Transcript The History of Cheese - Jonathan S. Deutsch, English/Theatre Arts

Behold the Power of Cheese
Jonathan Deutsch
CS322
Prof. Austin Lee
What makes cheese?
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Milk
A “culture”
A “coagulant”
Salt
Cheese is Cultured
• Instead of going to the theatre to get its
culture, cheese has bacteria added to it
– Louis Pasteur isolated the Streptococcus
lactis bacterium which was used as the first
cheese starter culture
– Buttermilk bacterium:
What’s a coagulant?
• A bacteria or enzyme that helps to change
“liquid” cheese to a solid state
– Originally found in plants
• Butterworts, artichokes, etc.
– Also found in the fourth stomach of “milk-fed”
cows
• In 16th Century Scotland, farmers would clean the
fourth stomach carefully and hang it to dry for a
day, then soak it in a salt solution and add it
directly to cheese
Salt in cheese? Mmm…mmm…
• Amount depends on type of cheese
– Hard pressed:
• Added to stop acid production from bacteria
– Brine-salted cheese:
• Cheese is added to a salt/water bath strong
enough to float the cheese, causing it to absorb
the salt
– Soft cheese:
• Helps add a rind to cheese
Popularity of Cheese
• Americans LOVE cheese
– In 1906 the average cheese consumption was:
• Five pounds per person per year
– In 2000 the average cheese consumption was:
• THIRTY pounds per person per year
Types of Cheeses
• English Cheeses
– Cheddar – white to pale yellow
– Double Gloucester – creamy yellow color
• French Cheeses
– Brie – “The Queen of the Cheeses”
– Camembert – soft, white-mold cheese
– Munster – dark yellow, strong flavor
– Roquefort – blue-mold
Types of Cheeses
• German Cheeses
– Limburger – smelly, white cheese
• Dutch Cheeses
– Edam – semisoft-hard cheese
– Gouda – like Edam, but sweet and nutty
• Italian Cheese
– Mozzarella – pure white, made from water buffalo &
cow’s milk
• Swiss Cheese
– Gruyere – smaller holes than typical Swiss cheese,
used in fondues
What did you learn?
What is the name of the bacteria used to culture
cheese?
Streptococcus lactis
What ingredients are used to make cheese?
Milk, culture, coagulant, salt
How many pounds of cheese does the average
America eat?
Thirty pounds per year
What is the “Queen of the Cheeses”?
French Brie
Cheese Racing
• A game invented in the United Kingdom in
answer to this question:
– What happens when you throw a piece of
individually wrapped cheese on a BBQ grill
without removing the plastic?
– The Answer:
• The plastic apparently does not melt although the
cheese does. The plastic wrapper inflates and
finally pops, after the cheese inside has completely
incinerated.
Resources
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iGourment.com - Types of Cheese
USDA - American Cheese Consumption
History of Cheese
Cheese Racing
How to Make Cheese
BEHOLD THE POWER OF CHEESE!