From the meadow to the shelf Part 4: Curdling and curds

The milk is skimmed and curdled with the help of a culture and rennet. Cheese cultures are lactic acid bacteria that help ripen cheese. This thickening creates the so-called jelly, a pudding-like mass. Then the cheese harp is used. Of course, this has nothing to do with music. It is a metal frame with wires stretched in parallel. This cuts the jelly into the so-called curd. The water that comes out is the whey. The smaller the pieces of cheese are divided, the more whey separates and the harder the cheese becomes. Whey is a by-product of cheese making.

Now the cheese press comes into play. It gives the cheese its shape and presses out the remaining whey. The cheese then goes for a bath: it goes into a salt bath, where it remains for one to three days, depending on the type of cheese. The salt bath, in which all types of cheese except cream cheese are put, serves to improve the taste, form a rind and give the cheese a longer shelf life.

The cheese then goes into the so-called maturing cellar, where it matures into semi-hard or semi-hard cheese depending on the recipe, temperature profile, type and duration of maturing. This is where the cheese specialties are given their typical taste and structure under strict controls. By consistently avoiding fermented feed, the hay milk cheese can be made without the addition of preservatives or other artificial additives and without intensive mechanical treatment (sterilization). Longer matured cheeses can only be made from high-quality raw materials.