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Newer Knowledge of Dairy Foods
Cheese
Introduction
Cheese has a centuries-old history. According to legend, cheese was "discovered" several thousand years before Christ by a traveler who, starting on a journey, placed milk in a pouch made of sheep's stomach. During the day's journey the combined action of the sun's heat and enzymes in the lining of the stomach changed the milk into the snowy white curd of cheese and the thin liquid now called whey.
Since this legendary discovery, countless experiments have produced varieties of cheese that range in texture from soft to hard and in flavor from mild to pungent and sharp. However, the basic art of cheese-making has changed little over the course of its history. Milk is coagulated to produce curd by the separate or combined action of lactic acid (produced by the breakdown of lactose by selected microorganisms) and coagulating enzymes. Whey is subsequently removed from the curd and the latter is further treated to produce the many varieties of cheese.
The techniques used by early cheese makers varied geographically. A cheese made in a given region with the available milk and prevailing procedures acquired its own distinctive characteristics. Cheese made in another locality under different conditions developed other properties. Many of the cheeses were named according to the town where they were produced, for example, Cheddar, England. Although varieties of cheese are known by more than 2,000 names, many differ only slightly, if at all, in their characteristics.
In the United States, cheese-making was confined to on-farm locations until 1851, when the first small Cheddar cheese factory opened in Rome, New York. About 1900, the following five developments in cheese technology contributed to the rapid growth of commercial cheese-making:
- The use of titratable acidity measurements to control acidities
- The introduction of bacterial cultures as "starters"
- The pasteurization of milk used in cheese-making, which destroys harmful microorganisms
- Refrigerated ripening
- The development of processed cheese
By using controlled scientific methods, cheese makers in the United States have successfully manufactured virtually all types of foreign cheeses, including Swiss, Camembert, limburger, blue, Parmesan, and mozzarella. In addition, distinctive original varieties, such as brick, Colby, Monterey, and others, have been created in the United States.
The amount and variety of cheese and cheese products consumed and manufactured in the United States have increased tremendously in recent years. Americans consumed nearly 2.5 times as much cheese in 1997 as they did in 1970. In fact, since 1970, per capita consumption of cheese has increased yearly. Today, more than one-third of all cow's milk produced each year in the United States is used to make cheese.
References
Kosikowski, F.V., and V.V. Mistry. Cheese and Fermented Milk Foods. Volume 1. Origins and Principles . 3rd ed. Westport, Conn.: F.V. Kosikowski, 1997.
International Dairy Foods Association. Cheese Facts 1998 Edition . Washington, D.C.: National Cheese Institute, October 1998.
Gerrior, S., J. Putnam, and L. Bente. Milk and milk products: their importance in the American diet. Food Review 21(2) : 29, 1998.
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