How Is Cheese Made?
Cheese is one of those everyday foods we often take for granted until we stop and think about what it actually takes to make it. The truth is, the cheese-making process is both an art and a science, and it all starts with one key ingredient: fresh milk.
In New York, that milk comes from hardworking dairy farms that produce billions of pounds each year. From there, the transformation begins. Let’s walk through the traditional steps of dairy cheese production and break down exactly how cheese is made.
Step 1: Collect Fresh, High‑Quality Milk
Quality cheese begins with extraordinary milk. At local New York dairy farms, milk is collected daily from healthy cows, standardized for fat and protein content, and pasteurized to ensure food safety. Though, some artisan cheeses may use raw milk following strict aging guidelines. After testing, it’s delivered to creameries where the process begins.
Step 2: Add Cultures and Rennet
Once milk is warmed to a precise temperature, cheesemakers add starter cultures (live bacteria that consume lactose and produce lactic acid), which lowers the pH and initiates acidification. After sufficient acid development, rennet (an enzyme such as chymosin, often produced microbial or lab-engineered today) is introduced. Rennet causes proteins in the milk to coagulate, forming a gel-like mass called the curd.
Step 3: Form, Test, and Cut the Curd
After rennet addition, the milk is left undisturbed for typically 30 to 45 minutes to set firmly. Cheesemakers test the curd’s readiness using a clean blade or knife: if it fractures cleanly, it’s time to cut. Depth and cube size affect moisture loss. Smaller cubes mean drier, longer-aging cheese, while larger curds retain more moisture for softer varieties.
Step 4: Cook, Stir, and Possibly Wash the Curds
The cut curds are then gently stirred and heated to shrink them further and expel whey. For hard cheeses, the temperature may rise to 39 °C gradually over an hour or more. Some cheese types also involve a “washing” step, where warm water replaces whey to reduce acidity and produce milder, moist textures. Stirring is continuous to ensure even cooking and prevent clumping.
Step 5: Drain, Press, Shape, and Salt
Once curds reach the ideal texture, whey is drained and curds are transferred into molds. Depending on cheese style, molds apply varying pressure over time to unify the curd mass and expel additional moisture. Salt is either mixed into the curds, dry‑salted on the surface, or introduced via immersion in brine. Salt is essential, not just for flavor but as a preservative and moisture controller.
Step 6: Drying and Aging (Ripening)
Pressed cheeses often begin with an air‑drying stage, sometimes with cloth or wax coatings to manage moisture and protect the surface. Then comes the ripening room, where temperature and humidity are carefully controlled. This maturation process activates enzymes, bacteria, and (in certain cheeses) molds or yeasts to transform texture and flavor through proteolysis, lipolysis, and glycolysis—a chemical symphony that can last from weeks to years.
Understanding the Cheese-Making Process
Knowing how cheese is made gives us a deeper appreciation for the care, skill, and time behind every bite. From fresh New York milk to carefully aged wheels of cheddar, the dairy cheese production process is a true blend of tradition, science, and local craftsmanship. The next time you slice into your favorite variety, you’ll know exactly what it took to get there and why supporting local dairy farms helps keep this time-honored process thriving.