FAQs

What the heck is rennet?

Rennet is an enzyme derived from the third stomach of a ruminant animal (eg. cow, goat, or sheep). It acts as a coagulant, and helps the milk curdle faster (turn from liquid to solid). Not all cheese involves animal bits. There is vegetarian rennet available, and in the olden days most cheese was made with no rennet at all. The natural acidity of souring milk would cause curdling. However that takes more time than even the most patient cheesemakers have, and rennet is key to some recipes where you want a curd with a higher Ph.

Pasteurized milk? Raw milk? What's the difference? Is it safe? legal?

Pasteurization is when you heat a liquid for a period of time in order to kill all microorganisms. Of course this kills good bacteria as well. Raw milk cheese is safe, as cheese is preserved through salting, drying, and acidulation, all of which create an environment inhospitable to pathogens. The USDA feels that raw milk cheese must be aged sixty days to be safe. Raw milk cheese, both imported and domestic, must be aged sixty days to be legal.

Goat's Milk, Cow's Milk, Sheep's Milk!? What's the @#$@'s the difference?

So milk is an emulsion and a solution; basically you have fats, proteins, sugars, and various solids (mostly calcium) floating around in water. What makes the difference in species and animal breed is the types and amounts of the various components. For example the proteins in Sheep and Goat are simpler and we digest them easier. Cow produces longer more complex proteins and we have trouble digesting them. However, the same proteins breakdown differently during aging, which results in the "sharp" flavor of aged cow's milk. Sheep's milk is usually the richest, with a greater variety and number of the various solids. Goats produce milk with less fat. Ayrshire cows make milk with smaller fat globules. Jersey cows have a high amount of Carotene in the various solids department, which results in a yellower cheese. Etc.

Do trendy phrases like "farmstead" and "artisan" mean anything?

Sure they do. If you go by the French classification there are four levels of production: Fermier, equivalent to our farmstead, means the cheese was made on the farm the animals were milked on, and the milk comes from one herd. Artisan means the cheese is made off the farm, but uses the milk of only one herd. Cremier, our word might be creamery, means the cheese was made in a smaller cooperative dairy with the milk of a few different herds. Industrial means what it sounds like, cheese produced in a huge factory. Generally in America, we use the word "artisan" to mean any well made cheese, and the word "Farmstead" to mean any cheese made in less than a hyper industrialized setting. The truth is most of the cheese available to us, particularly from Europe, would fall under the creamery category. Some of the greatest cheeses in the world can only be made in a creamery setting, and even industrial cheese can be great if made with care and intention. Sure, all things being equal I'd love my cheese to be fermier, but good cheese is good cheese. The proof is in the taste.