How cheese is made: Farm to table

The real story behind any cheese starts with the milk, which is partly a product of breed, but also a product of the health of the pastures in which the animals graze. Vermont cheese is currently comprised of milk from groups of mammals: cow, sheep, goat, and water buffalo, cloven-hoofed mammals belonging to the biological family classification of Bovidea, which are further classified as ruminants.

The protein and butterfat in the milk, which dictate the type of cheese and the ultimate flavor and texture of the cheese, varies between each group as well. Raw milk cheese, made from unpasteurized milk, is different from pasteurized milk, which is heated to destroy harmful organisms, but also robs the milk of some of its natural enzymes and flavor. Type of milk, and raw or pasteurized: these are the first questions that a cheese maker considers when embarking on the cheese making process.

1.
 
Milk - Farmstead cheese is made on the farm from milk pumped directly from the barn to vats in the cheese room, while artisan cheese is made from milk delivered or picked up at another farm. Milk is heated slowly in steel vats, and since this will be a raw milk cheese the temperature will be kept at 90* degrees. A starter is added to sour the milk and lower the pH to produce desired acidification.
2.

Rennet - After about 20 minutes, rennet is added to cause the milk to thicken and form yogurt or custard-like consistency. Authentic rennet comes from the lining of the fourth stomach of a calf, but has now been replaced by vegetable-based rennet or synthetically produced sources, without affecting the flavor. Once the rennet is stirred into the warm milk, it needs time to act, sometimes up to an hour. During this time, the vat is slowly heated and kept at to 90* degrees to form a custard or "set".

 
3.
Cutting or Breaking the Curds - Once the milk is firm and forms are springy to the touch, it is ready to cut into small pieces to release the whey. This is achieved with horizontal and vertical wire knives or a blade, which dice the firmed milk into small cubes to help separate out the watery residue, the whey. The mixture continues to be heated up to 101*degrees to expel more liquid, and little of the original volume is left after this process. The basic ratio of raw milk to cheese will vary between the type of animal. Sheep milk cheese, it takes approximately 5 pounds of milk for every 1 pound of cheese. (As compared to cows milk, which takes approximately10 pounds of milk for every 1 pound of cheese.)
4.
Curds & Whey - The mixture is cooled and the soft curds are transferred to cheese molds, while the whey is drained. The whey will be used to feed back to the sheep, or often cheese makers will raise a few pigs, who also enjoy the whey. It can also be used to fertilize the garden or fields. The curds are gently squeezed to extract more whey. (When cheddar cheese is made, after the whey was drained, the curds would be sliced into slabs and handfuls of salt would be strewn over the top. The curds would then be stacked to release even more whey.)
5.
Pressing - Gentle pressing of the curds will further release the whey, as well as form the shape of the final cheese. This can be done by hand, as is done on Bonnieview Farm, for this semi-soft cheese. (Since cheddar is typically aged for a minimum of two months, it would be pressed between cheesecloth on a mechanical press or using weights to firmly knit the curds.)
6.
Salting and Curing - Once the cheese is removed from the forms, it rests on shelves before it is dipped in a salty brine to help form the rind. Before it is transferred to a cool aging room, some cheese makers may choose to wash the cheese with a liquid such as balsamic vinegar, beer, brine or some type that encourages growth of the healthy mold spores that will infuse the cheese with heightened character. Soft-ripened cheeses, which develop rapidly, are often sprayed with an inoculate that produces gentle white mold to ripen the cheese from the outside in.
7.

Aging and Affinage - Affinage is the process of caring for the cheese and assisting in it's full development cheese, once it is transferred to a cool aging room, where it is left to mature on oak shelves, until its flavor is rich and mellow. It can involve regularly turning the cheese to ensure that it ripens evenly, and often involves washing the outside of the cheese with brine, beer, balsamic vinegar or some other type of liquid for the first few weeks. The temperature of the aging cave, as well as the careful monitoring of the developing cheese, is tantamount to successful affinage.

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