There are many perceptions of the rustic, bucolic lifestyle of the artisan cheesemaker.
But the reality is very different to how the mass dairy marketers would have us see it in their advertising and promotions. Even the most boutique of cheesemakers in Australia has more in common with the hygiene of an operating theatre than a rustic shed in France. The reality is shiny, spotless stainless steel surfaces, an environment that can be hosed down, white rubber boots, white coats and hairnets, to keep away unwanted bacteria, yeasts and other potential infections.
This is important to the consistency of the final product, which is affected by infections as well as temperature, humidity and time. But today at the Butter Factory in rural Myrtleford the story is very different as we learn basic cheesemaking techniques. As a restaurant, and former butter factory, it is hosting a cheesemaking demonstration from amateur but dedicated cheesemaker David McIlwain.
McIlwain got into cheesemaking after he was given a cow from which he uses unpasteurised milk. The unpasteurised milk being used today was milked the night before; evening milk having more cream in it, according to McIlwain. “Hand milking is a meditative activity,” he says. “Each cow takes about 10 minutes and yields about 2 gallons.” McIlwain is into freeform cheesemaking. There’s not a rubber boot or hairnet in sight and his beard is bushy enough to be an impediment to eating the freshly made scones provided.
First, he explains that a starter is used to set the cheese. It’s a technique that is very similar to making yoghurt, where milk is heated and inoculated with live yoghurt before being left to set at roughly body temperature – give or take a few degrees depending on what depth of flavour or texture you want. For a soft cheese, sour cream can be added to the milk after it has been heated to 25-30C. It needs to be kept warm and will take eight -10 hours to set. But, according to McIlwain, because of the high acidity it can’t be used to make hard or soft cheeses that require pressing into a mould. When the milk sets it is crumbly, like a chalky fetta.
That is because with this process a lot of the proteins that help set a cheese and the calcium from the milk run off in the whey. And for that reason, rennet, an enzyme from the fourth stomach of young 30-day-old cows, is used to reduce the acidity, making what essentially is junket. Depending on the characteristics of the milk and the volume, it will take 10 to 15 minutes to set after lactose is converted to lactic acid. An alternative to rennet is the dried heads of cardoons, wild thistles which are used for goat and sheep cheeses but introduce unpleasant flavours in cow cheese.
The acidity of the milk is critical and if, for instance, the milk is too acidic the cheese will be very sharp and bitter. But acid milk also makes good mozzarella and ricotta. Starter bacteria are also required. Today McIlwain uses some mould from a French camembert rather than an Australian which he says are nice and white to look at but lack flavour. He crushes the mould up with the culture to add to the milk. Some bacteria convert lactose to lactic acid, making the milk acidic and add a lot of the flavour characteristic in hard cheeses such as cheddar.
The Basic Cheesemaking Process
Different cheeses are made at different points in the cheesemaking process. At stage four the curds can be used to make mozzarella, feta, haloumi, edam and gouda-style cheeses. After stage five, when the curds are cooked, harder cheeses such as cheddar, gloucester, gruyere, fontina, parmesan and manchego can be made.
Stage 1. Milk is (in Australia) pasteurised. Milk is heated to a temperature at which a starter culture will start working.
Stage 2. Bacteria from the starter culture converts lactose or milk sugar into lactic acid. This creates a crumbly curd.
Stage 3. Rennet (or dried cardoon heads) are added to curdle the milk, which means the solids separate from the whey. The remaining solids are elastic.
Stage 4. The curds, the texture of which is dependent of steps 2 and 3, are cut, which aids the draining-off of the whey although sometimes the curds are left to in contact with the whey. The finer the curds are cut the more whey drains. For hard cheeses the curds are cut most finely.
Stage 5. The curds are now heated to between 38C and 55C and stirred. Curds reaching lower temperature become soft cheeses while harder cheeses are made from whey that reaches higher temperatures.
Stage 6. The cooked curds are now transferred to moulds, which are designed to allow the remaining whey to drain.
Stage 7. Harder cheeses are now pressed in the moulds to squeeze out more whey.
Stage 8. Salt is now added to stop the activity of the starter culture bacteria that converts the milk sugar to lactic acid. It also helps prevent infection from other bacteria and mould.
Stage 9. The finished cheese is stored to mature, depending on the desired result.