Cheese

46:11

46:11

Cheese

by Benjamin Boster

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In this episode of the I Can't Sleep Podcast, fall asleep learning about cheese. Yeah, it's smooth and creamy, just like my voice. That's how you know you won't make it through tonight's episode. Happy sleeping!

Sleep History Health Cultural References Cultures Environmental Impacts

Meet your Teacher

Benjamin Boster

Pleasant Grove, UT, USA

Meet your Teacher

Benjamin Boster

Pleasant Grove, UT, USA

Transcript

Welcome to the I Can't Sleep podcast, Where I read random articles from across the web to bore you to sleep with my soothing voice. I'm your host, Benjamin Boster. Today's episode is from a Wikipedia article titled, Cheese. Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, Textures, And forms by coagulation of the milk protein, Casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, Usually the milk of cows, Buffalo, Goats, Or sheep. During production, Milk is usually acidified and either the enzymes of rennet or bacterial enzymes with similar activity are added to cause the casein to coagulate. The solid curds are then separated from the liquid whey and pressed into finished cheese. Some cheeses have aromatic molds on the rind, The outer layer, Or throughout. Over a thousand types of cheese exist and are produced in various countries. Their styles, Textures, And flavors depend on the origin of the milk, Including the animal's diet, Whether they have been pasteurized, The butterfat content, The bacteria and mold, The processing, And how long they have been aged. Herbs, Spices, Or wood smoke may be used as flavoring agents. The yellow to red color of many cheeses is produced by adding annatto. Other ingredients may be added to some cheeses, Such as black pepper, Garlic, Chives, And cranberries. A cheesemonger, Or specialist seller of cheeses, May have expertise with selecting, Purchasing, Receiving, Storing, And ripening cheeses. For a few cheeses, The milk is curdled by adding acids such as vinegar or lemon juice. Most cheeses are acidified to a lesser degree by bacteria, Which turn milk sugars into lactic acid, And the addition of rennet completes the curdling. Vegetarian alternatives to rennet are available. Most are produced by fermentation of a fungus, But others have been extracted from various species of the Cenira thistle family. Cheesemakers near a dairy region may benefit from fresher, Lower-priced milk and lower shipping costs. Cheese is valued for its portability, Long shelf life, And high content of fat, Protein, Calcium, And phosphorus. Cheese is more compact and has a longer shelf life than milk, Although how long a cheese will keep depends on the type of cheese. Hard cheeses such as parmesan last longer than soft cheeses such as brie or goat's milk cheese. The long storage life of some cheeses, Especially when encased in a protective rind, Allows selling when markets are favorable. Vacuum packaging of block-shaped cheeses and gas flushing of plastic bags with mixtures of carbon dioxide and nitrogen are used for storage and mass distribution of cheeses in the 21st century. Plant-based cheese has a lower carbon footprint. The word cheese comes from Latin cassius, From which the modern word cassine is also derived. The earliest source is from the Proto-Indo-European root quat, Which means to ferment, Become sour. That gave rise to cheese or chese in Old English and chesse, Middle English. Similar words are shared by other West Germanic languages, West Frisian czeese, Dutch kass, German kesse, Old High German kese. All from the reconstructed West Germanic form kesei, Which in turn is an early borrowing from Latin. When the Romans began to make hard cheeses for their legionaries' supplies, A new word started to be used, Formaticum, From cassius, Formatus, Or molded cheese, As in formed, Not moldy. It is from this word that the French fromage, Standard Italian formaggio, Catalan formage, Breton formage, And Occitan fromage or fromage are derived. Of the Romance languages, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Tuscan, And Southern Italian dialects use words derived from cassius, Queso, Queio, Cass, And caso, For example. The word cheese itself is occasionally employed in a sense that means molded or formed. Head cheese uses the word in this sense. The term cheese is also used as a noun, Verb, And adjective in a number of figurative expressions, E. G. The big cheese, To be cheesed off, And cheesy lyrics. Cheese is an ancient food whose origins predate recorded history. There is no conclusive evidence indicating where cheese making originated, Whether in Europe, Central Asia, Or the Middle East. Earliest proposed dates for the origin of cheese making range from around 8000 BCE, When sheep were first domesticated. Since animal skins and inflated internal organs have, Since ancient times, Provided storage vessels for a range of foodstuffs, It is probable that the process of cheese making was discovered accidentally by storing milk in a container made from the stomach of an animal, Resulting in the milk being turned to curd and whey by the rennet from the stomach. There is a legend with variations about the discovery of cheese by an Arab trader who used this method of storing milk. The earliest evidence of cheese making in the archaeological record dates back to 5500 BCE and is found in what is now Kowiawia, Poland, Where strainers coated with milk-fat molecules have been found. Cheese making may have begun independently of this by the pressing and salting of curdled milk to preserve it. Observation that the effect of making cheese in an animal stomach gave more solid and better textured curds may have led to the deliberate addition of rennet. Early archaeological evidence of Egyptian cheese has been found in Egyptian tomb murals dating to around 2000 BCE. A 2018 scientific paper stated that the world's oldest cheese dating to approximately 1200 BCE, 3200 years before present, Was found in ancient Egyptian tombs. The earliest cheeses were likely quite sour and salty, Similar in texture to rustic cottage cheese or feta, A crumbly, Flavorful Greek cheese. Cheese produced in Europe, Where climates are cooler than the Middle East, Required less salt for preservation. With less salt and acidity, The cheese became a suitable environment for usable microbes and molds, Giving aged cheeses their respective flavors. The earliest ever discovered preserved cheese was found in the Taklamakan Desert in Xinjiang, China, Dating back as early as 1615 BCE, 3600 years before present. Ancient Greek mythology credited Aristias with the discovery of cheese. Homer's Odyssey, 8th century BCE, Describes the Cyclops making and storing sheep's and goats' milk cheese. We soon reached his cave, But he was out shepherding, So we went inside and took stock of all that we could see. His cheese racks were loaded with cheeses, And he had more lambs and kids than his pens could hold. When he had so done, He sat down and milked his ewes and goats, All on due course, And then let each of them have her own young. He curdled half the milk and set it aside in wicker strainers. Columnes de Rerustica, Circa 65 CE, Details a cheesemaking process involving rennet coagulation, Pressing of the curd, Salting, And aging. According to Pliny the Elder, It had become a sophisticated enterprise by the time the Roman Empire came into being. Pliny the Elder also mentions in his writings Cassius Helveticus, A hard, Sprins-like cheese produced by the Helvetii. Cheese was an everyday food, And cheesemaking a mature art in the Roman Empire. Pliny's Natural History, 77 CE, Devotes a chapter to describing the diversity of cheeses enjoyed by Romans of the early Empire. He stated that the best cheeses came from the villages near Nimas, But did not keep long and had to be eaten fresh. Cheeses of the Alps and Alpiniens were as remarkable for their variety then as now. A Ligurian cheese was noted for being made mostly from sheep's milk, And some cheeses produced nearby were stated to weigh as much as a thousand pounds each. Goat's milk cheese was a recent taste in Rome, Improved over the medicinal taste of Gaul's similar cheeses by smoking. Of cheeses from overseas, Pliny preferred those of Bithynia in Asia Minor. As Romanized populations encountered unfamiliar newly settled neighbors, Bringing their own cheesemaking traditions, Their own flocks, And their own unrelated words for cheese, Cheeses in Europe diversified further, With various locales developing their own distinctive traditions and products. As long-distance trade collapsed, Only travelers would encounter unfamiliar cheeses. Charlemagne's first encounter with a white cheese that had an edible rind forms one of the constructed anecdotes of Nottger's life of the emperor. The British Cheese Board claims that Britain has approximately 700 distinct local cheeses. France and Italy have perhaps 400 each. A French proverb holds there is a different French cheese for every day of the year. And Charles Dugal once asked, How can you govern a country in which there are 246 kinds of cheese? Still, The advancement of the cheese art in Europe was slow during the centuries after Rome's fall. Many cheeses popular today were first recorded in the late Middle Ages or after. Cheeses like Cheddar around 1500, Parmesan in 1597, Gouda in 1697, And Camembert in 1791. In 1546, The Proverbs of John Heywood claimed, The moon is made of green cheese. Green may refer here not to the color, As many now think, But to being new or unaged. Variations on this sentiment were long repeated, And NASA exploited this myth for an April Fool's Day spoof announcement in 2006. Until its modern spread along with European culture, Cheese was nearly unheard of in East Asia cultures and in the pre-Columbian Americas, And it only limited use in sub-Mediterranean Africa, Mainly being widespread and popular only in Europe, The Middle East, The Indian subcontinent, And areas influenced by those cultures. But with the spread first of European imperialism and later of Euro-American culture and food, Cheese has gradually become known and increasingly popular worldwide. The first factory for the industrial production of cheese opened in Switzerland in 1815, But large-scale production first found real success in the United States. Credit usually goes to Jesse Williams, A dairy farmer from Rome, New York, Who in 1851 started making cheese in an assembly line fashion, Using the milk from neighboring farms. This made cheddar cheese one of the first U. S. Industrial foods. Within decades, Hundreds of such commercial dairy associations existed. The 1860s saw the beginnings of mass-produced rennet, And by the turn of the century, Scientists were producing pure microbial cultures. Before then, Bacteria in cheesemaking had come from the environment or from recycling in earlier batches' way. The pure cultures meant a more standardized cheese could be produced. Factory-made cheese overtook traditional cheesemaking in the World War II era, And factories have been the source of most cheese in America and Europe ever since. By 2012, Cheese was one of the most shoplifted items from supermarkets worldwide. In 2014, World production of cheese from whole cow milk was 18. 7 million tons, With the United States accounting for 29%, 5. 4 million tons of the world total followed by Germany, France, And Italy as major producers. Other 2014 world totals for processed cheese include from skimmed cow milk 2. 4 million tons, Leading country Germany 845, 500 tons. From goat milk 523, 040 tons, Leading country South Sudan 110, 750 tons. From sheep milk 680, 302 tons, Leading country Greece 125, 000 tons. From buffalo milk 282, 127 tons, Leading country Egypt 254, 000 tons. During 2015, Germany, France, Netherlands, And Italy exported 10-14% of their produced cheese. The United States was a marginal exporter, 5. 3% of total cow milk production, As most of its output was for the domestic market. The carbon footprint of a kilogram of cheese ranges from 6 to 12 kilograms of CO2eq, Depending on the amount of milk used. Thus, It is generally lower than beef or lamb, But higher than other foods. France, Iceland, Finland, Denmark, And Germany were the highest consumers of cheese in 2014, Averaging 25 kilograms, 55 pounds per person per annum. A required step in cheese making is separating the milk into solid curds in liquid way. Usually this is done by acidifying, Souring the milk, And adding rennet. The acidification can be accomplished directly by the addition of an acid, Such as vinegar, And in a few cases, Veneer, Queso fresco. More commonly, Starter bacteria are employed instead, Which convert milk sugars into lactic acid. The same bacteria and the enzymes they produce also play a large role in the eventual flavor of aged cheeses. Most cheeses are made with starter bacteria from the Lactococcus, Lactobacillus, Or Streptococcus genera. Swiss starter cultures also include Propionibacterium shermani, Which produces propionic acid and carbon dioxide gas bubbles during aging, Giving Swiss cheese or Emmental its holes, Called eyes. Some fresh cheeses are curdled only by acidity, But most cheeses also use rennet. Rennet sets the cheeses into a strong and rubbery gel compared to the fragile curds produced by acidic coagulation alone. It also allows curdling at a lower acidity, Important because flavor-making bacteria are inhibited in high-acidity environments. In general, Softer, Smaller, Fresher cheeses are curdled with a greater proportion of acid to rennet than harder, Larger, Longer-aged varieties. While rennet was traditionally produced via extraction from the inner mucosa of the fourth stomach chamber of slaughtered young, Unweaned calves, Most rennet used today in cheesemaking is produced recombinantly. The majority of the applied chymosin is retained in the whey, And at most may be present in cheese in trace quantities. In ripe cheese, The type and provenance of chymosin used in production cannot be determined. At this time, The cheese has set into a very moist gel. Some soft cheeses are now essentially complete. They are drained, Salted, And packaged. For most of the rest, The curd is cut into small cubes. This allows water to drain from the individual pieces of curd. Some hard cheeses are then heated to temperatures in the range of 35 to 55 degrees Celsius. This forces more whey from the cut curd. It also changes the taste of the finished cheese, Affecting both the bacterial culture and the milk chemistry. Cheeses that are heated to the higher temperatures are usually made with thermophilic starter bacteria that survive this step, Either lactobacilli or streptococci. Salt has roles in cheese besides adding a salty flavor. It preserves cheese from spoiling, Draws moisture from the curd, And firms cheese's texture in an interaction with its proteins. Some cheeses are salted from the outside with dry salt or brine washes. Most cheeses have the salt mixed directly into the curds. Other techniques influence a cheese's texture and flavor. Some examples are stretching, Mozzarella, Provolone. The curd is stretched and kneaded in hot water, Developing a stringy, Fibrous body. Cheddaring. Cheddar, Other English cheeses. The cut curd is repeatedly piled up, Pushing more moisture away. The curd is also mixed or milled for a long time, Taking the sharp edges off the cut curd pieces and influencing the final product's texture. Washing. Edam, Gouda, Colby. The curd is washed in warm water, Lowering its acidity and making for a milder tasting cheese. Most cheeses achieve their final shape when the curds are pressed into a mold or form. The harder the cheese, The more pressure is applied. The pressure drives out moisture, The molds are designed to allow water to escape, And unifies the curds into a single solid body. A newborn cheese is usually salty, Yet bland in flavor, And for harder varieties, Rubbery in texture. These qualities are sometimes enjoyed, Cheese curds are eaten on their own, But normally cheeses are left to rest under controlled conditions. This aging period, Also called ripening or from the French, Affinage, Lasts from a few days to several years. As a cheese ages, Microbes and enzymes transform texture and intensify flavor. This transformation is largely a result of the breakdown of casein proteins and milk fat into complex mix of amino acids, Aminases, And fatty acids. Some cheeses have additional bacteria or molds intentionally introduced before or during aging. In traditional cheese making, These microbes might be already present in the aging room. They are allowed to settle and grow on the stored cheeses. More often today, Prepared cultures are used, Giving more consistent results, And putting fewer constraints on the environment where the cheese ages. These cheeses include soft ripened cheeses such as Brie and Camembert, Blue cheeses such as Roquefort, Stilton, Gorgonzola, And rind washed cheeses such as Lindberger. There are many types of cheese, With around 500 different varieties recognized by the International Dairy Federation, More than 400 identified by Walter and Hargrove, More than 500 by Burkhalter, And more than 1000 by Sandin and Elicker. The varieties may be grouped or classified into types according to criteria such as length of aging, Texture, Methods of making, Fat content, Animal milk, Country or region of origin, Etc. With these criteria either being used singly or in combination, But with no single method being universally used. The method most commonly and traditionally used is based on moisture content, Which is then further discriminated by fat content and curing or ripening methods. Some of the attempts have been made to rationalize the classification of cheese. A scheme was proposed by Peter Wallstra, Which uses the primary and secondary starter combined with moisture content, And Walter and Hargrove suggested classifying by production methods, Which produces 18 types, Which are then further grouped by moisture content. At refrigerator temperatures the fat in a piece of cheese is as hard as unsoftened butter, And its protein structure is stiff as well. Flavor and odor compounds are less easily liberated when cold. For improvements in flavor and texture, It is widely advised that cheeses be allowed to warm up to room temperature before eating. If the cheese is further warmed to 26-32 degrees Celsius, The fats will begin to sweat out as they go beyond soft to fully liquid. Above room temperatures, Most hard cheeses melt. Rennet-kernel cheeses have a gel-like protein matrix that is broken down by heat. When enough protein bonds are broken, The cheese itself turns from a solid to a viscous liquid. Soft high-moisture cheeses will melt at around 55 degrees Celsius, While hard low-moisture cheeses such as Parmesan remain solid until they reach about 82 degrees Celsius. Solid-set cheeses including halloumi, Paneer, Some whey cheeses, And many varieties of fresh goat cheese have a protein structure that remains intact at high temperatures. When cooked, These cheeses just get firmer as water evaporates. Some cheeses like raclette melt smoothly. Many tend to become stringy or suffer from a separation of their fats. Many of these can be coaxed into melting smoothly in the presence of acids or starch. Fondue, With wine providing the acidity, Is a good example of a smoothly melted cheese dish. Elastic stringiness is a quality that is sometimes enjoyed in dishes including pizza and Welsh rarebit. Even a melted cheese eventually turns solid again after enough moisture is cooked off. The saying, You can't melt cheese twice, Meaning some things can only be done once, Refers to the fact that oils leach out during the first melting and are gone, Leaving the non-meltable solids behind. As its temperature continues to rise, Cheese will brown and eventually burn. Browned partially burned cheese has a particular distinct flavor of its own and is frequently used in cooking. E. G. Sprinkling atop items before baking them. A cheese board or cheese course may be served at the end of a meal before or following dessert, Or replacing the last course. The British tradition is to have cheese after dessert, Accompanied by sweet wines like port. In France, Cheese is consumed before dessert with robust red wine. A cheese board typically has contrasting cheeses with accompaniments such as crackers, Biscuits, Grapes, Nuts, Celery, Or chutney. A typical cheese board may contain 4 to 6 cheeses. A cheese board 70 feet long was used to feature the variety of cheeses manufactured in Wisconsin, Where the state legislature recognizes a cheese head hat as a state symbol. The nutritional value of cheese varies widely. Cottage cheese may consist of 4% fat and 11% protein, While some whey cheeses are 15% fat and 11% protein, And triple creme cheeses are 36% fat and 7% protein. In general, Cheese is a rich source, 20% or more of the daily value, Dv, Of calcium, Protein, Phosphorus, Sodium, And saturated fat. A 28-gram, 1-ounce serving of cheddar cheese contains about 7 grams of protein and 202 milligrams of calcium. Nutritionally, Cheese is essentially concentrated milk, But altered by the culturing and aging processes, It takes about 200 grams of milk to provide that much protein, And 150 grams to equal the calcium, Though values for water-soluble vitamins and minerals can vary widely. National health organizations such as the American Heart Association, Association of UK Dietitians, British National Health Service, And Mayo Clinic, Among others, Recommend that cheese consumption be minimized, Replaced in snacks and meals by plant foods, Or restricted to low-fat cheeses to reduce caloric intake and blood levels of LDL fat, Which is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. There is no high-quality clinical evidence that cheese consumption lowers the risk of cardiovascular diseases. A number of food safety agencies around the world have warned of the risks of raw milk cheeses. The U. S. Food and Drug Administration states that soft raw milk cheeses can cause serious infectious diseases, Including listeriosis, Brucellosis, Salmonellosis, And tuberculosis. It is U. S. Law since 1944 that all raw milk cheeses, Including imports since 1951, Must be aged at least 60 days. Australia has a wide ban on raw milk cheese as well, Though in recent years exceptions have been made for Swiss Gruyère, Emmental, And Sprinz, And for French Rockford. There is a trend for cheeses to be pasteurized even when not required by law. Pregnant women may face an additional risk from cheese. The U. S. Centers for Disease Control has warned pregnant women against eating soft, Ripened cheeses and blue-veined cheeses due to the listeria risk, Which can cause miscarriage or harm the fetus. Although cheese is a vital source of nutrition in many regions of the world, And it is extensively consumed in others, Its use is not universal. Cheese is rarely found in Southeast and East Asian cuisines, Presumably for historical reasons as dairy farming has historically been rare in these regions due in part to low rates of lactase persistence. Paneer is a fresh cheese common in North India and Pakistan. It is an unaged, Non-melting soft cheese made of curdling milk, With a fruit or vegetable derived acid, Such as lemon juice. Its acid-set form, Cheese curd, Before pressing is called chhena. In Nepal, The Dairy Development Corporation commercially manufactures cheese made from yak milk and a hard cheese made from either cow or yak milk, Known as chirpi. Bhutan also produces a similar cheese called dachi, Which is a staple in most Bhutanese curries. The national dish of Bhutan, Emadachi, Is made from homemade yak or mare milk, Cheese, And hot peppers. Several ethnic minority groups produce ruchan and rubing from cow's milk. Cheese consumption may be increasing in China, With annual sales doubling from 1996 to 2003, To a still small 30 million US dollars a year. Certain kinds of Chinese preserved bean curd are sometimes misleadingly referred to in English as Chinese cheese because of their texture and strong flavor. Strict followers of the dietary laws of Islam and Judaism must avoid cheeses made with rennet from animals not slaughtered in a manner adhering to halal or kosher laws. Both faiths allow cheese made with vegetable-based rennet or with rennet made from animals that were processed in a halal or kosher manner. Many less orthodox Jews also believe that rennet undergoes enough processing to change its nature entirely and do not consider it to ever violate kosher law. As cheese is a dairy food, Under kosher rules it cannot be eaten in the same meal with any meat. Rennet derived from animal slaughter, And thus cheese made with animal-derived rennet, Is not vegetarian. Most widely available vegetarian cheeses are made using rennet produced by fermentation of the fungus muk or maihei. Vegans and other dairy-avoiding vegetarians do not eat conventional cheese, But some vegetable-based cheese substitutes, Soy or almond, Are used as substitutes. Collecting cheese labels is called tyrosemiophilia. Even in cultures with long cheese traditions, Consumers may perceive some cheeses that are especially pungent-smelling or mold-bearing varieties, Such as Limburger or Rockford, As unpalatable. Such cheeses are an acquired taste because they are processed using molds or microbiological cultures, Allowing odor and flavor molecules to resemble those in rotten foods. One author stated, An aversion to the odor of decay has the obvious biological value of steering us away from possible food poisoning. So it is no wonder that an animal food that gives off whiffs of shoes and soil in the stables takes some getting used to. There is some support from studies that dairy products can help with insomnia. Scientists have debated how cheese might affect sleep. An antithetical folk belief that cheese eaten close to bedtime can cause nightmares may have risen from the Charles Dickens novella A Christmas Carol, In which Ebenezer Scrooge attributes his visions of Jacob Marley and the cheese he ate. This belief can also be found in folklore that predates this story. The theory has been disproven multiple times. Although night cheeses may cause vivid dreams or otherwise disrupt sleep due to its high saturated fat content, According to studies by the British Cheese Board, Other studies indicate it may actually make people dream less. In the 19th century, Cheese was used as a figurative way of saying the proper thing. This thing comes from Urdu cheese, A thing, From Persian cheese, From Old Persian, Cese, C, Which means something. The term cheese, In this sense, Was picked up by colonial British in India by 1818 and was also used in the sense of a big thing, For example in the expression, He's the real cheese. The expression big cheese was attested in use in 1914 to mean an important person. This is likely American English in origin. The expression to cut a big cheese was used to mean to look important. This figurative expression referred to the huge wheels of cheese displayed by cheese retailers as a publicity stunt. The phrase cut the cheese also became an American slang term meaning to flatulate. The word cheese has also had the meaning of an ignorant, Stupid person. Other figurative meanings involve the word cheese used as a verb. To cheese is recorded as meaning to stop what one is doing, Run off. In 1812, This was thieves slang. To be cheesed off means to be annoyed. The expression say cheese in a photograph taking context when the photographer wants the people to smile for the photo, Which means smile, Dates from 1930. The word was probably chosen because the e encourages people to make a smile. The verb cheese was used as slang for be quiet in the early 19th century in Britain. The fictional notion that the moon is made of green cheese as a type of a ridiculous assertion is from 1520s. The figurative expression to make cheese is an 1830s phrase referring to schoolgirls who amused themselves by wheeling rapidly so one's petticoats blew out in a circle, Then dropping down so they came to rest inflated and resembling a wheel of cheese. In video game slang, To cheese it means to win a game by using a strategy that requires minimal skill and knowledge or that exploits a glitch or flaw in game design. The adjective cheesy has two meanings. The first is literal and means cheese-like. This definition is attested to from the late 14th century, E. G. A cheesy substance oozed from the broken jar. In the late 19th century, Medical writers used the term cheesy in a more literal sense, To describe morbid substances found in tumors, Decaying flesh, Etc. The adjective also has a figurative sense meaning cheap, Inferior. This use is attested from 1896, Perhaps originally US student slang. In the late 19th century and British slang, Cheesy meant fine, Showy. This use is attested to in the 1850s. In writing lyrics for pop music, Rock music for musical theatre, Cheesy is a pejorative term which means blatantly artificial. Sheep milk cheese is a cheese prepared from sheep milk. Well-known cheeses made from sheep milk include the feta of Greece, Roquefort of France, Manchenko from Spain, Pecorino Romano, And Ricotta of Italy. Yogurts especially, Some forms of strained yogurt may also be made from sheep milk. Sheep produce a far smaller volume of milk than cows. However, As sheep's milk contains far more fat, Solids, And minerals than cow's milk, It is ideal for the cheese-making process. It also resists contamination during cooling better because of its much higher calcium content. Sheep milk contains 4. 8% lactose, More lactose than cow milk, And is therefore not an alternative for people who are lactose intolerant. Though sheep's milk may be drunk in fresh form, Today it is used predominantly in cheese and yogurt making. Yogurts especially, Some forms of strained yogurt may also be made from sheep milk. Many of these products are now often made with cow's milk, Especially when produced outside their country of origin. For the cheese to fully ripen takes at least two weeks. It can take between two and three months, And even up to two years. Cheese-making is a craft of making cheese. The production of cheese, Like many other food preservation processes, Allows the nutritional and economic value of a food material, In this case milk, To be preserved in concentrated form. Cheese-making allows the production of the cheese with diverse flavors and consistencies. Cheese-making is documented in Egyptian tomb drawings and in ancient Greek literature. One of the ancient cheese makers' earliest tools for cheese-making, Cheese molds or strainers, Can be found throughout Europe dating back to the Bronze Age. Baskets were used to separate the cheese curds, But as technology advanced, These cheese molds would be made of wood or pottery. The cheese makers placed the cheese curds inside of the mold, Secured the mold with a lid, Then added pressure to separate the whey, Which would drain out from the holes in the mold. The more whey that was drained, The less moisture retained in the cheese. Less moisture meant that the cheese would be firmer. In Ireland, Some cheeses ranged from a dry and hard cheese, Moulinhon, To a semi-liquid cheese, Milsane. The designs and patterns were often used to decorate the cheese and differentiate between them. Since many monastic establishments and abbeys owned their share of milk animals at the time, It was commonplace for the cheeses they produced to bear a cross in the middle. Although the common perception of cheese today is made from cow's milk, Goat's milk was actually the preferred base of ancient cheese makers, Due to the fact that goats are smaller animals than cows. This means that goats required less food and were easier to transport at herd. Moreover, Goats can breed any time of the year as opposed to sheep, Who also produced milk, But mating season only came around during fall and winter. Before the age of pasteurization, Cheese makers knew that certain cheeses could cause constipation or kidney stones, So they advised their customers to supplement these side effects by eating in moderation, Along with other foods and consuming walnuts, Almonds, Or horseradish. The goal of cheese making is to control the spoiling of milk into cheese. The milk is traditionally from a cow, Goat, Sheep, Or buffalo, Although in theory cheese could be made from the milk of any mammal. Cow's milk is most commonly used worldwide. The cheese maker's goal is a consistent product with specific characteristics, Appearance, Aroma, Taste, Texture. The process used to make a camembert will be similar to, But not quite the same as, That used to make cheddar. Some cheeses may be deliberately left to ferment from naturally airborne spores and bacteria. This approach generally leads to a less consistent product, But one that is valuable in a niche market. Cheese is made by bringing milk, Possibly pasteurized, In the cheese vac to a temperature required to promote the growth of the bacteria that feed on lactose and thus ferment the lactose into lactic acid. Cheese bacteria in the milk may be wild, As is the case with unpasteurized milk, Added from a culture, Frozen, Or freeze-dried concentrate of starter bacteria. Bacteria which produce only lactic acid during fermentation are homofermentative. Those that also produce lactic acid in other compounds such as carbon dioxide, Alcohol, Aldehydes, And ketones are heterofermentative. Fermentation using homofermentation bacteria is important in the production of cheeses such as cheddar, Where a clean acid flavor is required. For cheeses such as Zemental, The use of heterofermentative bacteria is necessary to produce the compounds that give characteristic fruity flavors, And importantly, The gas that results in the formation of bubbles in the cheese eyeholes. Starter cultures are chosen to give cheese its specific characteristics. In the case of mold-ripened cheese such as Stilton, Rockford, Or Camembert, Mold spores, Fungal spores may be added to the milk in the cheese vat or can be added later to the cheese curd. During the fermentation process, Once sufficient lactic acid has been developed, Rennet is added to cause the casein to precipitate. Rennet contains the enzyme chymosin, Which converts K-casein to para-K-casenate, The main component of cheese curd, Which is a salt of one fragment of the casein, And glycomacropeptide, Which is lost in the cheese whey. As the curd is formed, Milk fat is trapped in a casein matrix. After adding the rennet, The cheese milk is left to form curds over a period of time. Once the cheese curd is judged to be ready, The cheese whey must be released. As with many foods, The presence of water and the bacteria in it encourages decomposition. To prevent such decomposition, It is necessary to remove most of the water, Whey, From the cheese milk, And hence cheese curd, To make a partial dehydration of the curd. There are several ways to separate the curd from the whey.