Cheese

Cheese is made from milk.
Most cheese is made from cow's milk.
Some cheese is made from goat's milk.
Some cheese is made from sheep's milk.
There are different kinds of cheese.

The First Cheese?
According to legend, cheese was first made in the Middle East when a man travelled across the desert with his saddlebag full of milk for the journey. After some time he stopped for a drink and found that the milk had soured. It had become solid lumps and watery liquid, or curds and whey.

Cheese is made from milk.

Most cheese is made from cows' milk, but many cheeses are made from goats' milk or sheeps' milk.

Sheep being milked

The whey is being poured out of the bowl, leaving the curds behind

Curds and whey

The curds are the solid part of milk, and consist of protein, fat, water and a small amount of sugar and milk.

The whey is the liquid that separates from the solid. It contains sugar.

How Cheddar Cheese is Made
Today there are thousands of different kinds of cheese. The most popular kind is cheddar. It was named after the village of Cheddar in England.

Cheddar is made by heating the curds so they lose moisture, or whey, then pressing them so that even more moisture is lost. The last of the whey is then drained off.

First the curd is cut into large blocks which are stacked on racks, then rotated so that different ones are on top. This is called 'cheddaring'.

The next stage is to mill the curds into small pieces and add salt. The curd is then put into big hoops lined with cheesecloth and pressed.

Every few weeks the cheeses are turned and brushed so that they mature evenly. The longer it is stored, the more flavour a cheese develops.

Modern Cheesemaking
Modern methods of cheesemaking have made the cheese flavours more standard. Instead of using cheesecloth, large blocks of cheddar are pressed into blocks which are then vacuum-packed. This doesn't allow the cheese to breathe and form a rind like the traditional method, but it does make it cheaper to make cheese.

Processed Cheese
Processed cheddar is made from a blend of cheddars. It is heated with additives which prevent it from maturing. Processed cheddar is made into blocks, slices or sticks. It is also made into a spread.

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Cheddar Cheese (2000). [Online], Available: www.kidcyber.com.au