Cheese is not only an ingredient in many dishes, desserts and snacks. This is a wonderful, aromatic, tasty product that can decorate a festive table and set off the taste of noble wine, as well as become a wonderful dessert.
Variety of cheese
A huge variety of types of cheese can be found in store windows. These are curd-creamy ones, such as mascarpone, ricotta, and hard ones - Dutch, gouda, parmesan, and processed. Each of the varieties has its own nuances in the production process, and, consequently, significant taste differences.
The main criteria for distinguishing soft from hard cheese: consistency, amount of moisture, fat content, ripening time.
Hard cheese
These are the most common and familiar cheeses for most people. They are characterized by a dense, hard structure, covered with a waxy or natural shell. The products in question are used for slicing or grating. Their feature is that they dry very quickly. Therefore, the cheese platter is prepared a few minutes before serving.
Hard cheeses contain no more than 50% liquid in their composition. From 10 liters of milk, approximately 1 kg of product is obtained. To get rid of excess moisture, methods of pressure, pressing, heating the product are used.
Fermented milk products of hard varieties ripen for a long time - from 3 months to 3 years. The shorter the ripening period, the cheaper the price of the cheese.
The cheeses of the considered varieties, such as cheddar, Altai, parmesan, are characterized by a rich taste and strong specific aroma. Moreover, these products have a reduced fat content - about 50-55%.
Noble mold in such cheeses does not mature, therefore moldy hard cheeses are extremely rare.
Soft cheeses
According to the general classification, soft cheeses are those products that have a creamy consistency, delicate creamy taste and do not require additional processing, i.e. are not smoked or melted. These cheeses contain up to 67% moisture and a lot of fat, so they are easy to spread on a sandwich.
Soft cheeses practically do not need aging and are ready to eat immediately after production. Some varieties are left to ripen for a short period of time. At the same time, the cheese ripens on the outside, covered with a dense crust, but inside it remains the same soft and tender.
There are varieties of soft cheeses with mold.
Some subtleties
Cheese is a perishable product. Take this into account and do not expose it to long-term storage. Also, cheeses are excellent adsorbents, so when storing in the refrigerator, carefully pack the product in a plastic bag or container with a tight lid. The smell and taste of fresh cheese should not contain foreign impurities.
