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Cheese is a food made from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep, by coagulation. The milk is acidified, typically with a bacterial culture, then the addition of the enzyme rennet or a substitute (e.g. acetic acid or vinegar) causes coagulation, to give "curds and whey". Some cheeses also have molds, either on the outer rind (similar to a fruit peel) or throughout. Cheese can be good addition to your food.
Hundreds of types of cheese are produced. Their different styles, textures and flavors depend on the origin of the milk (including the animal's diet), whether it has been pasteurized, butterfat content, the species of bacteria and mold, and the processing including the length of aging. Herbs, spices, or wood smoke may be used as flavoring agents. The yellow to red color of many cheeses is a result of adding annatto. Cheeses are eaten both on their own and cooked in various dishes; most cheeses melt when heated.
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, then the addition of rennet completes the curdling. Vegetarian alternatives to rennet are available; most are produced by fermentation of the fungus Mucor miehei, but others have been extracted from various species of the Cynara thistle family.
Emmental |
Emmental, Emmentaler, Emmenthal, or Emmenthaler is a cheese from Switzerland. It is sometimes known as Swiss cheese in North America, Australia and New Zealand, although Swiss cheese does not always imply Emmental.
The cheese originally comes from the Emme valley in the canton of Bern. Unlike some other cheese varieties, the denomination "Emmental" was not protected ("Emmentaler Switzerland" is, though). Hence, Emmental of other origin, especially from France and Bavaria, is widely available. Even Finland is an exporter of Emmental cheese.
Emmental is a yellow, medium-hard cheese, with characteristic large holes. It has a piquant, but not really sharp taste. Three types of bacteria are used in the production of Emmental: Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus, and Propionibacter shermani. In the late stage of cheese production, P. shermani consumes the lactic acid excreted by the other bacteria, and releases carbon dioxide gas, which slowly forms the bubbles that make holes.
The Emmental is the valley of the Emme river in west central Switzerland in the canton of Bern, a region mostly devoted to farming, particularly dairy farming. Its notable cities are Burgdorf and Langnau.
The original Emmental cheese is produced there, and the dairy industry is still the predominate economy factor. Pottery from the region is also prized, and the ceramics of the region have endured since the 17th century practically unchanged.
| Mozzarella |
Mozzarella is a generic term for several kinds of originally Italian cheeses that are made using spinning and then cutting (hence the name; the Italian verb mozzare means "to cut"):
- Mozzarella di Bufala (buffalo mozzarella), made from domesticated water buffalo milk
- mozzarella fior di latte, made from fresh pasteurized or unpasteurized cow's milk
- low-moisture mozzarella, which is made from whole or part skim milk, and widely used in the foodservice industry
- smoked mozzarella
Fresh mozzarella is generally white, but may vary seasonally to slightly yellow depending on the animal's diet. It is a semi-soft cheese. Due to its high moisture content, it is traditionally served the day it is made, but can be kept in brine for up to a week, or longer when sold in vacuum-sealed packages. Low-moisture mozzarella can keep refrigerated for up to a month, though some pre-shredded low-moisture mozzerella is sold with a shelf life of up to 6 months. Mozzarella of several kinds are also used for most types of pizza, lasagna, or served with sliced tomatoes and basil in Insalata caprese.
Brie |
Brie is a soft cows' cheese named after Brie, the French province in which it originated (roughly corresponding to the modern département of Seine-et-Marne). It is pale in colour with a slight greyish tinge under crusty white mould; very soft and savoury with a hint of ammonia. The white mouldy rind is edible, and is not intended to be separated from the cheese during consumption.
The region in France that gave its name to this cheese (Brie) is, in the French language, feminine: La Brie, but French products take the gender of their general category; in this case cheese (Le fromage) is masculine, and so Brie is also masculine, Le Brie.
Parmigiano Reggiano |
Parmigiano-Reggiano is a hard, fat granular cheese, cooked but not pressed, named after the producing areas of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna, in Emilia-Romagna, and Mantova, in Lombardy, Italy.
Parmigiano is simply the Italian adjective for Parma; the French version, Parmesan, is used in the English language. The term Parmesan is also loosely used as a common term for cheeses imitating true Parmesan cheese, especially outside Europe; within Europe, the Parmesan name is classified as a protected designation of origin. Parmigiano-Reggiano is made from raw cow's milk or cured goat milk
Roquefort |
Roquefort is a sheep milk blue cheese from the south of France, and together with Bleu d'Auvergne, Stilton and Gorgonzola is one of the world's best-known blue cheeses. Though similar cheeses are produced elsewhere, European law dictates that only those cheeses aged in the natural Combalou caves of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon may bear the name Roquefort, as it is a recognised geographical indication, or has a protected designation of origin. Roquefort is sometimes known as the "King of Cheeses", a distinction that is also used for the Italian Parmigiano Reggiano, the French Brie de Meaux & Époisses de Bourgogne, and the English Stilton [citation needed].
The cheese is white, crumbly and slightly moist, with distinctive veins of green mould. It has characteristic odor and flavor with a notable taste of butyric acid; the green veins provide a sharp tang. The overall flavor sensation begins slightly mild, then waxes sweet, then smoky, and fades to a salty finish. It has no rind; the exterior is edible and slightly salty. A typical wheel of Roquefort weighs between 2.5 and 3 kilograms, and is about 10 cm thick. As each kilogram of finished cheese requires about 4.5 litres of milk, Roquefort is high in fat, protein and minerals, notably calcium.
Feta |
Feta (Greek: φέτα, also spelled fetta) is a brined curd cheese traditionally made in Greece with goat's and sheep milk. Since 2005, feta has been a protected designation of origin in the European Union, and defined as having at least 70% sheep's milk, with the remainder being goat’s milk. Outside the EU, cheeses sold as 'feta' may include cow's milk, or even be comprised of exclusively cow's milk.
Feta is an aged cheese, commonly produced in blocks, and has a slightly grainy texture. It is used as a table cheese, as well as in salads, pastries and in baking, notably in the popular phyllo-based dishes spanakopita ("spinach pie") and tyropita ("cheese pie").
Similar white brined cheeses (often called 'white cheese' in the various languages) are found in the eastern Mediterranean and around the Black Sea.
Similar cheeses are common in Albania (djath), Bulgaria (sirene сирене), Republic of Macedonia (бело сирење, belo sirenje; 'white cheese'), Serbia (sir сир), Israel (gvina bulgarit Bulgarian cheese), Turkey (beyaz peynir 'white cheese'), Egypt (domiati), and Sudan (gibna beyda), Romania (brânză telemea), Russia (brynza, брынза), Ukraine (brynza, бринза), Iran (panir liqvan), Malta (Ġbejna tan- nagħaġ 'sheep's cheese' ) , and other countries. In some of these countries, the name "feta" is used interchangeably with the native, while in others "feta" is not used at all or refers to other (mainly imported) types of cheese.
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