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Cheese

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File:Cheese market basle.jpg
Cheese selection on market stand in Basel, Switzerland

Cheese is a foodstuff made from the curdled milk of various animals, usually cows, but occasionally goats, sheep, and water buffalo. Rennet is often used to induce milk to curdle, although some cheeses are curdled with acids like vinegar or lemon juice. Rennet is an enzyme obtained traditionally from the stomach lining of bovine calves, but more frequently nowadays, a microbiological (laboratory produced) substitute is used. Bacteria are added to cheese to reduce the pH and develop flavor, and some cheeses also have molds, either on the outer skin or throughout. The natural color of cheeses range from off-white to yellow. In some parts of the world, such as Wisconsin USA, the milk fat is low in beta-carotene, making the cheese a paler yellow than normal. In this case it is common to add annatto plant dye as a coloring agent.

Some cheeses are made with the addition of herbs and spices. In some locations as a response to the loss of diversity in mass-produced cheeses, a cottage industry has grown up around home cheesemaking.

Different styles and flavors of cheese are the result of using different species of bacteria and molds, different levels of milk fat, variations in length of aging and differing processing treatments (cheddaring, pulling, brining, mold wash). Other factors include milk animal diet and the addition of herbs and spices in some cheeses.

Some controversy exists over the safety of cheese made by traditional methods using unpasturized milk and over how pasteurization affects flavor.

Styles of cheese

Major classes of cheese include:

In addition, there is a class of foodstuff known as process cheese or cheese food. The most common form is the individual slices commonly used on cheeseburgers. These are based on natural cheese, but also containing emulsifying salts that help stabilize the product. The heat treatment that it receives during manufacture gives process cheese a mild flavor. Some versions of this are known as American cheese.

The first commercial cheese factory was founded on February 3, 1815 in Switzerland.

See also List of cheeses.

Cheese Trivia

In 1546 John Heywood wrote in his Proverbes that "The moon is made of a greene cheese". Variations on this sentiment were long repeated. Some people have assumed that this was a serious belief in the era before space exploration, but Heywood was probably being sarcastic and others enjoyed repeating this as silly nonsense.

Because of the way saying the word makes one's mouth form a smile, in the USA and other English-speaking countries, the word cheese is said just before someone takes a picture.

Toasted cheese is called Welsh rabbit (or rarebit), but has nothing to do with rabbits and probably not with Wales either.

The word itself comes from Latin caseus and, later, West Germanic kasjus. Note that cheese in Modern German is Käse.

Cheese expressions and quotes

Like chalk and cheese - completely different

A dessert without cheese is like a beautiful woman who has lost an eye. —Brillat-Savarin.
A slice of pie without cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze. - Anonymous

Further reading

  • Cheese Primer, Steven Jenkins, Workman Publishing Company, 1996, hardcover, ISBN 0894807625
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