The Molecular Secrets of Cream Cheese

Roland Piquepaille writes "The June issue of Wired Magazine carries a story about one of the two university labs in the U.S. dedicated to cream cheese research. This one is -- where else? -- in Madison, Wisconsin, where researchers are exploring the molecular mysteries of cream cheese. You may not know, but this cheese is tricky to produce because the acid-secreting bacteria used to coagulate the milk need to be killed at the right time. The researchers are now writing a guidebook about the secrets of cream cheese, a book which will be available to anyone, in a process similar to the open source movement for software. For more information, please read the entertaining article of Wired magazine, 'Schmear Campaign' or this summary to discover little-known facts about cream cheese."

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Old Fashion Organic Cream Cheese

[FosterSJC]

Carlton Yoder, of Champlain Valley Creamery, makes one of America's only stabilizer- and gum-free cream cheeses. You can learn about his products and creamery from his website at http://www.cvcream.com/, and buy the cream cheese here. He is a very enthusiastic proponent of sustainable agriculture, in Vermont.

The texture of Old Fashion Organic Cream Cheese is similar to fresh goat cheese, but with more creaminess and without that distinct goats milk flavor. Because we dont stabilize the cheese with any sort of gums (carob bean, xanthan, etc), the cheese may separate. The liquid is simply whey, just stir it up and enjoy! The cheese is best in the first week after its made, but it will last 4 weeks in your fridge.

On the subject of cheese, the distinctions between things like soured, curdled milk, sour cream, cream cheese, mascarpone, and full-fledged cheese are myriad and arcane. I wrote a quick blurb for a friend, explaining what cheese exactly is. I have attached it below, for your perusal. IAACE (I am a cheese expert)...

Cheese is a rather general term describing curdled milk (or cream). To curdle milk means to separate the whey from the curds. Milk proteins (casein) are ostensibly broken in half. One half precipitates out of the milk, becoming a solid (the curds). The other half remains liquid (the whey), though it ceases to be white. The distinction between true cheese and things like cream cheese, sour cream, mascarpone, creme fraiche, etc. is the way in which the milk is curdled.

Milk can be curdled either by acid and/or by rennet. To be considered a true cheese (e.g. cheddar, swiss, brie, et. al.), acid AND rennet coagulation (i.e. curdling) is required. First, a culture is added to the milk (or is already present in the milk in the case of some raw milk cheeses). This culture "ferments" the milk, slowly lowering the pH (raising the acidity) of the milk.
Then, rennet is added - this is an enzyme derived from the fourth stomach chamber of an unweaned ruminant animal (e.g. a calf, kid, or lamb). This enzyme literally breaks apart the proteins in the milk, an action facilitated by the presence of acid (and heat), and separates the milk into curds and whey. The whey is poured off (either to make ricotta, or to feed to hogs). The curds are then cut, releasing more whey, drained, and molded (this is a gross simplification - most of the textural variations in cheese stem from this process). At this point, the curds have become cheese.

False cheeses like creme fraiche, mascarpone, sour cream, etc. are curdled very lightly and without the use of rennet. The acid required can be produced by natural or added bacteria, vinegar, lemon juice, etc. The variations in the acid-curdled "cheeses" come from the extent of acidification, coagulation, variations in fat content, types of cultures, etc. For example, creme fraiche is cream (thus, high in fat) that is lightly coagulated (lower acidity). Sour cream is cream that is more heavily coagulated. This slight difference in acidity and cultures will cause sour cream to fully curdle (i.e. turn chunky) when boiled, whereas creme fraiche will not.

The diversity and complexity of cheesemaking processes is overwhelming. I hope this helps to illustrate (if not simplify) the breadth of the cheese world.