CHEESE / FROMAGE

Most of the cheese of the world is consumed by French than any other throughout the world. After dinner they would feel happy if a selection of cheese is served on a wooden board with assorted cut fruits.

FLOWCHART FOR MAKING CHEESE

Warm the milk

 Add starter culture and Rennet

The milk coagulates into a single huge curd

 

The curd is stirred and cut to drain off the whey

The curd is heated, sometimes pressed, to remove more whey

The curd is molded and shaped into a cheese, salting taking place before or after this process

The cheese is matured under controlled conditions.

PROCESS:

·          It’s made from milk (sheep’s milk, buffaloes, reindeer’s, goat’s, cow’s, etc.)

·         The basic principle is to coagulate or curdle the milk so that it changes to curd (milky white lumps) and whey (a thin liquid).

·         This curdling may be done by:

Ø  Starter – a bacteria that produces lactic acid and,

Ø  Rennet – a substance obtained from the stomach lining of young calves that contains a     coagulating enzyme that helps speeding up the separation of liquids and solids.

·         After treating with a lactic starter, the development of acid starts.

·         Then, its cut and the whey is drained form the cheese.

·         The cheese is then packed and marketed without further ripening.

·         Cheese that undergo a ripening process (also known as ‘Curing’, ‘Maturing’, or ‘Ageing’ process) are all treated with Rennet.

TYPES OF CHEESE:

Factors affecting categorization of cheese are:

Ø  Length of ageing

Ø  Texture

Ø  Methods of making

Ø  Fat content

Ø  Kind of milk used

Ø  Country of origin

CATEGORIZATION:

Ø  Length of ageing:

☼     Fresh cheese:

Fresh cheese made without additional preservatives can spoil in few days. These are soft and spreadable with a mild taste. It’s made with cow’s milk.

e.g. – Cottage cheese, Neufchâtel, Chevre, Feta, Italian Ricotta, Mozzarella, etc.

Ø  By texture:

The texture depends on factors controlling the hardness of a cheese with its moisture content which is dependent on the pressure with which it is packed into molds and length of time it is aged.

EXAMPLES OF CHEESE

NAME	CHARACTERISTICS	COUNTRY NAME
BRIE CAMEMBERT FETA DEMI SEL CHEDDAR CHESHIRE DERBY PARMESAN EDAM CAERPHILLY LANCASHIRE LEICESTER DANISH BLUE GORGONZOLA ROQUEFORT STILTON DORSET BLUE	SOFT CHEESE A SMALL DISC MADE FORM COW’S MILK MADE FROM COW’S, GOAT’S AND SHEEP’S MILK MADE FORM GOAT’S AND SHEEP’S MILK MADE FROM SOUR MILK HARD CHEESE NUTTY FLAVOR AND CREAMY IN COLOR CRUMBLY SLIGHTLY SOFT SAGE FLAVORED DRY CHEESE USED FOR COOKING PURPOSES PALE YELLOW WITH A WAXY TEXTURE SEMI HARD CHEESE BUTTER MILK FALVORED SIMILAR TO CHESHIRE CHEESE MILD FLAVOR, ORANGE COLOR CHEESE BLUE CHEESE MADE FROM COW’S MILK & WRAPPED IN FOILS WHITE CURD INTERSECTED BY BLUE VEINS MADE FROM COW’S MILK & CREAMY, CRUMBLY. WRINKLED SURFACE & BROWNISH GREY IN COLOR MADE FROM SKIMMED MILK AND CLOSED TEXTURE	FRANCE FRANCE GREECE FRANCE ENGLAND ENGLAND ENGLAND ITALY HOLLAND ENGLAND ENGLAND ENGLAND DENMARK ITALY FRANCE ENGLAND ENGLAND

COVER AND SERVICE PROCEDURE:

The cheese course is normally offered towards the end of meal as an alternative to the sweet course. The cover to be laid is as follows:

o   Side knife

o   Side plate

o   Sometimes a Desert fork also

The cheese board or trolley will be presented to the customer containing a varied selection of cheese in like condition together with sufficient cheese knives for cutting.

ACCOMPANIMENTS:

In the cheese service, after the layout of cover the following accompaniments are placed on the table. These are as follows:

o   Cruet set

o   Butter in butter dish on doily paper with an under liner and butter knife

o   Celery served in celery glass, filled with crushed ice on an under liner

o   Radish in season, placed in a glass bowl or under liner

o   Castor sugar for cream cheese

Assorted cheese biscuits like cream crackers and water biscuit, etc