Summary
Cheese quality relates to, and depends on, many attributes, including appearance, texture, functionality, flavour, safety and nutritional value, the relative importance of which depend on the application of the cheese. Since cheese is the end-product of a long and complex process, which may last for two or more years, its quality depends on many factors, some of which are generally pertinent but some are variety-specific. The most important are:
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1.
The milk supply, including its composition, microbial quality, preparation (standardization and heat treatment) and consistency.
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The bacterial culture(s) used for acidification and which play(s) major roles during ripening.
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3.
The rennet used to coagulate the milk and which is the principal proteolytic agent during ripening.
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4.
The non-starter bacteria which are either indigenous to the milk or gain entry to the milk or cheese from the environment during manufacture.
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5.
Composition of the cheese.
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6.
Ripening of the cheese curd, including temperature and duration.
These aspects are described in several chapters throughout the text; in this chapter, an attempt is made to integrate the numerous factors that affect cheese quality.
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Fox, P.F., Guinee, T.P., Cogan, T.M., McSweeney, P.L.H. (2017). Factors that Affect Cheese Quality. In: Fundamentals of Cheese Science. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-7681-9_15
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-7681-9_15
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