Ever get confused with all the terms for cheese? Cheese is actually divided into recognized classifications and following I will try to do an overview of these categories.
Cheese is a food made by separating milk solids from whey by curdling or coagulation.
This is done by adding bacteria or the enzyme, rennet, into the milk. Curds are then formed and they are drained, processed and cured or aged. The many different methods used in curdling, temperatures, ingredients result in the many kinds of cheeses produced.
Ripening is the process of changing curds into cheese by adding bacteria or molds.
Classifications of Cheese:
1. Very hard (for grating)
a. ripened by bacteria – Parmesan, Romano, sapsago
2. Hard
a. Ripened by bacteria, without eyes – Cheddar, Caciocavallo
b. Ripened by bacteria with eyes – Swiss, Gruyere
3. Semisoft
a. Ripened mostly by bacteria – brick and Muenster
b. Ripened by bacteria and surface microorganisms – Limburger, Port du Salut,
Liederkranz
c. Ripened by blue mold in interior – Roquefort, Danish blue, Gorgonzola, Stilon
d. Ripened by white mold – Nuworld.
4. Soft
a. Ripened – Camembert, Bel Paese, Brie
b. Unripened – cottage, cream, Neufehatel, Ricotta, Mysost, Primost
Hard cheeses are cured cheeses with a firm texture and varying degrees of mildness or sharpness, depending on the age.*
Hard grating cheeses have a grainy texture. Best know is Parmesan. Romano is a bit stronger than Parmesan.
Cheddar ranges in flavor from mild to sharp and in color from light yellow to deep yellow. Colby and Monterey Jack are similar to mild cheddar. Swiss cheese is made in many countries, although originally made in Switzerland is a firm rubbery cheese. The holes are formed by gases during ripening.
Gruyere is similar but with smaller holes and a bit sharper. Edam and Gouda have the yellow and red wax rinds. Provolone is an Italian cheese, which becomes sharper as it ages.
Blue-veined cheese get their flavor and appearance from the blue or green mold in their interior. The most famous is Roquefort. Stilton is also well known is mellower and firmer than Roquefort. Also in this category is gorgonzola and Cabrales.
Soft-ripened cheeses ripen from the outside-toward the center. At first they are firm then they become softer and when completely ripe may even be runny.
There are two types:
a mold-ripened (Brie and Camembert) and
b washed-rind or bacteria-ripened. (Limburger, Liederkranz)
Semisoft Cheeses are a large group of cheeses that are more bland when young and develop more flavor as they get older. Examples are brick and Muenster and Bel Paese.
Unripened Cheeses – are soft, white and freshly made – such as cottage, cream ricotta, mozzarella and feta.
The above cheeses are referred to as natural cheeses. Natural Cheese is made by curdling the milk and ripening the curds.
Processed Cheeses
- are made by using one or more natural cheeses and heating and blending with emulsifiers and other ingredients and pouring the mixture into molds to solidify. The result will be a uniform product that will not age or ripen. Processed cheese is mild in flavor, melts easily, and keeps very well. In the United States it is usually referred to as American Cheese although some people mean Cheddar, when they refer to American Cheese. In the United States most process cheese is made from cheddar cheese.*
* Gisslen, “Professional Cooking”, 6th edition, John Wiley & Sons, 2007
