Potato
Potato cheese is made in Thuringia, central Germany, usually from cow's milk but also at times from ewe's or goat's milk. The curd is made either from sour milk or from milk to which rennet is added. Potatoes are peeled, boiled, and either mashed or put through a sieve. The curd and potatoes are mixed in various proportions, such as 3 parts of potatoes to 2 parts of curd, or 1 part of potatoes to 2 or 3 parts of curd. Salt is added, and sometimes caraway seed is added also. The mixture is ripened for 2 to 4 days. Then it is mixed thoroughly again and placed in forms for a day. The cheeses are removed from the forms and dried, sometimes covered with beer or cream, and then placed in tubs and ripened for about 2 weeks.
Prato
Prato cheese (Queijo Prato), which is made in Brazil, is a pasteurized-milk, semicooked, pressed, small-eyed, Gouda-type cheese. It is similar to the Cuban cheese, Patagras.
Prattigau
Prattigau is a cow's skim-milk cheese that is named for the Prattigau Valley in Switzerland, where it was first made. It is made also in France. It is made in much the same way as Limburger. The cheeses weigh between 20 and 25 pounds.
Prestost
Prestost, also called Saaland Pfarr, is a cow's-milk cheese that has been made in Sweden since the 18th century. The cheeses usually are cylindrical in shape and weigh from 5 to 30 pounds. Fresh, whole milk is set with rennet at a temperature of 90° F. When the curd is very firm, it is cut coarsely, then put in a sieve to allow the whey to drain off. The curd is collected in a cloth and kneaded to expel more whey. Whisky is mixed with the curd, then the curd is packed in a basket and salt is sprinkled on the surface. Curing is done in a cool, moist cellar. The cloth covering is changed daily for 3 days, and the cheese is washed with whisky after the third day.
Process
Process (or Pasteurized Process) cheese is made by grinding fine, and mixing together by heating and stirring, one or more cheeses of the same or two or more varieties. An emulsifying agent is then added to the mixture and the whole worked into a homogeneous, plastic mass. However, Cream, Neufchatel, Cottage, Creamed Cottage, Cooked, hard grating, semisoft part-skim, part-skim spiced, and skim-milk cheeses are not used. Lactic, citric, acetic, or phosphoric acid or vinegar, a small amount of cream, water, salt, color, and spices or flavoring materials may be added. The cheese may be smoked, or it may be made from smoked cheese, or so-called liquid smoke or smoke "flavor" may be added.
Cheese was heated and preserved in cans in Germany and Switzerland as early as 1895. Hard, ripened Process cheese was made in Switzerland in 1911. Canned Camembert cheese from Germany was marketed in the United States as early as 1914, and the first United States patent for processing cheese was issued in 1916. It is estimated that at least one-third of all cheese made in the United States, excepting the soft, unripened cheeses, is marketed as Process cheese. American Cheddar cheese is processed in greatest quantities, but considerable quantities of other American-type cheeses, such as Washed-curd, Colby, and Granular, and also Swiss, Gruyére, Brick, Limburger, and others are processed. Most of this is manufactured in a few large plants, as small-scale production is not practical.
Considerable skill is required in selecting the cheese to be used. It is selected on the basis of flavor, texture, body, age, acidity, and composition. Desirable cheese flavor is obtained by using sharp, fully-cured cheese, but cheese with minor defects such as imperfect rind, pinholes, gassiness, and open texture—as well as some mild flavor defects—can be used because these defects are either eliminated or minimized in processing.
Uniform composition, body, flavor and texture in the finished cheese are obtained by using cheese from two or more vat lots (in some instances as many as 20 or 30 vat lots) in each batch or blend. A vat lot is the cheese made from the milk in one vat.
The cheese for each batch is cleaned, cut if the cheeses are large, and run through a grinder into a steam-jacketed kettle or a horizontal cooker. The other ingredients are added either as the cheese is run through the grinder or while it is being heated.
Steam-jacketed kettles, equipped with mechanical agitators to stir the cheese, are available in various sizes but frequently hold from 200 to 400 pounds of cheese. As much as 30 minutes is required to heat the cheese in a large kettle.
In most large factories, horizontal cookers that hold 500 pounds or more of cheese are used. The cookers are equipped with screw-type propellers to stir the cheese, and live steam injected directly into the cheese heats it in from 3 to 5 minutes.
The cheese is heated to a temperature of at least 150° F., and usually 155° to 160°, and it is held at that temperature for at least 30 seconds but usually for about 5 minutes, the time depending on the physical characteristics of the cheese. When long, thin strings of hot cheese can be drawn from the batch with a spatula and the cheese is smooth, homogeneous, glossy, and creamy, it is ready to be packaged. In most factories, it is packaged automatically by machine in cartons that hold from 8 ounces to 5 pounds. The cartons usually are lined with transparent film, and they are sealed to exclude air. The packaged cheese is cooled to room temperature; then it is placed under refrigeration. The high temperature attained in heating, together with the heat retained during the several hours required to cool the cheese to room temperature, makes the cheese practically sterile; it keeps well and does not ripen further.
Analysis: Moisture, not more than 1 percent more than the maximum legal limit for the kind of natural cheese from which it is made, or 1 percent more than the average of the maximum legal limits if it is made from more than one kind; but in no case more than 43 percent (except 40 percent for Process Washed-curd or Colby; 44 percent for Process Swiss or Gruyere; and 51 percent for Process Limburger). Fat in the solids, not less than the minimum legal limit for the kind of natural cheese from which it is made, or the average of the minimum legal limits if it is made from more than one kind; but in no case less than 47 percent (except 43 percent for Process Swiss and 45 percent for Process Gruyére).
Fruits, vegetables, or meats, or mixtures of these, may be added to Process cheese, in which case the moisture content may be 1 percent more, and the fat in the solids 1 percent less, than in the corresponding Process cheese.
Process Pimento cheese is made by adding at least 0.2 percent of pimentos by weight to Process Cheddar or Cheddar-type cheese.
Analysis: Moisture, not more than 41 percent; fat in the solids, not less than 49 percent.
Process Blended
Process Blended (or Pasteurized Process Blended) cheese is made in the same way as Process cheese, except that Cream cheese or Neufchâtel cheese can be used in mixtures of two or more kinds and neither emulsifier nor acid is added. The moisture content must not be more than the average of the maximum limits of the cheeses blended.
Fruits, vegetables, or meats are sometimes added, in which case the moisture content may be 1 percent more and the fat in the solids 1 percent less than in the corresponding Process Blended cheese.
Process Cheese Food
Process Cheese Food (or Pasteurized Process Cheese Food) is made in the same way as Process cheese, except that certain dairy products (cream, milk, skim milk, cheese whey, or whey albumin) or concentrates or mixtures of any of these may be added, but at least 51 percent of the weight of the finished cheese food must be cheese.
Analysis: Moisture, not more than 44 percent; fat, not less than 23 percent.
Fruits, vegetables, or meats are sometimes added, in which case the fat content must be at least 22 percent.
Process Cheese Spread
Process Cheese Spread (or Pasteurized Process Cheese Spread) is made in the same way as Process Cheese Food, except that it contains more moisture (44 to 60 percent) and less fat (but not less than 20 percent) and must be spreadable at a temperature of 70° F. Fruits, vegetables, or meats may be added.
Provatura
Provatura is a soft cheese of the plastic-curd (pasta filata) type that originated in southern Italy. It was first made from buffalo's milk but is now made also from cow's milk. It is made in much the same way as Caciocavallo. Like Mozzarella, it is eaten while fresh.
Analysis: Moisture, 51 to 57 percent; fat, 12 to 18 percent; and protein, 20 to 22 percent.
Providence
Providence cheese, which is very similar to Port du Salut, is made in the monastery of Bricquebec in the Department of Manche, France. It is about 8 inches in diameter and 1½ inches thick.
Provole
Provole, a round, plastic-curd (pasta filata) cheese, is made from buffalo's milk in southern Italy. It is made in the same general way as Caciocavallo, and is similar to Provatura ar d Scamorze. It is eaten when only a few days old. Each cheese weighs about 2 pounds.
Provolone
Provolone, an Italian plastic-curd (pasta filata) cheese, was first made in southern Italy but is now also made in other parts of Italy and in the United States, principally in Wisconsin and Michigan. It is light in color, mellow, smooth, cuts without crumbling, and has an agreeable flavor.
Provolone is made in various shapes and sizes, each of which is identified by a more or less distinguishing name. Typically, the style called Provolone is pear-shaped and in the United States weighs about 14 pounds; in Italy, it weighs between 6 and 9 pounds and is called Provolone affetale if it weighs between 9 and 14 pounds. Larger styles, weighing as much as 50,100, or 200 pounds, are called Provolone giganti. Smaller styles, weighing from 1 to 5 pounds, usually are spherical and are called by various names such as Provoletti, Provolotini, and Provoloncini. Another style is sausage-shaped and is called Salame (Italian, sausage) if it weighs about 10 to 12 pounds, Salamini if it is smaller, and Salame giganti if it is larger (up to 200 pounds or more).
The Italian method for making Provolone and Caciocavallo are almost identical. However, Provolone contains more fat and the cheeses usually are smoked after they are salted and dried. After the cheeses are smoked, they may be dipped in paraffin; if they are not paraffined, they are oiled. Although Caciocavallo may be used as a table cheese after it has cured for 2 to 4 months, usually it is cured for longer periods and is especially suitable for grating. On the other hand, Provolone is an excellent table cheese after it has cured for 6 to 9 months, and the larger styles are still suitable for use as table cheese after curing as long as 14 months. Sometimes the surface of the cheese is grooved, because it was hung in strings or ropes or because it was molded in a grooved form. The cheeses are kept clean while curing. The yield is 9½ to 10½ pounds of uncured cheese, or 7½ to 8¾ pounds of cured cheese per 100 pounds of milk.
The method for making Provolone in the United States differs in some respects from the Italian method. The milk, which may be either raw or pasteurized, is put in a Cheddar-type vat and starter is added. The milk is set with rennet paste or rennet extract plus an enzyme preparation. After the curd is cut and the whey is removed, as in the Italian method, the curd is matted, like Cheddar curd, and then cut into slabs about 2 by 8 by 24 inches which are worked and stretched in hot water. In some factories, the curd is worked in a mixing machine. The machine, which holds about 500 pounds of curd, is a metal container equipped with an irregular-shaped metal-rod stirrer, with paddle-like elbows, that revolves on a horizontal axis. The water is added at a temperature of about 180° F. and usually is changed at least once during the mixing process. The curd is worked for about 15 minutes and reaches a temperature of about 135°. Then the mass of curd—now shiny, elastic, and stringy—is removed from the machine and cut into pieces for the individual cheeses. The yield of uncured cheese is from 9 to 9½ pounds per 100 pounds of cow's milk from which very little of the fat has been removed. If the cheese is made from raw milk, it must be cured at least 60 days.
Analysis (domestic Provolone): Moisture, not more than 45 percent (usually 37 to 43.5 percent); fat, 25 to 33 percent (fat in the solids, at least 45 percent and usually 47 percent); and salt, 2 to 4 percent.
Pultost
Pultost cheese, called Knaost or Ramost in some localities, is a sour-milk cheese made in small quantities in the thinly-settled mountainous region of Norway. Sour skim milk is put in a kettle, 2 percent of starter and usually about 10 percent of whole milk is added, and the mixture is cultured for several days; if the milk is not sour enough to curdle on warming, sour buttermilk is added to increase the acidity. When sufficient acid has developed, the mixture of curd and whey is heated slowly, with stirring, to a temperature of 130° to 140° F. It is kept warm for several hours and is stirred frequently to keep the curd from matting. Then the whey is drained off, and the curd is mixed thoroughly. About 4 percent of salt and a small amount of caraway seed are mixed in, and sometimes thick cream is added. The curd is placed in boxes or troughs and stirred occasionally. It is ready to eat in a few days as fresh cheese. However, it is held in storage if it is to be consumed as aged or ripened cheese. About 16 pounds of fresh cheese or 13 pounds of ripened cheese is obtained from 100 pounds of skim milk containing 10 percent of whole milk.
Quacheq
Quacheq is a ewe's-milk cheese made in Macedonia. Sour whey is added to the milk, and when the curd has coagulated it is removed and pressed. The cheese may be eaten while fresh or after it has ripened.
Quartirolo
Quartirolo is a soft, cow's-milk, Italian cheese made originally in Lombardy, in autumn. According to some authorities, it is the name given to Milano cheese that is made from September through November.
Analysis: Moisture, 52.8 percent; fat, 23.7 percent.
Queso Anejo
Queso Anejo (aged cheese) is a white, rather dry, skim-milk Mexican cheese, with a crumbly texture. The cheeses are made in round forms, and are cured for 6 to 8 months. They weigh from 11 to 22 pounds; they are, packed in jute bags, each of which holds 6 or 8 cheeses, for shipment.
Considerable cheese of this type is marketed in Mexico City. It is served with enchiladas and other native dishes. Some wholesalers cover it with red chile powder, and it is then marketed as Queso Enchilado.
Queso Blanco
Queso Blanco (white cheese) is the principal Latin-American cheese. It is made in a few small factories, but for the most part it is made on farms where it provides an important means of using surplus milk. The cheese is made from whole, partly skimmed, or skim milk; or from whole milk with cream or skim milk added. Much of the cheese is eaten fresh, within a day or two after it is made, either without being pressed or after pressing. Some of the pressed cheese is held for periods ranging from 2 weeks to 2 months or more.
The method of making varies in the different countries and on different farms in the same country, but in general is as follows:
Fresh, warm cow's milk is put into a wooden vat or tub, or in some instances a hollowed-out log, and it is curdled with rennet, sometimes after considerable acid has developed in the milk. After a coagulation period of 30 to 45 minutes, the curd is broken up by hand and gently squeezed in the whey until it is rather firm—usually' for 15 to 30 minutes. When the curd is sufficiently firm, it is removed from the whey, broken up, kneaded, and salted. Usually the salt is mixed with the curd, but it may be sprinkled on the curd after it has been put in the forms. At this stage the curd is fairly dry, soft, and granular, and has a salty flavor.
If the curd is pressed, it often is worked with the hands before it is put into the forms, to make it more pliable and plastic, and the cheese will be more compact. The forms or cheese boxes are various sizes—usually square or round, cloth-lined wooden frames with perforated bottoms. The cloth liner is drawn up over the cheese and topped with a wooden cover, which is weighted down with a heavy rock or lever press.
The pressed cheese is really hard, crumbly, matted rennet curd with a salty flavor and rather open texture. The high salt content, usually 5 percent or more, retards or prevents curing; however, when the cheese is held it develops a strong flavor and odor and it dries and may be used as a grating cheese. Some of the skim-milk cheese is smoked for 2 or 3 days, which darkens the surface of the cheese and dries it somewhat in addition to giving it a smoked flavor.
The cheese is known by many different local names. For example, fresh, skim-milk, cottage-type cheese is called Queso de Puna in Puerto Rico; and Queso Fresco (fresh cheese) in El Salvador and Venezuela; also, in Venezuela, Queso de Llanero, Queso de Maracay, and Queso de Perija, and other names to denote the place of manufacture.
Fresh cheese made from whole or partly skimmed milk in Mexico is called Panela.
Cheese made from whole or partly skimmed milk and pressed is called Queso de Prensa (pressed cheese) in El Salvador, Mexico, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico; in Puerto Rico, Queso del Pais or Queso de la Tierra (cheese of the country, native cheese); and in Colombia, Queso Estera (matted cheese).
In Costa Rica, cheese made from skim milk and pressed but not cured is called Queso Descremado (skim-milk cheese) or Queso Huloso (rubber cheese); cheese made from whole milk, heavily salted, pressed, cured for 1 or 2 months, and used as a grating cheese is called Queso de Bagaces; and cheese made from whole milk, salted and pressed lightly, and cured for 2 weeks to 2 months is called Queso de Crema (cream cheese).
The cheeses differ in size. For example, in Panama, Queso Blanco is pressed in 1-pound molds; in Colombia, Queso Estera ranges in weight from 5 to 50 pounds; in Costa Rica, Queso Descremado and Queso de Bagaces are pressed in 100-pound square blocks while Queso de Crema is pressed in 1- to 1½-pound molds; and in making Panda in Mexico, the curd is placed in square molds to make cheeses weighing ½ pound.
More complete descriptions of some of these cheeses are given under their specific names.
Queso de Bola
Queso de Bola, which is a whole-milk cheese similar to Edam, is made on a small scale in Mexico, for local consumption. It is spherical and is cured for about 3 months.
Queso de Cavallo
Queso de Cavallo is a pear-shaped cheese made in Venezuela.
Queso de Cincho
Queso de Cincho, which is also called Queso de Palma Metida, is a sour-milk cheese made in Venezuela. It is spherical, 8 to 16 inches in diameter, and is wrapped in palm leaves.
Queso de Crema
Queso de Crema, which resembles soft Brick cheese, is one of the principal cheeses made in Costa Rica. Whole milk is coagulated with rennet, the curd is broken up, put into forms, and pressed into prints that weigh from 1 to 1½ pounds. It is salted with dry salt for about 3 days and is cured for 2 weeks to 2 months. The yield is about 11 pounds per 100 pounds of rich, whole milk.
Queso de Crema, as made in Cuba, El Salvador, Venezuela, and other Latin-American countries, is a rich, unripened, perishable cheese made from cow's milk heavily enriched with cream. It frequently is used as a substitute for butter. It is especially popular in Cuba.
Queso de Hoja
Queso de Hoja is a cow's-milk cheese made in Puerto Rico. Fresh milk is coagulated, the curd is cut into blocks about 6 inches square and 2 inches thick, and part of the whey is drained off, which may take several hours. Then the blocks of curd are immersed in water or whey at a temperature of 150° F., which forms a tough layer of curd on the outside of the blocks. They are placed on a table and pressed (flattened) with a broad wooden paddle. Salt is sprinkled on the surface, and each piece of curd is folded in layers, wrapped in cloth, and squeezed to force out the whey. The finished cheese is about 6 inches in diameter and 1 or 2 inches thick, and has slightly rounded top and bottom surfaces. When cut, the thin layers of curd are distinct and look like leaves resting one on another, hence the name Queso de Hoja (leaf cheese).
Queso del País
Queso del País (cheese of the country, native cheese), also known as Queso de la Tierra, is a white, pressed, semisoft, perishable cheese made in Puerto Rico for local consumption. It is made on farms from surplus milk and also in several factories.
It is a cylindrical, flat cheese and is made in three general sizes: (1) Small, which usually is made in farm homes and is 3 or 4 inches in diameter and 2 to 3½ inches thick and weighs 1 to 2 pounds; (2) medium, which is 5 to 6 inches in diameter and 4 to 5 inches thick and weighs 3 to 5 pounds; and (3) large, which usually is made in factories and is 7 to 10 inches in diameter and 6 to 8 inches thick and weighs more than 5 pounds.
Queso del País usually is eaten fresh, in which case it is soft like Cottage cheese; but sometimes it is cured, in which case it is hard and somewhat bitter.
The method of making differs in different localities. In one method, which is like that used in making Queso de Prensa, neither starter nor rennet is used, and the curd is coagulated with heat and acid and is neutralized with sodium bicarbonate.
In another method, which is used in many farm homes where there is a surplus of milk, the fresh warm milk is put into a vat and coagulated either with rennet extract or with a homemade extract prepared by adding calf stomach to warm whey.
The coagulated curd is worked by hand and salted and then is put into metal hoops to drain and acquire the desired shape. About a pound of cheese is obtained per gallon of milk.
Queso de Prensa
Queso de Prensa is a hard cheese made in Puerto Rico from cow's whole milk. The making process differs in different localities. In one method, whole milk is put into a vat to ripen at room temperature for about 6 hours, and rennet is added to coagulate the milk. The curd is broken by hand or with a curd breaker, part of the whey is removed, and the curd is transferred to a drain table and cut into small pieces. Then it is put into wooden forms and salt is added, either by mixing it with the curd or by sprinkling it on top. The curd is covered and pressed lightly. The pressed cheese is removed from the forms and placed on a rack. It is eaten either while fresh or after curing for 2 or 3 months. The cheeses are about 11 inches long, 5½ inches wide, and 3 inches thick, and they weigh about 5 pounds.
In another method, whole or slightly-skimmed milk is put into a vat and heated to a temperature of 180° F. Acetic acid (diluted with water) is added, the mixture is stirred until the curd is coagulated, and sodium bicarbonate is stirred in to neutralize the acid. The curd is transferred to another container, cut into small pieces, and salted. Then it is placed in a circular, tinned metal form, covered with a circular board that fits over the form, and pressed for a day. It is turned a few times during the day. The cheeses, which may be eaten either while fresh or after ripening, weigh from 2½ to 10 pounds.
The firm, white cheese known as Queso Blanco in other Latin American countries, is called Queso de Prensa in El Salvador and Venezuela, and in some rural sections in Mexico.
Queso de Puna
Queso de Puna, which is made in Puerto Rico, is like Cottage cheese except that it is molded in forms. The milk is coagulated with rennet, the whey is drained off, and salt is mixed with the curd as it is worked thoroughly or kneaded by hand. Then the curd is put into hoops about 5 inches in diameter, and it is held in the hoops without pressure for 2 or 3 days, until it is about 1½ inches thick and firm enough to retain its shape. It is eaten fresh.
Queso Fresco
Queso Fresco (fresh cheese) is a rather dry cheese of the Cottage-cheese type that is made in El Salvador and some other Latin-American countries from skim milk.
Rabacal
Rabacal is a cylindrical, flat, rather firm cheese made in the vicinity of Coimbra, Portugal, from ewe's or goat's milk. It is 4 or 5 inches in diameter and an inch thick.
Analysis: Moisture, 16.5 percent; fat, 37.4 percent; protein, 35 percent; and salt, 2.4 percent.
Radener
Radener, known also as Skim-milk Rundkäse, is a hard cheese made in Mecklenburg, northern Germany, from cow's skim milk. It is about 16 inches in diameter and 4 inches thick, and weighs between 30 and 35 pounds. It is made in much the same way as Swiss except that the curd is pressed less in making Radener. Radener is cured for 6 to 8 months at a temperature of approximately 58° F. Between 7.6 and 8.5 pounds of cured cheese is obtained from 100 pounds of skim milk.
Similar cheese made in Switzerland is known as Magere Schweizerkäse.
Analysis: Fat in the solids, 6 to 10 percent.
Radolfzeller Cream
Radolfzeller Cream cheese, like Mainauer, is made in the vicinity of Lake Constance, which is bordered by Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. It is very much like Mainauer and is similar also to Münster. Fresh, whole milk is coagulated with rennet at a temperature of 86° F. After 3 or 4 hours, the curd is transferred carefully to a cloth, and the whey is drained off. Then the curd is ladled into square or round perforated forms, about 6½ inches in diameter and 4 inches deep. The forms are placed on straw mats and the whey continues to drain. Some time later the forms are turned. The following day, the cheeses are removed from the forms and salted. They are placed on straw mats to cure and are cured for about a month at a temperature of about 60° and a relative humidity of 85 to 90 percent. While curing they are turned daily at first and, later every 2 or 3 days; surface ripening is controlled by washing the cheese. About 15 pounds of cured cheese is obtained from 100 pounds of whole milk.
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