History in the Making Part Three

So, we've learned a bit of cheese history, and how it is made--at least fresh cheeses--and picked up a few ideas for rainy day busy-work...Now let's get to the fun stuff!

Basic after dinner nibble: old cheddar, Meddo Belle, Mennonite sausage      Wine: Nugan from Australia

Entertaining with Cheese
Sparkling candlelight, the murmur of pleasant conversation, gentle clinking of silverware upon china; rings upon crystal, the sounds of smoky jazz playing softly in the background, the burst of grape or hops on the tongue, the mounds of delicacies arranged on trays, enticing the eyes to sate the stomach...the classic sights, sounds and tastes of a cheese and wine party with friends or strangers-soon-to-be-friends. The lovely bit about a cheese tasting party is that it goes with every occasion, from wedding showers, dinners for two to a Superbowl Sunday get together--it doesn't just have to go with the stereotypical elegant cocktail party.


A wine/beer and cheese get together is a wonderful opportunity to experience local foods and drink as well as the accompanying sides, such as fruits and breads. Pairing local produce, cheese and the wine/beer produced in the same area is one way to ensure an easy and successful tasting. At one time in history, it wasn't heard of to have wine and cheese from outside the local area. These items were usually produced and consumed within the same geographical spot. If you are in an area sparse in local wines or beers, then the second point to remember in pairing drink with cheese would be essential to follow: keep your choices light and simple. White wines pair better with cheeses, except with in the case of red wines that have a low tannin content. Strong and rich red wines are generally ideal with more pungent cheeses-think Stilton and Port. A dry or fruity white wine will pair with most cheeses as long as you keep in mind what other qualities are found in the cheese such as spices, herbs or another other factor that will influence the taste of the drink.

While it is impossible to give absolute recommendations in your pairings there are some tried and true suggestions:

photo credit: michelle L. 2012

Wine
~For all Cheeses: light, low in alcohol and tannins such as Riesling, Silvaner
~Soft Cheese and Goat Cheese: rosé, dry sparkling wine or champagne
~Blue-veined: strong reds with a sweet note
~Hard Cheeses: hardest to pair, pardon the pun, but stick with the light white wine.

Beer
This is more difficult as a there are a vast range of flavours; almost too much choice. 
I personally taste tested with Okanagan Springs Pale Ale and I found it went well with all the cheeses I tried--including the Stilton.


~Fresh cheeses: American and German lagers, wheat beers
~Soft cow's milk cheeses: pilasters and pale ales
~Washed-rind cheeses with some pungency: English brown or amber ales
~Semi-firm: Belgian ales, pilasters
~Hard and Blue-veined: stronger porters, stouts and heavy dark beers

The most important thing to choosing the right beer is to choose one without much of a bitter note in the beer. A strongly bitter beer is going to add a taste to some cheeses that will turn on the tongue to something unpleasant. Try a craft beer or an import for a variety of options beyond the commercial domestic brands, which I do find contain a finishing bitter note.

Cheese
Allow for a third of a pound per cheese per person as a guideline for a smaller sized get together or one that is followed by a meal; a larger gathering needs a bit more to be a filling 'meal'. You will want to not overload the tastebuds by presenting too much variety in your cheese choices. Three or four complimentary tasting cheeses covering a few different types of is ideal, for example: a blue, a Camembert, and a 4 year old Cheddar will go lovely together. Serve your cheese at room temperature, letting it sit for no longer than two hours before serving, for safety reasons.

Serve your cheese choices in order of taste-mild to strong, finishing with the strongest tasting cheese. Alternatively if serving all at once on a board, include a label with each cheese describing the qualities of each cheese with the recommendation of the order of consumption.

photo credit: michelle levasseur

     

Serve in the following order:
~Fresh and goat cheeses
~Bloomy and washed-rind cheeses
~Semi-firm cheeses
~Firm cheeses
~Blue-veined cheeses
~Hard cheeses

Arrange your cheese board, if using, with large pieces of cheese rather than slices of cheese for a buffet gathering as they do not dry out as quickly. Alternatively, cover your tray of sliced cheeses with plastic wrap just before setting out your board. 

Round soft cheeses such as Brie should only be cut into fat wedges. Your guests can cut the rind off themselves with their individual knives. Wax coated cheeses should have the rind removed already for greater ease of handling for your guests and cut into thinly sliced wedges. Hard cheeses can just be broken off with a forked cheese knife either by you or your guests.

Equipment and Presentation
No matter the occasion, a wine/beer and cheese party requires a few items for serving and eating.
Forgo the plastic boards, utensils or platters. Wooden cutting boards, marble slabs with or without wire cutter, and china are ideal for serving.

The following items won't be necessary for every occasion but can be selected from as your party needs change.

~Rimless platters of different sizes and shapes
~Wooden boards or
~Wooden-base cheese bell
~Knives with forked tip -for individual use
~Mini-boards or small plates for individual use
~Large two handled knives (for larger gatherings: larger pieces of cheese to cut from)
~Cheese wires and knives for cutting -one per cheese to avoid mingling of flavours
~Labels for cheese identification 
~Wine glasses, red and white
~Champagne flute (only if serving champagne)
~Half-pint beer glasses
~Small sherry glasses if experimenting with an Icewine and Roquefort pairing, for example

Cheese Bell       google images

There is no real need to purchase extra equipment unless you have an adequate disposable income and love to shop. If you love a bargain and/or are on a budget, try a store like Value Village or your local thrift store to find glasses, platters and the like for a very cheap price.




Side dishes and Garnishes
For an elegant note to a wedding shower and events like it, you can cut cheese into bite-sized appetizers and 'dress' them in different garnishes, all served with a toothpick inserted for ease of eating.

Garnishes
~Combine a mild semi-firm cheese with a blue-veined cheese. Sandwich a slice of blue between two slices of your choice of mild cheese and cut into cubes.
~Top Emmental and Swiss with a walnut--pairs nicely with the nutty flavour of the cheese.
~Cheddar goes very well with a chile pepper or a dollop of chile relish on top of a round of very old cheddar.
~Roll cubes of aged Gouda in sweet paprika or stamp out with a cookie cutter and dip one side into sweet paprika.

Side Dish Suggestions
Serve your cheese board with crusty, fragrant, soft-centred breads, fruit and nuts.

~Wedges of apple and pear, dipped in lemon juice to retard oxidation, for stronger cheeses 
~Grapes and berries for a palate cleanser between cheese courses
~Assortment of walnuts, pistachios and pecans, for a sweet note
~Italian, sourdough, French baguette

Storage
Since cheese is a living product that continues to ripen and change after manufacture, storage is an important part of keeping your cheese fresh and tasting as it should. The temperature where you store your cheese is also important, enough so that refrigerator companies make a special compartment just for your cheese. You can also store your cheese in a cool, dry cellar or pantry as long as temperatures do not exceed 54℉ for short term storage and 39 to 42℉ for longer term storage.

For cut cheeses
~Blue-veined cheeses should be wrapped with aluminium foil that has perforations in close spacing.
~Hard cheeses can be wrapped with plastic wrap.
~Soft cheeses should be wrapped with parchment paper or a damp cloth that is moistened daily.
Store all cheeses in the compartment of your refrigerator or your vegetable crisper. If you can adjust the humidity level of your crispers, make sure it is set to high humidity.

Taste Test

photo credit: michelle L. 2012

I took myself shopping at Covent Garden Market in downtown London--the one here in Ontario, damn my luck. I perused the coolers at Smith Cheese and I found that they have quite the selection of Ontario artisan cheeses. Although I tried to select a range of cheeses, I seem to have accidentally left out soft cheeses like Camembert, which I adore. However, I did include a blue and two raw milk cheeses. I paired my cheese choices, like I mentioned above, with Okanagan Springs Pale Ale. I absolutely love this beer. I have never been one to have the 'pizza and beer' as commercial beers never paired well with food, for me. Cheese has always been paired with wine for the same reasons. However, not only can I drink this beer with Italian food, it goes so very well with all different types of cheeses.

Cheese Selections
~Smith Cheese 4 year old Cheddar from raw milk--no other information on the label, strangely
~Thornloe's 'Casey Stilton'
~Monforte's 'Tuscano' Sheep Milk Cheese
~Back Forty's 'Bonnechere' Raw Sheep Milk Cheese
~Gunn's Hill 'Gouda' Sheep Milk Cheese

Although contrary to a previous statement about the availability of sheep milk cheese, this plethora of sheep milk cheese in one location is a rare occurrence in my experience. I took advantage of it!

Opinion
~I found the 4 year old Cheddar to be sharp, creamy tasting with a nice smooth texture-not grainy as some can be at that age.
~The 'Casey Stilton' was a bit of a surprise as the pungency level was rather young for a blue. The texture was creamy and supple with just a bit of bite.
~The 'Tuscano' from Monforte with it's unique flavour profile is my personal favourite . This semi-firm has an almost 'green' taste to it accompanied by a smooth feel on the tongue.
~The 'Bonnechere' raw sheep milk cheese has a mild, fresh almost 'curd' like flavour.
~'Gouda' from Gunn's Hill was an interesting selection as I was only aware of their cow's milk Alpine cheeses. While I can't really taste the 'Gouda' in the cheese, it is still a lovely, smooth and mild cheese.

Finishing Note
Cheese, in all it's types and uses, is not just food. It is artistry, it is history, it is representative of the homestead spirit that we used to have and respect. Cheese making is more than a business. It is a world of science and art, it is tapping into ancestry and skills almost forgotten in this world of convenience. Artisan cheese makers are an integral part of our economic and cultural future; important to our identity. They are the embodiment of the Canadian spirit of small business, despite the direction we seem to be going in, as well as a sustainable, ecological business that will only benefit Ontario through tourism dollars, local sales, online and supermarket sales.

Making your own fresh cheese or even graduating into the more advanced cheeses let you into a world of antiquity that lives and will live as long as there are those who live off the land and what she provides. Let us hope our government, in it's headlong rush to personal monetary solvency, doesn't destroy that possibility.

Cheese Makers in Ontario
According to an article at the Ottawa Citizen(newspaper) website the best places for cheese in Ontario are as follows:

Back Forty Artisan Cheese

Lanark, Ontario

www.artisancheese.ca 

Sheep milk cheese

Best Bea Dairy

Fergus, Ontario

www.ewenity.com

Raw sheep milk cheese, aged 60 days

Black River Cheese

Milford, Ontario

www.blackrivercheese.com

Aged cheddar, mozzarella

Fifthtown Artisan Cheese

Picton, Ontario

www.fifthtown.ca

15 types of sheep milk cheese

Les Brebis sur le toit bleu

Oxford Mills, Ontario

www.sheepcheese.ca

Sheep milk cheese, obviously

Monforte Dairy Company

Millbank, Ontario

www.monfortedairy.com

30 types of sheep milk cheese

Thornloe Cheese

Thornloe, Ontario

www.thornloecheese.ca

68 years in the business

Thunder Oak Cheese

Thunder Bay, Ontario

www.cheesefarm.ca

winner 2002 Grand Prix for their Gouda

Upper Canada Cheese Company

Jordan, Ontario

www.uppercanadacheese.com

2 cheeses using local Guernsey cows

Wilton Cheese

Odessa, Ontario

www.wiltoncheese.ca

Aged cows milk Cheddar

I encourage everyone to try these or their own local cheeses--they are there, you just have to find them. I also encourage everyone to try their hand at some fresh cheeses, especially if you are a cream cheese lover, as I am.

Written Sources

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/travel/best+places+cheese+Ontario/1210454/story.html  

www.dairygoodness.ca 

www.metro.ca 

www.fabregion.ca 

Making Artisan Cheese by Tim Smith edition published by Crestline.

The Cheese Bible by Christian Teubner published by Prospero Books

For more information on cheese and cheese making, it is only a click away on the web. There are some great books out there as well. There is a new one I haven't read yet but you may want to check out-Artisan Cheese Making at Home by Mary Karlin and a link to the book website is here.

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Fallen

Just had to post this as it is rather sad to see...


Maybe I romanticize the lifestyle, but how do you go from this...

to this...

taken surreptitiously, with iPad, at Burger King

I realize that these younger ones might be from a different group than our local Mennonites--I'm woefully ignorant about them--but I do know that this is not a part of their chosen life...

Pernicious, insidious, Id-enticing poison that is fast food...


Tomorrow, Part Three of History of Cheese making, where we learn how to serve and eat cheese with wine and beer, where to buy Ontario Artisan cheese and the results of a mini taste test.

Have a tasty day!

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History in the Making Part Two

History in the Making Part Two

Here is a clip from one of my favourite British sitcoms, Lenny Henry's "Chef". The whole episode is great but the reason I uploaded it here for you to watch is the first three minutes. Using his trademark acerbic wit, Henry's character, Gareth Blackstock lances the boil of an issue--pasteurizing milk for cheese making.

Making Cheese at Home

There are many reasons to begin making cheese in your home not the least of which is the high cost of cheese products in the supermarkets. Ideally you would use raw milk but good luck finding any that's legal to buy, here in Ontario. Consensus is that no matter your view on raw milk vs. pasteurization , drinking and making cheese from milk that has all the microflora and enzymes present is a healthful practice. If you have to get your milk for cheese making from the supermarket, try for milk that has been pasteurized using the low temperature method so that a few of the necessary enzymes to make tasty cheese are still present in the milk. Supermarket milk (non-UHT milk only) will do but know that you are not really going to make a better cheese than that found in the supermarket not to mention what is available from cheesemongers today. Sometimes, the cheese will be better however, for example cream cheeses. Take a look at the label next time and you will see things added to the cheese to extend the shelf life, which of course changes the texture and flavour. 

Making cheese at home can range from an easy task, as in the case of yoghurt cheese, to a time consuming task requiring more equipment and advanced skills as with Gouda or Cheddar. Starting out with a few fresh cheeses will let you know if that is all you can handle doing at the moment or if you love it and want to do more.

Sanitation
Cheese is a relatively safe product to eat but only if you follow the basic sanitary rules of preserving and canning( long term storage i.e. canning requires bacteria control like cheese making).

Put a pan of water on to a rolling boil and place your equipment i.e. spoons, cheesecloth into the water and keep boiling for 5 minutes minimum before removing. Air dry completely or you can leave the items in the water until you are ready for them. Larger items such as the colander can be washed in the dishwasher or hot water and soap right before use. You can sterilize your pan for the milk by boiling water (about 2") in it for ten minutes, with the lid on, then draining.

A separate room like an enclosed porch or summer kitchen equipped with electricity is ideal for cheese making but a clean and pet free kitchen will do as well. In older times, farmhouses usually had an attached summer kitchen for all baking, preserving and cheese making needs and if you went further back in time, the farm would have had a separate 'dairy' just for the cheese and butter making. Today, an adequately equipped kitchen is more than sufficient.

Note: some books or other sources of information will say to use a diluted bleach solution to sterilize your equipment but I don't recommend it. Food and bleach do not mix, in my opinion, even with rinsing,  Bleach is toxic to septic systems and respiratory systems and I don't use it anywhere in my house.

Equipment
Even though making fresh cheese is quick and easy, there is still some equipment necessary. As you advance in cheese making you will need more equipment and more time to devote to the process. I am only going to be covering the making of fresh cheese in this article but there will be future articles on intermediate and advanced cheese making.

Most of the following items can be found in your kitchen so no extra purchases need to be made yet.

Fresh Cheese
Colander: 
                  choose one that has a high foot to the bottom to keep the curd away from the       
                  whey while draining.

Slotted spoon: 
                   stainless steel is the better choice

Cooking pot: 
                   stainless is best as other metals can be reactive to the acids present and will  
                   impart a metal taste to the cheese. It should be big enough to hold 8 to 12 
                   litres of milk (2 to 3 US gallons).

Cheese cloth or Butter Muslin: 
                   loose-weave cheese cloth you can get at the supermarket  
                   or bulk store is adequate for fresh cheese if you double or fold over the cloth but  
                   butter muslin, which you get online or at a cheese making supply store, is better  
                   for more advanced cheese making.

Thermometer: 
                   a candy thermometer is not going to be adequate here as the measuring  
                   must be in 1℃(2℉) increments. A digital thermometer, instant-read or clip-on 
                   constant-read, is best for monitoring milk temperature. 

Catch bowl:
                    any bowl for catching the draining whey.

Method
There are two types of fresh cheeses you can make in your home - cultured milk cheese where acid or a starter culture is used and uncultured milk cheese such as yoghurt cheese. Both of these types require curdling which separates the fluids and solids (whey and curds) so that you can drain off the whey and retain the curds. (Yoghurt cheese is already curdled in the yoghurt making process.)

Cultured Milk Cheese
Curdling milk for fresh cheese making can be done one of two ways: with acid in the form of lemon juice or buttermilk and using bacterial cultures.

Curdling with Acid: 

• place cooking thermometer in cooking pot or into top of the double boiler, if using; add water to the base.
• turn burner to medium-low (pot) or medium (double boiler), add milk to pot (or top of double boiler) and heat slowly about 20 to 30 minutes until it reaches 77℃ (170℉).
• remove from heat as soon as it hits that temperature and place pot into sink or basin filled with ice water to cool. Don't use just ice as that will not be as cold as ice water. Keep in the ice water, adding more ice as necessary, until the milk is between 21℃- 22℃ ( 70 to 72℉).
• remove from ice water and wrap with a kitchen towel to keep at that temperature.
• let sit the length of time called for in your recipe.         

Curdling with Bacterial Cultures:

• follow above directions with the exception of the heat temperature you need to reach, which in this case is 38℃ (100℉).
• when temperature is reached, add the starter culture type and amount called for in the recipe, stir and wait for the curds to form.

Draining Fresh Cheeses:

• line a colander with doubled over cheese cloth, making sure that the cloth is big enough to cover the cheese in the finishing process.
• spoon curds from boiler or pot into colander, fold the cloth over the curds and drain whey into catch bowl for two hours.

Finishing:

• with some fresh cheeses, gather cheese cloth into a ball, tie to wooden spoon and let hang for the length of time called for in the recipe instructions.
• when cheese is drained to recipe specifics, remove from cheese cloth and place in airtight container.
• store for two weeks or as long as the recipe states.

Yoghurt Cheese

This cheese is the easiest to make and is fun for kids to help with--the making and the eating!

(Although yoghurt is made with a starter culture, for the purposes of cheese making, this step is not necessary so I have included it in a category all its own.)

Yoghurt cheese is simply following the last two steps in the above list substituting the curdled milk with yoghurt. You can use any flavour yoghurt as long as  it is labelled as containing live cultures and it is not the Swiss-style or custard yoghurt as that will have gelatin(e) in it to stop the whey and curd from separating.

Fresh Cheese Recipes

Yoghurt Cheese

900g (2 lbs) low-fat or non-fat yoghurt --will make half as much cheese as yoghurt used

1. line colander with doubled over cheese cloth, place catch bowl underneath.
2. pour yoghurt into colander and spread cheese taking care not to compress yoghurt. 
3. cover with plastic wrap and place whole set up into refrigerator to drain.
4. after two hours gather cheese cloth and tie to spoon, suspending from the rim of pot or deep bowl.
5. continue draining in refrigerator for another 8 to 24 hours. 8 hours will give you a soft spread;  24 hours will give you a consistency like cream cheese.
6. remove from cheese cloth, shape into a ball and store it in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

Lemon Cheese

1.9L (1/2 gallon) whole milk

60 ml (1/4 cup) fresh-squeezed lemon juice

1. heat milk to 74℃ (165℉), stirring frequently to prevent scorching.
2. remove from heat and stir in lemon juice.
3. let rest for 15 minutes. If you are using homogenized milk, the curds after 15 minutes will resemble thin threads.
4. pour into colander lined with doubled over cheese cloth, gather and tie the cloth. 
5. drain into catch bowl in refrigerator and drain for one hour or until the whey stops dripping.
6. remove from refrigerator, discard cheese cloth and place in bowl. 
7. add salt to taste and add herbs like chives or dill for added flavour.
8. store in airtight container and keep for up to one week.

Cream Cheese

1L (4 cups) non-ultra pasteurized half and half (10%)

250 ml (1 cup) non-ultra pasteurized whipping cream (35%)

28 ml (2 tbsp) buttermilk

salt

herbs (optional)

extra tools: glass or stainless steel mixing bowl

1. heat both creams to 32℃ (90℉), stir in buttermilk
2. pour into glass or stainless steel mixing bowl, cover with plastic wrap.
3. wrap a few towel around bowl and place in warm area for 24 hours.
4. consistency should be like yoghurt with no movement when bowl is tilted sideways.
5. let sit if desired consistency has not been reached, from another 6 to 12 hours.
6. place mixture into cloth-lined colander, fold cloth over and let drain for 15 minutes.
7. place colander in deep bowl and continue draining, covered with plastic, in the refrigerator for 12 to 14 hours.
8. remove curd and add salt to taste and optional herbs.
9. reshape into balls and wrap in fresh cheese cloth; put back into refrigerator in the colander/catch bowl set up.
10. cover with plastic wrap and let sit 36 to 48 hours, until desired consistency is reached.
11. store in airtight container for up to two weeks.

Cottage Cheese

3.8 L (1 gallon) skim or whole milk

calcium chloride (about 1ml (1/8 tsp) diluted in 60ml (1/4 cup) water per 1 gallon milk)

about 1 ml (1/8 tsp) mesophilic direct-set culture

cheese salt

heavy cream (optional)

will yield approximately 454g (1 lb) cheese

extra tools: bowl or cup to dilute calcium chloride

                     long, thin knife to cut curds

1. heat milk to 22℃ (72℉), add the calcium chloride and the starter culture, stirring well between additions.
2. let sit at room temperature for 24 hours. Don't let milk fall below 20℃ (68℉)
3. after 24 hours, cut curds into 4mm (1/4") cubes and let sit for 15 minutes.
4. place pot on stove and heat curds to 38℃(100℉), stirring occasionally. It should take 25 minutes to reach that temperature.
5. when temperature is reached, keep there for another 10 minutes, continuing to stir.
6. slowly increase temperature to 44℃ (112℉)-will take 15 minutes.
7. keep at that temperature for 30 minutes and then check curds for firmness.
8. if they are still soft, cook for an additional 5 minutes. 
9. let rest for five minutes when desired consistency is reached.
10. pour into cheese cloth-lined colander and tie cloth into a ball.
11. dunk ball into a bowl of cold water several times to get rid of any extra whey.
12. place colander in catch bowl and let drain for 5 minutes.
13. in a bowl of ice water, rinse the cheese cloth bundle of curds and let drain in colander for another 5 minutes.
14. untie cloth and break up any large pieces of curd.
15. salt to taste and 30 to 60 ml (1 or 2 tbsp) of heavy cream for creamier cheese.
16. store in airtight container for up to two weeks.

Note: since these recipes were originally written with Imperial measurements, I'd trust them over the metric conversions.

End of Part Two

Read Part Three

Read Part One

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History in the Making Part One

History in the making:

A celebration of Artisan cheeses in Ontario

With a step by step cheese-making how-to and 

fresh cheese recipes to try at home

photo: michelle L. 2012

Cheese. The product of milk, bugs, care and time. A very versatile food, you can bake it, melt it, batter and deep fry it, turn it into soups, eat it out of hand for a wine and cheese snack and freeze most for later use or buying in bulk. Some hate it, some love it and others don’t care one way or the other. Some hunt down the oldest, stinkiest of cheddars while others stick to soft and gooey bloom-rind cheeses. Some consider themselves gourmands of the cheese platter while other people’s taste buds are more familiar with Cheez-Whiz, processed slices and the mozzarella on pizza. 

A bit of Backstory
History and archaeology tell us that cultures around the world have been making, eating and selling cheese for approximately 8,000 years, after the domestication of ruminants became important. Interestingly, sheep were milked 3,000 years before cows and today is one of the least easy-to-find cheeses. Evidence of cheese making that has been found in Iraq, Africa and Egypt include art depicting milk animals, cheese making pots and even an actual piece of cheese. There is later historical evidence of the fact that Greek and Roman empires valued cheese so much that it was used as currency in the trader’s markets. Written records such as Homer’s Odyssey(1184 BC), tell about an early form of cheese (possibly feta) and the Roman Pliny the Elder wrote about the making and uses of cheese.

In the middle ages, Christianity, through the monks and nuns, helped spread agricultural knowledge and techniques across Europe including those of wine, cheese and beer making. There are many types of cheese produced today that were originally made in monasteries such as Wenslydale, which is from the Rievaulx Abbey in Yorkshire England. The small feudal states of the middle ages contributed to the development of regional specialties of cheese as they were as isolated as monasteries, allowing people to acquire vast skills in self-sufficiency. These skills, such as cheese making, were then passed on to future generations.

In the 1600’s, cheese making came to North America via Britain and France giving us hard and soft cheeses, respectively. Here in Canada, the first mention of cattle is around 1610 when Samuel de Champlain introduced a herd to Quebec. By 1630 there is evidence that ripened cheeses were firmly established in the French Canadian lifestyle. According to dairygoodness.ca “In 1630, records suggest, Acadians supplied cheese to the returning French fleet”.

The first Canadian cheese factory was opened by an American(some things never change), Harvey Farrington, in 1864 in Norwich, Ontario and by the confederation year of 1867, there were 200 established cheese factories in Ontario. Over the years as immigrants came to this country from other areas of the agricultural world, our cheese varieties have grown, making available a wide range of taste experiences for the cheese lover. This large and beautiful country has immense areas of agricultural land and people (if left with some semblance of self-government) could essentially buy land, a few milk animals and begin making cheese for themselves and to sell at the market.

Since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution in the early twentieth century, large factories have dominated and changed the lives of ordinary people. Factories meant jobs; jobs meant influx of job seekers; such large numbers led to the development of larger cities. Cities require amounts of food that can empty the local supply sources leading to bigger and bigger farms, mostly owned by corporations, taking over small time and subsistent farm land and operations. Cheese making in factories has led to a loss of varieties of cheeses that change flavour with the seasons and has left us with bland, uniform cheeses that are the direct result of putting profitability over quality.

Milk Types 

You’ve probably heard the expression that milk is nature’s most perfect food as it has been known for quite some time that it supplies almost every nutrient and vitamin the body needs. Milk is made up of four main components, among others, that are essential to making cheese: fat, casein, lactose and whey protein.

Fat is necessary for the proper texture, flavour and aroma of a particular cheese for example Cambembert.

Casein is the major protein in milk and has elastic properties that can shrink or expand as illustrated by stringy mozzarella cheese on a pizza.

Whey protein is only a small part of milk and it holds more moisture than casein and is used, traditionally, for the making of ricotta.

Lactose is a carbohydrate (milk sugar) that is necessary for the right bacteria to feed on to grow and thrive, beginning the fermentation process.

Types

Most milk is derived from three sources-cow, sheep and goat. While all milk contains the components mentioned above, each breed has it’s own characteristics that affect the cheese which is made from it.

Jersey cow--artisan cheese makers swear by this little lady and her sisters as their milk is high in butterfat.
photo credit: michelle L. 2012

Cow’s milk cheeses are creamy, depending on the level of cream found in the milk, which has a high moisture content with large fat globules. The most popular breed for cheese making is the Jersey cow yielding a fat content of 5.4%. To compare, the popular drinking milk from a Holstein cow is usually 3.5-4% fat content.

Goat’s milk has smaller fat globules than cow’s milk and is partially homogenized leading to a smoother, softer texture of cheese.

photo credit: michelle L. 2012

Sheep, when compared to cows, gives a considerably lower amount of milk but it contains the same amount of solids. The milk is loaded with oils and butterfat, which makes a very rich and flavourful cheese. It is a cheese that is harder to find than the others not to mention the fact that finding the milk is next to impossible in many areas of North America.

Forms of Milk for Cheese making

Terroir is a term commonly used for the area a cow lives and feeds in, that encompasses what the cow eats-(fresh, wild grasses make more flavourful milk than silage fed, penned cow’s milk)

where the cow eats-(by the ocean means salt deposits on the grasses)

the time of year appropriate to making cheese-(winter is out as most cows are eating silage in cold climates).

Raw Milk
Raw milk is the liquid gold of cheese makers as it holds all the enzymes and microflora that the animal ate when grazing in it’s own terroir which makes a flavourful cheese. There have been many arguments for and against the use of raw milk—usually based upon erroneous information that it is unsafe or rather more unsafe than pasteurized—and I cover the topic in a future article but to sum up, there are risks in both milks and cheeses. Both raw and pasteurized milk has a neutral pH that allows it to be a great host for pathogenic bacteria. Fresh and soft-ripened cheeses made from pasteurized milk have the same potential for problems as cheeses made from raw. In Canada, raw milk cheeses must be aged for over 60 days to kill off the bad bacteria in order to enter the retail market.

Pasteurized

Pasteurization is the name given to the process of heating milk briefly to destroy pathogens that are possibly present in the milk. Before the advent of industrial cheese factories there were hardly any cheeses made from pasteurized milk. Cheese factories made pasteurization a necessity due to the great distances milk had to travel to get to the factories as well as to ensure a standardized taste to the cheese. Where artisanal cheese makers look at the changes in taste as a part of the natural cycle of nature, factory owners require a consistent product. To achieve this, I think, unnecessary consistency, pasteurization was utilized as a way to make sure that every drop of milk the factories use had the same flat taste.

The most popular method of pasteurization used by factories and industrial cheese makers is the high-heat method, High Temperature Short Hold or HTSH for short. Milk is heated to 700 to 720 C (158 to 1620 F) and then quickly cooled to 7-130 C (45 to 550 F ). This is a method that essentially sterilizes the milk so that all bacteria is killed even the good bacteria. It also destroy all enzymes found in milk including the enzyme lactase which helps us digest milk, a fact that has led experts to believe that pasteurization may have a direct link to lactose intolerance. For the cheese maker, this destruction means adding a bacterial strain to the milk and to use calcium chloride which is a salt used to absorb moisture and help with the creation of curds.

Homogenized
Milk that has been homogenized has had it’s fat globules busted down to very small pieces. This causes the cream to stay within the milk, rather than rising to the top. Homogenized milk does not coagulate well into cheese and the curds are softer than if using pasteurized or raw milk. Cheese makers have to combat this by adding additional rennet and calcium chloride.

Characteristics for Classification

Cheese can be broken down into three main characteristics: type of rind, moisture(humidity) and fat content.

Rind

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Bloomy - either sprayed with bacteria after the cheese’s shape has been formed or adding the bacteria directly into the milk.

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Washed - sprayed with bacteria water then washed with a brine every other day. Alternatively, wine or beer can be used instead of the brine solution.

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Artificial-usually wax, ash or food colouring.

Moisture

Fresh cheese – over 60%

Soft – 50% to 60%

Semi-firm – 45% to 50%

Firm – 35% to 45%

Hard – less than 35%

Fat Content

This can get a bit confusing depending on how fat in cheese is measured where you live. Generally speaking, the more fat found in the cheese, the creamier it is. Sometimes, when high fat is combined with high moisture, it means milder flavour as with cottage cheese.

Rennet and Acids

There are two ways to achieve the coagulation necessary to turn milk solids into cheese: acid or rennet. 

Rennet
Rennet is an enzyme either from an animal source or plant source, that causes the curds to form. To be effective, the rennet has to be paired with milk that has the right acidity.

Acids
 Acidity in cheese plays a major role in the taste characteristics of the cheese as well as controls the moisture in the curds. The higher the acid level; the softer the cheese and the sharper the flavour. Starter cultures are the usual way to add acid to milk but acid in the form of vinegar or lemon juice can be used as well. 

Starter Cultures
A starter culture is a lactic acid bacteria that increases the amount of acidity found in the milk. There are two types of starters that are used: mesophilic and thermophilic cultures. 

Mesophilic cultures, used for Cheddar, Gouda and other hard cheeses, are a moderate temperature bacteria, usually no higher than 300 C (102 F). 
Thermophilic cultures , used for Parmesan, Swiss-type cheese, are for higher temperatures up to 550 C (132 F).

Moulds and External Bacteria

As moulds are a type of fungi requiring a host for survival, cheese offers the perfect ‘food’ for mould, with its high-protein and high-moisture content. The mould is applied to the surface of the cheese and slowly grows to penetrate to the centre of the cheese. The mould eats the lactic acid which softens the fats and proteins. The following are the three main moulds that are used by home cheese makers:

Penicillium candidum
This is the mould used for cheeses such as Brie or Camambert. The soft white coating helps the ripening process. Even though we think of the white mould when we think of Brie, it is actually not the original and traditional colour. Because it was air ripened rather than through the use of P. candidum, the colour of the bloomy rind changed to colours such as blue and brown. The use of P. candidum to make a white bloomy rind came about for consistency reasons in cheese factories, just like with pasteurization.

Geotrichum candidum
This mould is used along with P. candidum or Brevibacterium linens. It will help the rind to stay on the cheese without slipping on soft-ripened cheese and help its flavour profile. With washed rind cheeses, this mould will help the growth of B. linens.

Penicillium roqueforti
This is a very well known mould that is responsible for the wonderfully rich flavour of blue cheese.

External Bacteria: Brevibacterium linens

This is a natural occurring bacteria that is applied to the outside surface of the cheese which will help with the ripening process. These cheeses must be washed with a brine solution(or beer, wine or spirits) to make sure the bacteria reaches evenly all over the surface.

Vegetable Ash
Vegetable ash is traditionally used for goat’s milk cheeses and is a particular favourite of local cheese makers in France for the helpful environment for moulds to grow.

Salt
Salt has many responsibilities in cheese making not the least of which is as a natural preservative and to slow down the growth of the lactic acid. It also dries out the cheese intensifying the flavour and refining the texture. As iodized salt kills the starter cultures it is important to use canning salt, kosher salt or cheese salt.

End of Part One

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