Hoxsey Cancer Diet Blog

What makes an aged cheese aged? Aging differs from one cheese to another - from just a few weeks to several months.  The length of aging determines the texture and taste of the cheese. 

Not all cheese is aged.  Let’s look at the whole process…

First in the cheese making process is the milk.  The milk is solidified by the addition of rennet, an enzyme that comes from the stomach of young milk-fed calves.  Then the cheese is drained and almost 80% of the water is extracted.  The mix is heated using different temperatures and heating times depending on the desired result.

Fresh cheeses are packages as soon as they are drained.  Aged cheeses are set out to age anywhere from 2 weeks to several months.

Some non-aged cheeses are paneer, queso fresco, mozzarella, cream cheese, cottage cheese, ricotta, chevre (fresh goat’s cheese), yogurt cheese, caprini, fromage blanc, Petit-Suisse, gervais, mascarpone, Mizithra (also comes aged so check the label!), Neutchatel, and kefir. 

You still have to check labels and make sure the particular brand is fresh.  You also have to check for vinegar and preservatives.  Some cheeses, especially cottage cheese, have a high salt content, so you’ll want to avoid other salty foods when you eat them.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 21st, 2008 at 3:36 pm and is filed under Food Information. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.