Cheese ripening

The effect of dairy salt in Cheddar cheese making: increased use of salt reduces moisture and slows the ripening process.[1]

Cheese ripening, alternatively cheese maturation or affinage, is a process in cheesemaking. It is responsible for the distinct flavour of cheese, and through the modification of "ripening agents", determines the features that define many different varieties of cheeses, such as taste, texture, and body.[2] The process is "characterized by a series of complex physical, chemical and microbiological changes"[3] that incorporates the agents of "bacteria and enzymes of the milk, lactic culture, rennet, lipases, added moulds or yeasts, and environmental contaminants".[2] The majority of cheese is ripened, except for fresh cheese.[2]

  1. ^ Decker, John W. (1895). Cheddar Cheese Making. John W. Decker. pp. 53–56. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "Cheese: Cheese Ripening". University of Guelph Department of Dairy Science and Technology. Retrieved 2017-04-28.
  3. ^ "Monitor biochemical changes during cheese ripening with infrared microspectroscopy". Emerging Food R&D Report. Entrepreneur Magazine. Retrieved 2010-10-23.