Carl Shivers, age 8, of Huntsville, Ala., for his question:
HOW IS CHEESE MADE?
While there are about 18 or 20 different kinds of cheeses available, it is possible to buy the highly nutritious dairy food under about 400 different names. The reason for this wide discrepancy is that cheeses can differ widely according to their hardness and softness and in the way they are ripened before being made ready for market.
Cheese contains a very large amount of protein and fat. It is made, to explain it very simply, by solidifying the proteins and removing the water found in milk. It isn't, ofcourse, that easy.
The type of cheese you make depends on the kind of milk used and the treatment it is, subjected to in the process of making and curing the product.
Cheddar cheese made in the United States and England starts with whole milk that is curdled with rennet extract, the soluble ferment found in the fourth stomach of calves. The curd, which is the name for the solid part of the solidified milk, is separated from the watery whey. The cheese then stands for a few minutes to build up a certain degree of acidity. The curd is then cut into small pieces followed by a heating and stirring action. Much skill from the cheesemaker is necessary to handle this and other steps of the processsing.
When the consistency of the curd becomes right, the remaining whey is drawn off and the curd collected at the bottom of a vat. Then follows more cutting and milling to break up the mass. The cheese is then wrapped in cloths and pressed to remove any remaining whey.
Next comes placement on shelves in a curing room where the cheese is allowed to "ripen" for several weeks or months. A temperature of between 40 and 45 degrees is used for what is known as cold curing although some processors use temperatures below freezing.
More cheddar cheese, or American as it is often called, is bought in America than any other kind. It's the favorite type.
Swiss, a hard cheese known for its holes, is made from whole and skim milk.
Cream cheese and cottage cheese are not ripened before they are sold. Cream cheese is made from cream and has a high percentage of fat. Cottage cheese is made from the curd of skim milk, with a bit of cream being added to the variety called creamed cottage cheese.
Cheese is a nutritious food and is an excellent source of calcium and vitamin A. With its high protein and fat content, it makes an excellent and inexpensive substitute for meat in the diet. Combined with macaroni, it has become one of the classic budget savers.
Cheese is also one of the most popular items used when packing school lunches.