Grimes, William. 2004. Eating Your Worlds. Oxford University Press.
-a molded mass of such food with its rind, often in a round flat shape: a 50-pound, muslin-wrapped cheese. -
ORIGIN Old English cese, cyse, of West Germanic origin, from Latin caseus.
Cheese Types
Pasteurized process cheese food is a variation of process cheese that may have dry milk, whey solids, or anhydrous milk fat added, which reduces the amount of cheese in the finished product. It must contain at least 51% of the cheese ingredient by weight, have a moisture content less than 44%, and have at least 23% milkfat.
Pasteurized process cheese spread is a variation on cheese food that may contain a sweetener and a stabilizing agent, such as the polysaccharide xanthan gum or the Irish moss colloid carrageenan, to prevent separation of the ingredients. The cheese must be spreadable at 70F, contain 44 to 60% moisture, and have at least 20% milk fat.
Pasteurized process cheese product is process cheese that doesn't meet the moisture and/or milk fat standards.
Imitation cheese is made from vegetable oil: it is less expensive, but also has less flavor and doesn't melt well.
For the record, Velveeta is pasteurized process cheese spread and Velveeta Light is pasteurized process cheese product. Cheez Whiz is labeled as pasteurized process cheese sauce, although that type isn't noted in the Code of Federal Resulations.
Blue cheeses - Roquefort, Stilton, Gorgonzola. These have been around for centuries and their origins are steeped in history.
By law, Roquefort is made only in the stark, cave-pocked region surrounding Roquefort-Sur-Soulzon in France. The sheep's - milk cheese is aged on ancient oak planks in multilayer limestone caves. The mold spores injected into the cheese are grown on rye bread especially made for the purpose. This is crumbly but creamier than Stilton, with the most intense flavor of all of the blues.
Stilton was first made in England about 1720 by a leicestershire housekeeper who sold the cheese at an inn in the village of Stilton. Although the recipe is not known, it is know the mold is not injected into the cheese but allowed to form naturally.
Italian Gorgonzola was initially made from milk produced by cows during the trek to the autoumn pastures in Lombardy. It is aged in caves. The cheese once was produced naturally, but it has become so popular that the mold spores now are injected. This is creamier and milder than the crumbly, pungent Stilton.
he crumbly, pungent Stilton. Spain Cabrales is a moist, crumbly cheese with purple veining, is almost as pungent as Roquefort.
Irish Cashel Blue has a buttery flavor and a creamy texture that is voluptuously runny at room temperature.
Maytag Blue Cheese, produced since 1941 in Iowa, has a creamy texture and a bold, peppery flavor.
Most blue cheese are semisoft.
Student Project
p>"Cheese to the rescue!" This is the slogan that heads up the latest
campaign on cheese, and to many, cheese is the hero in many of their meals.
Cheese is a nutrient dense food consumed by millions around the world
everyday as a staple of their diets. Cheese is one of the most varied
foods in the world. Taste, texture and aroma are three factors that separate
the many varieties of known cheeses. Cheese can range from bland to buttery
and from pungent to lightly delicate. The texture can be hard enough to
chip off in flakes or it can be runny enough to fall off of a spoon. Cheese
can also be totally rank in odor or virtually unnoticeable .Cheese can
be grouped into families or types according to these characteristics.
To find out more in depth information, check out the (http://cheesenet.wgx.com/)CheeseNet's
page on family groupings of cheese.
Cheese has a legendary history dating back to the area of the world known as the Middle East thousands of years before the birth of Christ. Legend has it that cheese was discovered by an unknown Arab nomad. He had filled a saddlebag with milk to sustain him on his journey across the desert by horse. After several hours of riding, he stopped to take a drink and discovered that the milk had separated into pale watery liquid and solid white lumps. Because the saddlebag was made from the stomach of a young animal, contained the coagulating enzyme known as rennin, the milk had been separated into curds and whey by the combination of the rennin, the sun, and the motion of the horse. The nomad was not too concerned with these details, though. He enjoyed the whey as a drink and ate the curds. Fact or fiction, the birth of cheese probably happened in a very similar manner to the story of the nomad. But if you are interested in more history, including the fact that cheese was mentioned in the Old Testament, (http://cheesenet.wgx.com/")
By scientific definition, cheese is the fresh or ripened product that results from the coagulation of a protein found in milk known as casein. The coagulation produces curds, which are drained from the liquid, which contains another milk protein, whey. The curd can be eaten immediately as fresh cheese, or it can be allowed to ripen or age. In aging, the curd is further treated by selected bacteria, mold, yeast, or a combination of these and then aged under careful conditions. Cheeses can be made from whole, lowfat, or skim milk or combinations of these types of milk depending on what the final product will be. A fairly recent invention in the world of cheesemaking is that of processed cheese which is made by blending one or more cheeses with an emulsifier.
All in all, it would be safe to say that we, as Americans have a love-hate relationship with cheeses. We crave the taste and texture, but we despise the fact that cheese is not low in fat by any means. However, we do use it in a lot of our recipes, and in the past 25 years, we have tried to become more knowledgeable in the art of selecting fine cheeses and the (http://www.epicurious.com/g_gourmet/g02_cheese/guide.html)accompaniments to go with them. It is important to remember that cheese is a concentrated source of many essential nutrients including calcium, protein and riboflavin.
So remember, next time you are enjoying a grilled cheese sandwich on a rainy day, that cheese is a nutritional food with quite a history and an equally long and complex process that goes into developing the many varieties that exist today, and when it comes to cheese, stick with the original and accept no substitute!
Excerpts from Bender, Arnold E. 1990. Dictionary of Nutrition and Food Technology. Butterworths, Boston.
Most of the lactose of the milk is lost with the whey. Legally must contain not less than 40% fat on a dry weight basis, and the fat must be milk fat.
