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Cheeses according to hardness and rind
This is the simplest type of cheese. They are neither fermented nor matured. Their high moisture content, coupled with the high humidity, attracts and encourages the growth of the classic white penicillium mould. This type of cheese is creamy and smooth. They are based on cow's milk, skimmed or unskimmed, and sometimes enriched with cream. Bloomy-rind cheeses These cheeses are neither pressed nor cooked. They are salted and seeded with Penicillium candidum that gives them their bloom (the white down that takes on a golden aspect as it ages.) Washed-rind cheeses The curd, which may or may not be cut depending on how soft the final cheese should be, is scooped into moulds and left to drain. The high moisture of the curd and the humidity of the maturing rooms attract a bitter-tasting, grey, hairy mould called "cat fur". They are raw or pasteurised milk cheeses that come from the north of France, the east of Belgium, Luxembourg and the western marches of Germany. The maturation period lasts from two to six months, then the cheeses are washed in slightly salted brine. These cheeses are rather spicy and outrageously piquant in taste and aroma. They can smell yeasty or almost meaty. Pressed, uncooked cheeses For this type of cheese the raw or pasteurised milk is heated to 36 C and coagulated at a slightly lower temperature. The curds are fragmented into tiny particles the size of rice grains and pressed through cloths to extract the whey. The maturation takes two to three months. The rind is brushed to obtain a regular patina and prevent patches of humidity. Pressed, cooked cheeses Hard, pressed, cooked cheeses are virtually identical to the semi-hard, pressed, cooked cheeses. These cheeses are made using the evening's milk, left to stand overnight and skimmed, mixed with that of the next morning. Maturation takes place in a cool, humid cellar, and lasts four to ten months, during which the cheese is washed in a low-salt brine and scraped. Blue-mould cheeses The blue mould is a strain of penicillium that is added to the milk before the rennet is added either in liquid or powder form. Most blue cheeses are normally wrapped in foil to prevent them from drying out. They are neither pressed nor cooked. They are usually made from cow's milk. Natural-rind cheeses These are mainly goat's and sheep's cheeses. When young, they have a slightly wrinkled, cream-coloured rind. In time they dry out, the wrinkles become more pronounced and the character and flavour increases, along with the growth of bluish grey mould. Their taste is fresh, almost fruity, with undertones of goat. To mature, these cheeses must be kept dry. Processed cheeses These are the result of melting one or more pressed, cooked or uncooked cheeses, and adding milk, cream, butter and sometimes flavouring agents. One or several ripened cheeses are heated and mixed, then pasteurised at high temperature (130-140 C) after other dairy products, such as liquid or powdered milk, cream, butter, casein, whey, and seasoning, have been added. |
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