The Art of Cheesemaking

Wisconsin has a long tradition of crafting the world's finest cheese it all began when the first immigrants settled here to take advantage of Wisconsin's lush pastures and pure limestone filtered water a place where the quality of the milk would allow these craftsmen to create the world's finest cheese when you think of Wisconsin cheese one thing comes to mind pride the pride of over 160 years of experience that began when European cheese makers came to America seeking the ideal place to craft their traditional cheeses and create new cheeses we're going to show you how Wisconsin cheeses are made today from the time milk arrives at the cheese plant until the time you serve or bite into your favorite cheese variety because the more you know the more discerning you can be in selecting cheese and the more you'll come to value Wisconsin's cheese making heritage and quality the process begins when the freshest quality milk is delivered to Wisconsin cheese plants some plants are of a large capacity using the latest technology and most advanced methods some plants are of a small capacity using more traditional handcrafted means of production but large or small all employ a time-honored combination of craftsmanship and skill cheese making is still a process that involves intense labour and lots of time sometimes years it's not something you can rush or streamline and in Wisconsin we don't try to Wisconsin cheese makers take pride in the process and strive for consistent quality in the cheese's they produce today no other state sets higher quality standards than Wisconsin Wisconsin was the first state to grade cheese for quality and still requires our cheese graders to be licensed at the Department of Agriculture cheese graders evaluate in four areas flavor body and texture color and finish and appearance Wisconsin was also the first to license cheese makers and in Wisconsin no cheese is made without a license cheese maker in the plant during the cheese making process now an even higher level of excellence has been established with the Wisconsin master cheese maker program a demanding combination of classes and plant applications and inspections that only Wisconsin license cheese makers with at least 10 years of experience may take we're able to marry the science behind the cheese making with the artisan aspect so we're able to package it together because it's definitely something that needs to be appreciated on both sides to make a quality cheese it is the highest most rigorous degree of cheese education and training in the nation overall I think the cheese makers themselves see enough a lot of improvement in the quality of the cheese's that they're producing while the art of cheese making has advanced the basic process has stayed much the same and still primarily depends on the skill of the cheese maker just as the quality of ingredients affects the outcome of recipes high quality milk is essential for cheese making it's been said that cheese's milk leaked towards immortality in fact cheese is the concentrated form of milk the major components of cheese are milk proteins primarily casein milk fat and water after milk is received by the cheese maker it is weighed and tested for quality purity and composition the fat content is adjusted according to the type of cheese made from part skim to whole milk to cream for example traditional Swiss cheese is made with partially skim milk but baby Swiss is made with whole milk which gives it a creamier texture and more buttery flavor although yields vary based on the fat and protein content of the milk used it takes about ten pounds of milk to make one pound of cheese cheese can be made from either pasteurized or raw milk in pasteurized milk any pathogens are eliminated by heating the milk to over 160 degrees for about 15 seconds cheese made from raw milk must be cured for over 60 days to eliminate pathogens the favorable bacteria are known to cheesemakers as starter cultures specific cultures contribute to the resulting flavor and texture in different cheeses two examples of starter cultures are streptococcus and lactobacillus the starter cultures primary function is to convert the milk sugar lactose in the lactic acid which acidifies the milk and prepares it for the addition of rennet under the influence of acid and rennet the casein begins to coagulate or gel trapping most of the milk fat along with the proteins and some of the way as the gel like mass begins to solidify it is cut and occurs this begins the separation of curds from way way is the excess liquid which is removed in the cheese making process the size of the curds varies depending on the type of cheese being made large curds cooked at low temperatures retain more weigh have less protein bonding and yield softer cheeses such as feta or Brie curds that are cut smaller cook at higher temperatures which allows more way to escape and more protein bonding which yields harder cheeses such as Asiago or parmesan the ways either drained away from the curds for the curds are dipped or pumped out of the VAT in a perforated forms this step leads to a process known as the Knitting of the curds knitting transforms individual curds into one body of cheese with the characteristics of the type of cheese desired curd knitting time also permits lactic acid development and regulates moisture control with the combined action of the starter cultures still producing lactic acid the protein filaments merge into larger fibers and the texture changes from being very elastic to being firm and resilient shuttering is the flipping and turning process used in the manufacture of cheddar cheese here small curds are knit together then cut into slabs which are repeatedly turned to drain additional whey and foster proper acidity and cheese body these slabs are then cut or milled into peanut size shapes salted and then sold in bags as cheddar curds or pressed into various forms other knitting examples are the preliminary packing of Colby and the pulling or kneading of pasta falada cheeses in each case the curd mass is manipulated in different ways to transform the curd into different cheese varieties salts plays an important role during the Knitting process it is stirred directly into the curds for some types of cheeses such as cheddar rubbed on the surface during curing for Swiss or dissolved in brine for cheese's like provolone and mozzarella salt plays three important roles it encourages the curd to expel more way lowering the moisture content enhances the flavor and slows the bacterial activity which prevents over ripening in the final stage of the curd netting process curds are transferred to forms or molds and pressed by their own weight or by applied pressure the next step in the process is aging out the cheese the curing process plays a key role in the final outcome of many cheeses and differs with the variety of cheese being made curing temperatures range from 35 to 50 degrees Moisture can range from lower to higher levels at 80 to 95 percent this is the last step in the cheese making recipe which can take weeks months and with some cheese's years to complete provolone cheddar and Parmesan are examples of cheese with no visible signs of ripening they're ripened from the action of the bacteria evenly distributed throughout the cheese graer brick and Limburger are examples of surface ripened or washed-rind cheese's that develop flavor and texture from the action of a harmless mold bacteria or yeast that is applied to the surface during this process the proteins and fats continue to be broken down into simpler compounds which helps the cheese develop its final texture and flavor the bloomie Rhine donburi as a result of penicillin Candida a white mold incorporated in of the cheese-making process the mold produces enzymes which ripen the cheese from the outside in in a matter of weeks blue cheeses are mold ripened throughout the interior from the action of mold that develops with characteristic veins and pockets throughout the cheese there are several ways of categorizing cheese type of milk flavor ripening methods place of origin and degree of hardness a category is a family of cheeses that share similar characteristics varieties or types represent individual cheese's within the families styles refer to their shape and size the most universal and logical system for classifying cheese is by degree of hardness and it rests on legal definition the US legal standards of identity define maximum moisture minimum milk fat and in some cases age for current cheese standards go to WWE twisting cheese calm Wisconsin cheese makers produce more than 600 varieties types and styles of cheeses cheese as you find in stores throughout the world and in dining establishments throughout the nation Wisconsin leads the industry in the nation in the establishment of quality standards in cheese making education and training and in the support the state offers the cheese makers making fine cheeses is a labor of love it takes time the result better cheese quality better cheese performance and better tasting food it's a difference you can taste we hope you've learned more about the wide variety of award-winning cheeses made in Wisconsin about the craftsmen who make them and how our tradition of care and quality is being passed from one generation to the next you can sum it up all in one word Wisconsin you

Channel: Wisconsin Cheese

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Id: dQ6LZ6MgSek

Length: 11min 50sec (710 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 27 2017