AlexSolano

InmyarticleIwanttospeakabouttheprocessthattakesplacewithinthemilkasitturnsinto
cheese.Iwanttogoalittleintothechemistrybehindcheesemaking.ThoughIwanttomake
iteasyenoughtoreadandunderstand.Imightalsoincludealittleaboutothertypesof
fermentation.Iamgoingtousediagramstoshowtheprocessaswell.

Fermentationisanaturalprocessinwhichanorganismconvertsacarbohydrateintoan
alcoholoranacid.Fermentationcanbeusetomakeproductssuchaswine,mead,cheese
andbeer.Thistechniquehasbeenaroundforyearsbeforerefrigeratingtopreservefoodand
discovernewtastes.
EthanolFermentation
Yeastandcertainbacteriaperformethanolfermentationwherepyruvate(fromglucose
metabolism)isbrokenintoethanolandcarbondioxide.Fermentationinthepresenceofhigh
levelsofpectinresultintheproductionofsmallamountsofmethanol,
whichistoxicwhen
consumed.
LacticAcidFermentation
Thepyruvatemoleculesfromglucosemetabolism(glycolysis)maybefermentedintolactic
acid.Lacticacidfermentationisusedtoconvertlactoseintolacticacid

Helmenstine,Ph.D.AnneMarie."WhatIsFermentation?"
About.com
.N.p.,29Nov.2014.
Web.08Mar.2015.

http://chemistry.about.com/od/lecturenoteslab1/f/WhatIsFermentation.htm

Cheeseisawayofpreservingmilkforreallylongperiodsoftime.Cheese
makesuseof
bacteria
,
enzymes
andnaturallyformed
acids
tosolidifymilkproteinsandfatandpreserve
them.Themainpreservativesthatgivecheeseitslongevityaresaltandacids.

First,milkisinoculatedwithlacticacidbacteriaand
rennet
.Thelacticacidbacteriaconvert
thesugarinmilk(lactose)tolacticacid.Therennetcontainsenzymesthatmodifyproteinsin
milk.Specifically,rennetcontainsrennin,anenzymethatconvertsacommonproteininmilk
called
caseinogen
into
casein
,whichdoesnotdissolveinwater.Thecaseinprecipitatesout
asagellikesubstancethatweseeitas
curd
.Thecaseingelalsocapturesmostofthefat
andcalciumfromthemilk.Sothelacticacidandtherennetcausethemilktocurdle,
separatingintocurds(themilksolids,fats,proteins,etc.)andwhey

Brain,Marshall."HowFoodPreservationWorks."
HowStuffWorks
.HowStuffWorks.com,n.d.
Web.14Mar.2015.

http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/edibleinnovations/foodpreservation7.htm

LacticAcidBacteriumisamicrobethatturnsmilksugar(lactose)tolacticacid.
Lactococcus
lactis
isvitalformanufacturingcheesessuchasCheddar,Colby,cottagecheese,cream
cheese,Camembert,RoquefortandBrie,aswellasotherdairyproductslikeculturedbutter,
buttermilk,sourcreamandkefir.When
Lactococcuslactis
isaddedtomilk,thebacterium
usesenzymestoproduceenergy(ATP)fromlactose.ThebyproductofATPproductionis
lacticacid.Thelacticacidcurdlesthemilkthatthenseparatestoformcurds,whichareused
toproducecheeseandwhey.Curdlingthemilkisnotthebacterium'sonlyroleincheese
production.ThelacticacidproducedbythebacteriumlowersthepHoftheproductand
preservesitfromthegrowthbyunwantedbacteriaandmoldswhileothermetabolicproducts
andenzymesproducedby
Lactococcuslactis
contributetothemoresubtlearomasand
flavorsthatdistinguishdifferentcheeses.

Todar,Kenneth."LacticAcidBacteria."
Todar'sOnlineTextbookofBacteriology
.N.p.,n.d.
Web.14Mar.2015.

http://textbookofbacteriology.net/lactics_5.html

Cheeseneedstheseingredients:
milk,salt,rennet,andmicrobes.Goodbacteriaisusedin
theprocessofcheesemaking.Traditionalcheesesareinoculatedusingwheyorother
productsfrompreviousbatches,meaningthattheycanbemadewithdozensoftypesof
microbe,somehighlyunusual.Thismicrobialwealthisamongthemanyreasonsthat
traditionalcheesescanbesomuchmorecomplexthanmodern,controlledinoculation
cheeses.Lacticacidbacteriaareoftencalled"startercultures",astheyplaythemainrolein
convertingthebasicmilksugar,lactose,intolacticacid.ThislowersthepHlevelsandmakes
thecheeseinhospitabletomanyspoilageorganisms.

Lahne,Jake."SeriousCheese:KnowYourMicrobes."
SeriousEats
.N.p.,n.d.Web.14Mar.
2015.

http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/02/whatmicrobesmakecheese.html

(Muchmoreinformationonwebsite)

Cheesemakingistheprocessofremovingwaterfrommilk(Whey).Cheesemakingisoneof
theearliestexamplesof
biotechnology.
Microorganismsareusedineachstepofthis

processanddeterminetheflavourandtextureofthefinalcheese.Thesebacteriaconvertthe
lactose(milksugar)tolacticacidandlowerthemilkspH.Rennetisamixturecontainingthe
activeenzymechymosin.Rennetspeedsupthecoagulationofcaseinandproducesa
strongercurd.Milkisabout86%waterbutalsocontainsfat,carbohydrate(mainlylactose),
proteins(caseinandwhey),mineralsandvitamins.

Therearetwotypesofbacteriausedforthisprocess:
1. Mesophilicbacteria
thriveatroomtemperaturebutdieathighertemperatures.They
areusedtomakemellowcheeses,suchasCheddar,GoudaandColby.
2. Thermophilicbacteria
thriveathighertemperatures,around55C,andareusedto
makesharpercheesessuchasGruyre,ParmesanandRomano.

"TheScienceofCheese."
BiotechnologyLearningHub
.N.p.,11Apr.2012.Web.13Mar.
2015.

http://biotechlearn.org.nz/focus_stories/cheesemaking/the_science_of_cheese