Editing Cheesemaking (section)

==Process==
{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2021}}
[[File:Fromagerie gruyères-égouttage-4.jpg|thumb|The production of [[Gruyère cheese]] at the cheesemaking factory of [[Gruyères]], [[Canton of Fribourg]], [[Switzerland]]]]
The goal of cheese making is to control the spoiling of milk into cheese. The milk is traditionally from a [[cow]], [[goat]], [[sheep]], or [[Bovinae|buffalo]], although, in theory, cheese could be made from the milk of any mammal. Cow's milk is most commonly used worldwide. The cheesemaker's goal is a consistent product with specific characteristics (appearance, aroma, taste, texture). The process used to make a [[Camembert (cheese)|Camembert]] will be similar to, but not quite the same as, that used to make [[Cheddar cheese|Cheddar]].

Some cheeses may be deliberately left to ferment from naturally airborne [[spore]]s and [[bacteria]]; this approach generally leads to a less consistent product but one that is valuable in a niche market.

===Culturing===
Cheese is made by bringing milk (possibly [[Pasteurization|pasteurised]]) in the cheese vat to a temperature required to promote the growth of the bacteria that feed on lactose and thus [[Fermentation (food)|ferment]] the lactose into lactic acid. These bacteria in the milk may be wild, as is the case with unpasteurised milk, added from a [[Microbiological culture|culture]], frozen or [[Freeze drying|freeze dried]] concentrate of [[starter (fermentation)|starter]] bacteria. Bacteria which produce only lactic acid during fermentation are [[homofermentative]]; those that also produce lactic acid and other compounds such as [[carbon dioxide]], [[Ethanol|alcohol]], [[aldehydes]] and [[ketones]] are [[heterofermentative]]. Fermentation using homofermentative bacteria is important in the production of cheeses such as Cheddar, where a clean, [[acid]] flavour is required. For cheeses such as [[Emmental cheese|Emmental]] the use of heterofermentative bacteria is necessary to produce the compounds that give characteristic fruity flavours and, importantly, the gas that results in the formation of bubbles in the cheese ('eye holes').

Starter cultures are chosen to give a cheese its specific characteristics. In the case of [[Mold (fungus)|mould]]-ripened cheese such as [[Stilton (cheese)|Stilton]], [[Roquefort]] or [[Camembert (cheese)|Camembert]], mould [[spore]]s (fungal spores) may be added to the milk in the cheese vat or can be added later to the cheese curd.

===Coagulation===
During the fermentation process, once sufficient lactic acid has been developed, [[rennet]] is added to cause the [[casein]] to [[Precipitation (chemistry)|precipitate]]. Rennet contains the enzyme [[chymosin]] which converts [[κ-casein]] to para-κ-caseinate (the main component of [[cheese curd]], which is a [[acid salt|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.
[[File:Fresh chevre hanging in a farmstead dairy.jpg|thumb|Fresh [[chevre]] hanging in [[cheesecloth]] to drain.]]

===Draining===
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 [[Drying|dehydration]] of the curd. There are several ways to separate the curd from the whey.
[[File:Van Gaalen cheese cellar, South Africa.jpg|thumb|upright|Maturing cheese in a cheese cellar]]

===Scalding===
In making Cheddar (or many other hard cheeses) the curd is cut into small cubes and the temperature is raised to approximately {{convert|39|C|0}} to 'scald' the curd particles. [[Syneresis (chemistry)|Syneresis]] occurs and cheese whey is expressed from the particles. The Cheddar curds and whey are often transferred from the cheese vat to a cooling table which contains screens that allow the whey to drain, but which trap the curd. The curd is cut using long, blunt [[Knife|knives]] and 'blocked' (stacked, cut and turned) by the cheesemaker to promote the release of cheese whey in a process known as 'cheddaring'. During this process the [[acidity]] of the curd increases to a desired level. The curd is then milled into ribbon shaped pieces and [[Edible salt|salt]] is mixed into it to arrest acid development. The salted [[green cheese]] curd is put into cheese moulds lined with cheesecloths and pressed overnight to allow the curd particles to bind together. The pressed blocks of cheese are then removed from the cheese moulds and are either bound with [[muslin]]-like cloth, or [[wax]]ed or [[Vacuum packing|vacuum packed]] in plastic bags to be stored for maturation. Vacuum packing removes oxygen and prevents mould (fungal) growth during maturation, which depending on the wanted final product may be a desirable characteristic or not.

===Mould-ripening===
{{Main|Cheese ripening}}
In contrast to cheddaring, making cheeses like [[Camembert]] requires a gentler treatment of the curd. It is carefully transferred to cheese hoops and the whey is allowed to drain from the curd by gravity, generally overnight. The cheese curds are then removed from the hoops to be [[brining|brined]] by immersion in a saturated salt [[Solution (chemistry)|solution]]. The salt absorption stops bacteria growing, as with Cheddar. If white [[Mold (fungus)|mould]] [[spore]]s have not been added to the cheese milk it is applied to the cheese either by spraying the cheese with a [[Suspension (chemistry)|suspension]] of mould spores in water or by immersing the cheese in a bath containing spores of, e.g., ''[[Penicillium candida]]''.

By taking the cheese through a series of maturation stages where temperature and relative humidity are carefully controlled, allowing the surface mould to grow and the mould-ripening of the cheese by fungi to occur. Mould-ripened cheeses ripen very quickly compared to hard cheeses (weeks against months or years). This is because the [[fungi]] used are biochemically very active when compared with starter bacteria. Some cheeses are surface-ripened by moulds, such as Camembert and Brie, some are ripened internally, such as Stilton, which is pierced with stainless steel wires, to admit air to promote mould spore germination and growth, as with ''[[Penicillium roqueforti]]''. Surface ripening of some cheeses, such as [[Saint-Nectaire]], may also be influenced by [[yeasts]] which contribute flavour and coat texture. Others are allowed to develop bacterial surface growths which give characteristic colours and appearances, e.g., by the growth of ''Brevibacterium linens'' which gives an orange coat to cheeses.