures lower than those used for pasteurization is preferred, since lipase action is required for ripening of this type of cheese and heating pasteurization temperature inactivates lipase.

Lipase is an enzyme that splits fats into glycerin and fatty acids.

If skim milk and cream used as the main ingredients, and the cream is too yellow in color, it may bleached by treating with benzoyl peroxide If the whole milk is used, the temperature is adjusted to 85F (29.4C() and the milk is homogenized.

After homogenization, the temperature of the product is raised to 90F (32.2C), a lactic acid starter culture is added and the product is held at 90F (32.2C) for a period of 1 hr.

The enzyme rennet is the added to coagulate the mixture, which is allowed to stand for another 45-60 mins. The curd then is cut into half in. (1-3cm) cubes, after which it is stirred for 15 min while being held at the incubation temperature.

The whey is then drained and the curd is mixed with about 1% salt, and then placed in racks lined with cheesecloth and allowed to drain.

After draining, the curd in sterilized hoods, and as the hoops are filled, and the curd is mixed with bread crimson which a culture of mold Penicillium roqueforti has been inoculated and allowed to grow.

The hoop containing the curd are held at 65 – 68F (18.3 – 20 C) for part of the day, after which the product is placed in the room at 50-55F (10-12.8C) where salt is applied tom the surface of the cheese daily until the slat content reaches 4-4.5%. The cheeses are then removed to a ripening room where they are held for 2-3 months at 50-55F (10-12.8C) and a relative humidity of 5%.

The latter procedure permits air to enter to the products so that the mold, which reures oxugen, will grow. After curing, the surfaces of the cheeses are scrapped, and the cheeses are then cut into small wedges and wrapped in the plastics cups.
Roquefort, Gorgonzola and Blue Cheese

Proteins in Milk

Proteins in Milk
The protein content of milk is influenced significantly by the feeding and varies between 3.0 and 3.6%. For cheese making this has a special significance, as the yield in cheese making is controlled by the protein content.

The protein content of the milk is not uniform, but consists of two fractions, i.e., the casein and the whey proteins (serum proteins). These fractions can be further split into components and are different in chemical composition.

Milk proteins not only are important for the manufacturer of traditional dairy products but also have a multitude of functional characteristics and high nutritional values, e.g. casein is the major component of cheese and contributes its physical consistency to acidified products,. Individual specific protein fractions such as caseinate, whey protein concentrates or coprecipitates have wide significance in the spectrum of foods such as in infant formula and even some pharmaceutical products.

Casein, which is 80% of the milk protein, is arranged in milk in precisely formed micelle (clusters of individual molecules). Apart from casein, micelles contain a fairly high percentage of colloidal calcium phosphate. Within the range of normal technical processing conditions, they are stable when it comes to thermal and mechanical processing. The casein micelle is sensitive to changes in charge. When milk turns sour, structural change can be observed at PH <5.0, a gel is formed and minimal stability is reached.

The whey proteins are groups of compounds, called albumin and globulin. The thermal modenaturation of whey proteins plays a role, as it is linked with desirable and undesirable modifications:

• A firmer gel structure in acidified products, especially in yoghurt
• An improved water retention capability
• A reduced whey excretion with acidified gels
• Yield increase in fresh cheese products
• Cooked taste
• Soiling of surfaces in heat exchangers
• Reduced lab precipitation of milk
• Change of functional properties in milk powders

During cheese manufacturing, the whey proteins go into the whey; processes for a whey utilization where the protein can be recovered completely have gained significant interest. Apart form casein, albumin and globulin milk contains traces if proteases and peptones and whey contains enzymatically produces glycomacropeptides.
Proteins in Milk