Acid-set cheese

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Paneer in sieve Paneer-in-sieve.jpg
Paneer in sieve
Fresh Bai cheese "Rushan cheese" is stretched and dried on bamboo. Xizhou Rushan.jpg
Fresh Bai cheese “Rushan cheese” is stretched and dried on bamboo.

Acid-set or sour milk cheese is cheese that has been curdled (coagulated) by natural souring, often from lactic acid bacteria, or by the addition of acid. This type of cheese is technologically simple to produce. [1]

Contents

When making soft acid-set cheese using bacteria, the coagulum results from production of lactic acid by the starter microorganisms. [1]

Cheeses can be classified according to a variety of features including ripening characteristics, special processing techniques (such as cheddaring) or method of coagulation. Acid-setting is a method of coagulation that accounts for around 25% of cheese production. These are generally fresh cheeses like, queso blanco, quark and cream cheese. The other 75%, which includes almost all ripened cheeses, are rennet cheeses.

Ricotta and most other whey cheeses are made by first heating the milk to between 90 and 92 degrees Celsius to create coprecipitation of casein and whey protein before addition of lactic or citric acid. [2]

Production

Rennet is also sometimes used in the processing of other fresh, soft cheeses like fromage frais, but it is not an essential ingredient and these cheeses can be produced by traditional methods without rennet or other enzymes. [3]

Ricotta is a high-moisture cheese, like cottage cheese, but it is not a pressed curd cheese. It can be made from whey or a blend of milk and whey. Traditionally, ricotta was produced from the whey byproduct of mozzarella and provolone production, but modern techniques usually use whole milk (sometimes without any whey). Milk can be blended into the whey to improve curd cohesiveness, neutralize the acid in whey and increase yield. This mixture of milk and whey is heated before enough food grade acid is added to drop the pH to the needed level (this could be some type of lactic, citric or acetic acid). Whichever type of acid is used by the cheesemaker it is important to maintain correct pH levels for the sweetness of the cheese's flavor. Some methods of mass-produced cheeses will use food grade caustic soda to neutralize the acid of the whey, before heating the blend and adding the coagulating acid. [4]

Regional varieties

Ripened Harzer cheese Harzer Kase.jpg
Ripened Harzer cheese

In Germany the term Sauermilchkäse is usually applied to ripened acid-set cheeses only, but not to fresh cheeses. The various types of ripened sour milk cheese include:

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Types of cheese</span> Classification of coagulated milk products

There are many different types of cheese. Cheeses can be grouped or classified according to criteria such as length of fermentation, texture, methods of production, fat content, animal milk, and country or region of origin. The method most commonly and traditionally used is based on moisture content, which is then further narrowed down by fat content and curing or ripening methods. The criteria may either be used singly or in combination, with no single method being universally used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheese ripening</span> Process in cheesemaking

Cheese ripening, alternatively cheese maturation or affinage, is a process in cheesemaking. It is responsible for the distinct flavour of cheese, and through the modification of "ripening agents", determines the features that define many different varieties of cheeses, such as taste, texture, and body. The process is "characterized by a series of complex physical, chemical and microbiological changes" that incorporates the agents of "bacteria and enzymes of the milk, lactic culture, rennet, lipases, added moulds or yeasts, and environmental contaminants". The majority of cheese is ripened, except for fresh cheese.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chhena</span> Type of cheese curds originating in India

Chhena or chhana is a kind of acid-set cheese originating from the Indian subcontinent that is made from water buffalo or cow milk by adding food acids such as lemon juice and calcium lactate instead of rennet and straining out the whey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quark (dairy product)</span> Acid-set cheese

Quark or quarg is a type of fresh dairy product made from milk. The milk is soured, usually by adding lactic acid bacteria cultures, and strained once the desired curdling is achieved. It can be classified as fresh acid-set cheese. Traditional quark can be made without rennet, but in modern dairies small quantities of rennet are typically added. It is soft, white and unaged, and usually has no salt added.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ziger</span> Swiss whey cheese

Ziger (German), Sérac (French) or Ricotta (Italian), is a group of fresh cheeses originating in Switzerland. Ziger is nationally widespread as it is the by-product of the manufacture of hard Swiss-type cheeses, such as Gruyère and Emmental. Made of whey, it is rich in proteins and it is historically a staple food in the Alpine regions.

References

  1. 1 2 Jones, D.G. (2012-12-06). Exploitation of Microorganisms. Springer. p. 284. ISBN   9789401115322 . Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  2. Ullmann's Food and Feed, 3 Volume Set. Wiley. 2017-06-19. p. 584. ISBN   9783527339907.
  3. Fundamentals of Cheese Science. Aspen. 2000. p. 363. ISBN   9780834212602 . Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  4. Sinha, Nirmal (2007-04-27). Handbook of Food Products Manufacturing, 2 Volume Set. Wiley. p. 638. ISBN   9780470049648 . Retrieved 23 March 2019.