What is cheese?

Cheese is the generic name for a group of fermented milk based food products produced throughout the world in a great diversity of flavors, texture and forms.

At least 400 varieties of cheese are known and most are now made on a large scale in creameries.

Cheese is made by coagulating milk with enzymes or acid and then draining away the resultant liquid, leaving the solids or curds, the curd are then pressed together to form cheese. It involves the conversion of liquid milk which is unstable, bulky but highly nutritious material into cheese which is a stable, flavorsome, concentrated product that provides eating pleasure and has an extended shelf life.

Cheese is concentrated source of milk’s nutrients, including calcium, phosphorus and magnesium, as well as vitamins and trace elements.

Cheeses are classified according to how they are manufactured and the ingredient used:
*Hard pressed cheese – Cheddar, Derby
*Lightly pressed cheese – Caerphilly, Lancashire
*Blue veined cheeses – Blue Stilton
*Acid curd cheese – cottage cheese
*Processed cheese
*Cream cheese
What is cheese?