Cheese is a food that is made from milk. When making cheese, the milk solids such as proteins, fats and minerals are separated from the moisture. During the preparation, various substances are added, whereby the cheese retains the main components animal fat, protein, calcium and vitamins A, B and D. Making cheese is a process that has been used in the Netherlands for centuries. The products have also been exported since the Middle Ages.
Curd as a precursor
The first step in making cheese is to bring the fat percentage to a certain level. For low-fat cheese this is 20% and for regular cheese 45%. A process is then set in motion to acidify the milk. A mixture of lactic acid bacteria is added, which converts the milk sugar into lactic acid.
Rennet is added during the acidification process. Rennet comes from the abomasum of calves and is a solution containing digestive enzymes. It is a by-product of the calf slaughterhouse. These enzymes ensure that certain milk proteins clump together, creating curd that is the precursor to the cheese. Because the substances in the calf loin are very active, only one liter of calf loin is required to curdle 10,000 liters of milk at a temperature of 34 degrees within 45 minutes.
The resulting curd is cut into small pieces and drained so that the excess moisture, the whey, flows away. This whey still contains valuable substances and is used as animal feed and is also used in some soft drinks.
From curd to ripening
After the whey has drained away, curd chunks are pressed into a special cheese mold that determines the final shape of the cheese. The pressing takes about four hours. The cheeses are turned several times between pressing. The pressed curd is then immersed in a brine bath for some time. The initially soft curd was still eaten as May cheese in the past, but is now hardly available, because there are only a few fans of May cheese.
The salt that penetrates into the cheese in the brine bath promotes crust formation, firmness, flavor and also shelf life. A factory cheese stays in the brine longer than a farmer’s cheese. After the brine bath, the cheese is still soft and has little flavor. Ultimately, the young cheese that is thus created is provided with an anti-fungal coating (plastic protective layer) and stored in special areas for further ripening. As it ripens it becomes firmer and the cheese gets more flavor depending on the ripening period. Maturation can take 4 weeks to 1 year. There are several terms to indicate the ripening time of a cheese.
- Young cheese 4 weeks
- Young matured 8 – 10 weeks
- Matured 16 – 18 weeks
- Extra matured 7-8 months
- Old cheese 10-12 months
- Aged cheese 18 months or more
Cheese making is a very old process
Making cheese is a very old process that has been developed on the basis of practical experience. Cheese was also made in early Dutch history. This is evidenced by centuries-old earthenware pots found with holes to allow the curd to drain.
In the Middle Ages, Dutch cheese was exported abroad and from the Golden Age (1600-1700) the Netherlands became known abroad as a cheese country.
In earlier years, the cheese was usually made by the female farmers on the farm. Dairies were introduced at the end of the 19th century. But especially in peat meadow areas of South Holland and Utrecht, there are still farmers who make their own cheese.
Way of storing milk
There are different types of cheese, depending on the type of milk and the method of preparation. Each region has its own cheese. As milk can be used, the milk of cows, goats or sheep. In fact, cheese making is a way of keeping milk longer while preserving the same substances.