How To Use Dairy Products Correctly: Part Two – Cheese
April 13, 2009 by Owen Jones
Filed under Diet
About The Basic Preparation Of Foodstuffs: Dairy Products.
CHEESES
Cheeses are made from milk which has been naturally or artificially soured. The former method is achieved by standing the milk in a warm place and allowing natural, beneficial bacteria to convert the milk’s natural sugars into lactic acid. The latter method is effected by adding an agent, usually rennet.
Salt and colouring and frequently put in too. The whey is then allowed to drain away and the curds are pressed into moulds where they are kept until ripened or cured. Some cheeses, usually hard ones, are subjected to pressure; soft cheeses are not. Curds are ripened or cured by various means. The way it’s done, the quality of the milk, the breed of cow, sheep or other animal and its pasture, and the type of bacteria all govern the end result.
Some local conditions are unique and those areas produce cheeses that are not successfully reproduced elsewhere: for example Gruyere and Camembert, although factories do try. They even have some success, as most of the world’s Cheddar cheese now comes from the USA and Canada.
The constituents of cheese are typically: 33% fat, 33% protein and 33% water with salt, colouring, sugar etc making up the rest. These percentages vary from region to region as some producers use full-cream milk, others skimmed-milk and yet others add extra cream. Some add extra sugar, most do not. All cheeses have a high calcium content and may be considered ‘concentrated milk’ and stored as such.
Many people say that cheese should not be kept in a fridge and while storing in water, as for milk, is not an option, a cool larder is ideal. Try the traditional method of hanging it up in cheesecloth in a cool, airy place. If the weather is hot, dampen the cloth with water to which a little vinegar has been added.
Cheese is typically served in Europe with a salad or/and bread and is often served after or instead of the sweet course. Hard cheese can be difficult for children to digest and grating it first will make it more palatable to them. Once grated the cheese can be sprinkled on vegetable or fish soups or sauces; added to egg, pasta, rice and oatmeal dishes; put on baked potatoes or pastry; toasted on bread or put in salads and sandwiches.
How To Cook Cheese: A not well known fact is that a lot of people find cooked cheese practically indigestible and the reason lies in its make-up. This is why: cooked starch can be digested by the saliva in the mouth, but other foods must pass to the stomach or intestines for this process to be completed. They are, however, broken up in the mouth. Digestion of protein begins in the stomach and is completed in the small intestine, while fat is not rendered soluble until it reaches the small intestine.
Cheese possesses a high fat and protein mixture, but in melting, the fat often covers the protein and prevents the digestive juices reaching it in the stomach. Therefore, its digestion is delayed until the fat has been absorbed in the intestines. Cheese can be rendered more digestible by:
1] Combining it with some starchy food, because the starch will absorb the fat, not allowing it to cover the protein.
2] Adding seasoning. Cayenne Pepper or mustard will irritate the intestinal lining, causing extra digestive juices to be released.
3] Cooking rapidly|quickly|briskly| at fairly high temperatures. This has the effect of preventing the protein from becoming tough and stringy and therefore, harder to digest. You could also add the cheese late to sauces.
4] Adding alkali: so, large pinch of Bicarbonate of Soda per 75g (3 ozs) will help neutralize the fatty acids and make the proteins more easily digestible.
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