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| This article is part of the Cuisine series |
| Preparation techniques and cooking items |
| Ingredients and types of food |
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Spices & Herbs |
| Cuisines |
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French - Chinese |
| See also: |
Cheese is a solid food made from the curdled milk of various animals--most commonly cows but sometimes goats, sheep, reindeer, and water buffalo. There are over 400 types of cheese. Rennet is often used to induce coagulation in the milk, although some cheeses are curdled with acids like vinegar or lemon juice or with extracts of various species of Cynara (sometimes called vegetable rennet). Rennet is an enzyme traditionally obtained from the stomach lining of bovine calves or a microbiological (laboratory-produced) substitute is used. Bacteria are added to cheese to reduce the pH, alter texture, and develop flavor, and some cheeses also have molds, either on the outer skin or throughout.
The natural color of cheeses range from off-white to yellow. In some parts of the world, such as Wisconsin in the United States, the milk fat is low in beta-carotene, making the cheese a paler yellow than normal. In this case, it is common to add annatto plant dye as a coloring agent. Some cheeses are made with the addition of herbs and spices.
As a response to the loss of diversity in mass-produced cheeses, a cottage industry has grown up around home cheesemaking in some locations. In many European countries this has historically been the normal means of cheesemaking.
Different styles and flavors of cheese are the results of using different species of bacteria and molds, different levels of milk fat, variations in length of aging, differing processing treatments (cheddaring, pulling, brining, mold wash) and different breeds of cows, sheep, or other mammals. Other factors include milk, animal diet, and the addition of herbs and spices to some cheeses.
Some controversy exists regarding the safety of cheese made by the traditional methods of using unpasteurized milk and regarding how pasteurization affects flavor.
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Main article: List of cheeses
Major classes of cheese include:
In addition, there is a class of food known as processed cheese or cheese food. The most common form is the individual slice commonly used on cheeseburgers; although it is also sold in blocks or as a thick liquid. Processed cheese is similar to cheese, but also contains emulsifying salts acting as stabilizers. Heat treatment during the manufacturing process gives processed cheese a mild flavor, such as American cheese.
In 1546, John Heywood wrote in his Proverbes that "The moon is made of a greene cheese." Variations on this sentiment were long repeated. Some people have assumed that this was a serious belief in the era before space exploration, but Heywood was probably being sarcastic and others enjoyed repeating this as silly nonsense.
Because of the way saying the word makes one's mouth form a smile, in the U.S. and other English-speaking countries, the word cheese is said just before someone takes a picture.
Toasted cheese is called Welsh rabbit (or, incorrectly, rarebit), but has nothing to do with rabbits and probably not with Wales either.
The word "cheese" comes from Latin caseus and, later, West Germanic kasjus. Note that cheese in Modern German is Käse.
The first factory for the industrial production of cheese opened in Switzerland on February 3, 1815. France and Italy are the nations with the most diversity in locally made cheeses - with approximately 400 each. According to a French proverb, there is a different French cheese for every day of the year.
The love of cheese is called turophilia; fear of cheese is turophobia.
Certain kinds of hard cheese like cheddar have been found to help fight tooth decay if eaten soon after eating foods that promote it.
Cheese is also a slang which refers to body odor (e.g. toe cheese, dick cheese, head cheese, ass cheese)
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