UNIVERSIDAD DEL VALLE

FACULTAD DE HUMANIDADES
ESCUELA DE CIENCIAS DEL LENGUAJE
LECTURA DE TEXTOS ACADÉMICOS EN INGLÉS

Name: _______________________________________________
Code: _____________________ Date: _____________________

Instructions Activity – Making Cheese

- From the reading below, write up a set of formal instructions to prepare a well-ripened
Roquefort cheese and a soft-ripened Brie cheese. Whenever possible, give the rationale
for each step. In addition, give a full list of the ingredients (like milk) and devices (like a
container) used in the process.

Types of Cheese
3 There are lots of different types of cheese, but there's not a standard way of classifying them.
Some cheeses also fall into more than one category. They can be classified by age, country of
origin, fat content, dairy content, manufacturing methods, texture and special characteristics.
6 Fresh cheeses are the most basic. They're uncooked, unaged and sometimes still contain whey
(the liquid part of milk). They don't keep very long and therefore need to be eaten soon after
they're made. This cheese category includes mozzarella, cottage cheese, ricotta, cream cheese,
9 farmer cheese, mascarpone and queso fresco. Fresh cheese is characterized by its soft, creamy
texture and mild taste.
Soft-ripened cheeses are semisoft in texture and sometimes have a white, or "bloomy," rind. This
12 is created with the application of molds (more on this later). Soft-ripened cheeses are usually a
little more flavorful and buttery than fresh cheeses, but they're still very mild. Camembert and
Brie are examples of this type of cheese.
15 English Stilton is a blue-veined cheese. These cheeses resemble marble, with bluish-green veins
crossing through the pale cheese. The veins are mold cultures, introduced during the
cheesemaking process. Depending on the type of cheese, the mold may give it a very strong flavor.
18 Maytag Blue, Gorgonzola and Roquefort are other examples of blue-veined cheese.
Cheese (with the exception of processed cheese) can be made with milk from mammals other
than cows. Roquefort, a blue-veined cheese, and Pecorino Romano, a cooked, pressed cheese, are
21 both made with sheep's milk. Many varieties of cheese, including soft-ripened and blue-veined,
can be made with goat's milk.
Cheese Making Basics
24 All cheese starts with milk. Large cheesemakers get their milk in tanker trucks, which have to be
spotlessly clean and keep the milk at about 42 degrees Fahrenheit (5.6 degrees Celsius). Small
dairies may use milk from their own herds. Once the milk is collected, it is put into a huge
27 container and warmed.
First, the milk must separate into curds (solid) and whey (liquid). To start this process, the lactose,
or milk sugar, needs to become lactic acid. After warming the milk, cheesemakers add a starter
30 culture that contains one or more types of bacteria, including Streptococcus thermophilus and
Lactobacillus helveticus. These bacteria are also known as lactic acid bacteria (LAB) because they
produce lactic acid as they metabolize. The specific mix of bacteria depends on the type of cheese
33 being produced.

1
 Once the acidity level in the milk rises, the casein (one of the proteins in milk; whey is the other)
can curdle. This requires the addition of rennet, which is a group of enzymes extracted from the
3 stomach lining of a young cow, sheep or goat. In the stomach, rennet allows the animal to digest
its mother's milk. When added to milk, it makes the casein turn into curds.
After settling for up to two hours, the curdled milk has the appearance and texture of custard or
6 pudding. The temperature of the cheese at this point depends on the type of cheese being made.
Generally, higher temperatures produce firmer cheeses. Next, the curd is cut using a tool called a
harp, which releases the whey. The size of the curds will determine the type of cheese -- soft
9 cheeses come from large curds, while harder ones come from very fine curd. The whey is drained
and used as an additive in processed foods and in animal feed. The next steps in the cheese
making process depend on the type of cheese. We'll look at the possibilities in the next section.
12 Making Cheese
Once the cheese is condensed into curds and salted, there are still a few steps before it's ready to
eat. All of them really depend on what the cheesemaker produces. Although the type of cheese
15 became a factor with the temperature of the milk and the size of the curds, the differences
become even greater in the final steps.
If the cheesemaker is producing cheddar (or a similar uncooked, pressed cheese), for example, he
18 or she might cheddar the curds. In this process, the curds are stacked on top of each other,
pressed together and then stacked again to expel the maximum amount of whey and dry them
out. Then they're chopped fine, salted and pressed into molds.
21 Cooked, pressed cheeses come from curds that have been cooked and stirred to give them a soft,
stringy texture. High temperatures result in firmer cheeses like Emmental, while low ones create
the right texture for fontina. Mozzarella production ends after the cooking process. Blue-veined
24 cheeses aren't cooked at all, because they need a looser texture for mold to grow.
Salt flavors the cheese and also keeps it from spoiling quickly. If the salt has not already been
added to the curds, the cheese can be rubbed or washed with salt, or even floated in a briny
27 "bath." All of these methods affect the flavor of the cheese in different ways -- cheeses like
Parmigiano-Reggiano get a salt rub while washed-rind cheeses are washed with brine or other
liquids.
30 Next, the cheese is usually packed into a mold. Some are pressed to remove more whey, while
others are simply molded. The more a cheese is pressed, the denser its texture will be. Some
cheeses are finished after this stage, but many go through a ripening or aging period.
33 Before this stage, cheeses that need ripening usually taste bland and rubbery. During ripening, the
milk proteins in the cheese break down further and impart more taste. The two most important
factors during ripening are temperature and humidity, so cheese is usually ripened in carefully
36 controlled storage facilities. Soft cheeses need high humidity, and they ripen quickly. Hard cheeses
need slightly lower humidity. The humidity keeps the cheese from getting too dry and allows it to
ripen at the right pace. Many cheeses are regularly washed, brushed and turned while ripening.
39 During ripening, the starters that were used to begin the curdling process play a part again and
influence the taste and appearance of the final cheese. Cheeses with holes are made with bacteria
that eat lactic acid and give off bubbles of carbon dioxide. Blue-veined cheeses start with a culture
42 that feeds on oxygen. In a process called needling, cheesemakers make holes in the cheese, which
lets in oxygen to feed the bacteria that produces mold. Soft-ripened cheeses like Brie are made
with bacteria that makes them start ripening on the outside first. Mold is often sprayed on to the
45 surface to encourage the growth of white, "bloomy" rinds.