QandAs: Food

What Is Cheese?

Answer:
Cheese is a food which consists of proteins and fat from milk, typically milk from cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep.

It is produced by coagulating the milk protein casein. Usually, the milk is acidified and the enzyme rennet is added to cause coagulation.

After this, the solids are then separated and are pressed into its final form. Some cheese will have mold on the rind or throughout the cheese. There are literally hundreds of different kinds of cheese throughout the world. The style, texture, and flavor of the cheese will vary based on the type of animal which gave the milk, the animal’s diet, whether or not the milk was pasteurized, the content of butterfat, the bacteria and mold, how it was processed, and how it was aged. The cheese maker may also use herbs, spices, or wood smoke to add extra flavor to the cheese. Most cheese will melt when it is heated.

Cheese is a valuable food because of its portability, long life, and high amounts of fat, protein, calcium, and phosphorus. It is also much more compact and has a much longer shelf life than milk.

The use of cheese predates recorded history. It is not known where the art of cheese making originated, but it was widely spread throughout Europe prior to the start of Roman Times, and was well established by the time of the Roman Empire. It is thought that the first cheese may have been made by people in the Middle East or by nomadic Turks in Central Asia.

When cheese is first created, cheese is usually salty, rubbery, and bland. Normally, cheese is left to age under controlled conditions. Depending on the type of cheese, the aging period can last from as little as a few days to several years. Age the cheese ages, microbes and enzymes will transform the texture of the cheese and intensify its flavor.