How It’s Made

Cheese is made by heating whole milk for about an hour. It is then ripened by adding bacteria and rennet or a microbial enzyme, and kept warm while the milk sugars are converted into lactic acid. This releases the whey from the milk. It will begin to look like yogurt, which is really a thin form of fresh cheese.

Once the cheese has cooked, it is strained to separate out the whey, and the curds are pressed or milled. Salt is often added at this stage or the cheese may be soaked in brine. The cheese is then ripened which can take it from a soft creamy fresh cheese to a dried, aged one. Cheeses can be allowed to grow mould or may be wrapped in grape leaves. Some develop rinds, others are soaked in wine.

How the cheese is cooked, separated from the whey, and handled, affects the flavour and texture of the cheese. Mozarella for example, is cooked twice, then stretched.

Health Benefits

Finnish scientists have shown a link between cheese and a healthy immune system among the elderly because it acts as a carrier for probiotic bacteria.

The study recommends daily doses of probiotic cheese to help fight age-based deterioration of the immune system (immunosenescene) which can lead to the body being unable to resist disease and infection.

Since most bacteria enter the body through the mouth and 70% of immunoglobulin are created in the gastrointestinal tract , the team considered the possibility that one could fight immunosenescene through food.

They asked volunteers from a senior’s care residence to eat a slice of either placebo or probiotic Gouda cheese with their breakfast for four weeks. For those taking the Gouda, blood tests showed enhanced natural and acquired immunity through the activation of NK blood cells and an increase in phagocytic activity.