The common uses of cheese include:
• For making cheese sandwiches.
• For pizza topping.
• Cooking pasta.
• Grating salads.
However, there are many other uses of cheese in cooking which aren’t known commonly but consume huge
quantity of cheese of varied types.
Manufacturing of English Cheese:
Although numerous techniques and methods lend English cheese its distinct flavors and characteristics, however, there are three basic steps used in the manufacturing of cheese. To begin with the process of cheese-making, we transform the available proteins present in milk into solid lumps called curds. Thereafter, these curds are separated from the milky liquid called whey, and further shaped or pressed into molds. Finally, using one of the many techniques of ageing and curing, these shaped curds are ripened.
Ranging from more than four hundred types and having plus two thousand names cheese has a vast classification. There are several ways to classify them; from the bases of their ripening to their moisture content. There is however a broad classification of cheese on the basis of microbes rubbed on their surface and in the curd, this cheese is called Brie, Camembert Cheese and Gorgonzola, Roquefort Cheese respectively.
• Brie and Camembert are forms of soft cheese that maintain a creamy consistency.
• Gorgonzola and Roquefort cheese are examples of semi-soft cheese; these have a smooth texture and are usually uncooked.
• Then there are washed-rind cheese, hard cheese, natural cheese and processed cheese; all going hand-in hand in characteristics with their names.
On the basis of Moisture Ripening Methods
Cheeses are also classified on the basis of their ripening methods. Cheeses when ripened by microbes added to the curds such as Gorgonzola and Roquefort are called interior-ripened cheeses; and those ripened by the action of microbes rubbed on their surfaces such as Brie and Camembert are called surface-ripened cheeses.
Cheese is also grouped by its moisture content into fresh, soft, semisoft, hard, and very hard cheeses. Many of these classifications coincide because the texture of cheese changes as it grows old. Fresh cheeses, such as cottage cheese, are the soft, moist curds that have been cut and drained of their whey but never cooked or ripened. Cottage cheese is simply drained, mixed with cream or milk and seasoned. However, some fresh cheeses such as cream cheese and ricotta are lightly pressed or molded to improve their shape and property.
Soft cheeses, such as Brie and Camembert, have a creamy consistency and are usually surface-ripened. Semisoft cheeses have a smooth surface and are often uncooked. The interior-ripened blue-veined cheeses such as Blue cheese, Roquefort, and Gorgonzola fall under the semisoft category. Washed-rind cheeses or cheeses that are rubbed with brine-soaked cloths during ripening are also considered semisoft cheeses. Well known semisoft, washed-rind cheeses include Muenster and Limburger.
Hard cheeses have a firm, dense, uniform texture that ranges from waxy to crumbly. Many hard cheeses, for example Swiss, Cheddar, and Gouda, derive their firm texture from the cheddaring process, in which layers of curd are stacked on each other to squeeze out excess whey. Very hard cheeses—for example, Parmesan and Romano cheeses—are usually cooked, pressed into hoops or molds, and aged for as long as two years. It is because of their texture, very hard cheeses are used for grating, and are sometimes called grating cheeses.
Cheeses are also classified into natural and processed categories. Natural cheese is made from milk. Processed cheese is made by combining one or more kinds of natural cheese with coloring additives, flavoring substances, and emulsifiers. The mixture is melted and then poured into containers of various shapes and sizes to solidify. Processed cheeses have a longer shelf life than natural cheeses because they do not age. Like natural cheeses, processed cheeses retain many of the nutrients found in milk, but may lack the flavor and texture of natural cheeses.
