Cheesemaking is an ageless art that has existed for thousands of years in human history. According to Bart Weimer, a professor of microbiology at UC Davis, cheese was discovered as a happy accident that occurred when a shepherd found they could store milk in the preserved stomach of a goat. The milk coagulated due to rennet, a set of enzymes that allowed people to preserve it in a nutritious, concentrated form. The microorganisms that preserve milk as cheese store the milk’s nutritious benefits, making the product healthy and high in protein.
Cheesemaking differs across varying areas as people have experimented or accidentally discovered specific cultures or processes that elicit different products. Each type of cheese has a distinct texture, flavour, and feel. Cheesemakers such as Maureen Cunnie, the production manager of Cowgirl Creamery, have created unique flavors reliant on the milk, cheesemaker, and environment. For instance, Cunnie and her team discovered a type of cheese in 2000 they called Red Hawk. The product depends on B.Linen, a bacteria that occurs in the air and makes stinky cheese stinky. It is important to note that Red Hawk, a happy accident, could not have been made in Petaluma because of its different microclimate; the B.linen thrive in Point Reyes, the discovery site.
Cheesemaking exhibits various common elements, such as adding culture to milk after reaching a particular temperature. However, this step varies based on the type of culture a cheesemaker uses and the amount put in the milk. It also involves allowing the culture to grow for a certain time and adding rennet to initiate the cheese coagulation process. Every cheesemaker also harvests the curd and separates it from the whey. Cheesemaking differs in terms of ingredients and enzymes used, allowing variations in the market that range from fresh to old, high or low in salt, and other variations such as texture, depending on the creation process.
It is crucial to discern that high-quality cheese making is an art that requires balancing science and craftsmanship. Researchers at UC Davis are amazed at the dynamic nature of cheese, using its culture to determine the bacteria’s breakdown of fat in the cheese as a critical component in differentiating cheese flavours. Cheesemakers have to understand the impact of temperature and time, its timing to progress through steps necessary to reach the final product, and handle it appropriately to ensure similar quality products that define every type of cheese. In this instance, an individual’s understanding of the varying types of milk, microorganisms, acid, and temperature should be integrated with timing, modification, and proper handling to elicit high-quality products.
Brining, the process of adding salt to cheese is problematic as the USA aims to cut salt consumption in its citizens. Cheese is a major part of Americans’ diets, with an average individual taking 33 pounds every year. These statistics indicate the necessity for intervention to reduce salt sodium chloride (NaCl). Researchers such as Michael J. McCarthy, a professor of engineering at UC Davis, aim to determine if other salts such as potassium can help cheesemakers avoid sodium chloride. However, this is easier said than done as salt interacts with cheese components, affecting its texture, taste, and overall quality. Conclusively, cheesemaking using other salts would require additional research to maintain product quality. In this way, cheesemaking could exhibit other changes soon as scientists discover other salts to use in place of sodium chloride.