Classification and assortment of cheeses

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Many people cannot imagine their breakfast without cheese. It is a product obtained from the processing of milk. It is impossible to say exactly when cheesemaking appeared. However, after the domestication of animals, the ability to use fermented milk cultures to create various prescription mixtures gained wide scope. The range of cheeses is quite varied and worth considering.

Definition

Cheese is a product obtained by allowing an acid or thermal acid process, resulting in the separation of the whey from the clot. In this case, different starter cultures and technologies can be used.

Thanks to coagulation enzymes, milk proteins are coagulated and a working mass is formed. It is formed, pressed, s alted, sometimes auxiliary components are added or waiting for a certain ripening period.

Below is a selective description of the assortment of cheeses from domestic and other producers.

History

In ourIn the country, cheesemaking began to develop in 1866. Despite the labor-intensive technological processes of that time, by the beginning of the 20th century there was a certain assortment of goods, including about 100 varieties of fermented milk products.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the amount of cheese production in our country has declined sharply. However, many people have already fallen in love with it and have become familiar in the general diet. Due to the current situation, a large share of imports began to be supplied to Russia. In recent years, the volume of domestic products has increased significantly.

Product classification

Due to the wide variety of cheeses, there was a need to classify them. They are mainly divided according to commodity and technological features.

Let's consider the main classifications and assortment of cheeses.

In particular, they are distinguished by the type of main raw material, indicators of chemical composition, milk coagulation technology, microflora used and other principles of technological processes.

Depending on the type of raw materials, they are natural and melted. The former are obtained from whole milk, the latter from ready-made natural cheeses. By recycling the mass, they use new technologies and different fillers.

The 3 main classes of cheeses are based on the way they are made. Depending on this, they are divided into rennet, fermented milk and processed (processed).

Each class branches into subclass, type and group.

For example, the range of rennet hard cheeses includes a fairly wideproduct group. These are products obtained at a high temperature (63%) of the second heating by pressing. They are distinguished by a long ripening period (6 months), since the fermentation process in them proceeds slowly. Such cheeses contain little moisture, they are characterized by large holes and a sweetish aftertaste.

Fermented milk products compressed at low temperature have a somewhat brittle, plastic texture, small pattern, oval or round "eyes" and a sour, pungent taste.

According to commodity characteristics, cheeses are divided into the following groups: soft, semi-hard, hard, pickled, processed. Varieties are determined by chemical composition and organoleptic characteristics. Merchandising assessment takes into account the shelf life, appearance and structure of the product.

Overall analysis

The state of the market for dairy products, in general, depends on the availability of domestic and imported cheeses in the aggregate. And this is quite understandable: after all, such a delicacy benefits he alth and is indispensable in the manufacture of classic sandwiches. Conducting even a brief analysis of the assortment of cheeses, it can be noted that the products that fill the store shelves are able to satisfy any taste of the buyer.

In addition to the classic varieties, exotic types of cheeses have appeared, with an unusual composition. They are distinguished by their plastic delicate texture with the addition of nuts and candied fruits from mango, melon and apricots.

A novelty for the Russian population is cream cheese with blue mold,containing natural additives from cured ham, salmon, shrimp and smoked venison. Additional components in a prescription product of this kind account for about 15% of the total composition. The exquisite mass comes in glass cups.

Consumer demand is for products made from buffalo and goat milk. White cheeses such as suluguni, mozzarella, brynza and feta have become popular. Recently, a representative from Denmark has appeared, with the content of vegetable oil - danwight (related to the feta variety).

On the shelves you can find Norwegian products, the innovation of which is geytost cheese with a sweet and sour taste.

A large selection of baby food is available, with added calcium and other herbal ingredients.

Nutritional value

The main advantage of cheese is its high calorie content and composition. First of all, its quality is assessed by the amount of protein, which should be at least 25%. An important factor is the presence of fat (28%), and in an easily digestible form. Amino acids, mineral s alts, trace elements, fatty acids, vitamins, carbonyl compounds, various organic acids and macronutrients are expected to be present in the formula in sufficient quantities.

Depending on what proportion of a certain component is contained in the composition of the product, an assortment of cheeses is formed. Auxiliary ingredients not only change the structure, but also give delicious food a special flavor.

Rennet solid

This class includes 5 groups of cheeses, 4 of them are natural and 1 is processed. The most extensive subclass of rennet are hard cheeses, the assortment of which we will now recognize. The process of their development was mentioned above.

Cheese with a dense texture is a great option for the dinner table, as well as for the usual breakfast sandwiches. Here they are:

• Soviet;
• Swiss;
• Moscow;
• Altaic;
• Voronezh;
• Kuban;
• Carpathian.

Plastic, delicate with a sour taste: Uglich, Kostroma, Yaroslavl, steppe. They are characterized by a peculiar hollow pattern and high humidity.

Fat-free cheeses belong to the same group: B altic, Estonian, Minsk, Lithuanian, Poshekhonsky. And imported ones: muchetto, oca, cartano, fimbo, eddam, maribo. Cheeses perfectly complement vegetable dishes and all kinds of breakfast salads.

Semi-hard

Semi-hard products are produced using a combined technology: they are pressed like hard cheeses, and ripen with the presence of natural mucus localized on the surface of the head. Subsequently, a crust forms on it. Cheeses have an ammonia flavor, a delicate structure with characteristic voids. Their shelf life is 30 days.

The assortment of cheeses cannot be called small. The group of products with a semi-solid consistency includes: Kaunas, piquant, Latvian, Klaipeda, nemunas. Also imported:brik, howati, tilsit, backstein.

Soft rennet cheeses

Cheeses with a soft texture are tender and contain an increased amount of moisture. They differ from solid ones by an increased accumulation of lactic acid, as a result of the activation of the technological process. Some of them are obtained by layer-by-layer ripening, with a gradual deepening. They are not large in size and do not have a crust. A characteristic feature is an ammonia taste and smell. The raw material for the manufacture is pasteurized milk, combined with bacterial starter cultures, microflora of cheese slime and mold.

Assortment of soft cheeses, subgroups:

1. Produced with the participation of the microflora of natural mucus and lactic acid bacteria. This includes: Pyatigorsky, Kalininsky, Dorozhny, Dorogobuzhsky.
2. The final degree of maturation is achieved by white mold, cheese slime and bacteria. Taste signs - sharp, mushroom and ammonia taste. On the shelves you can find Smolensky cheese, with an interesting configuration in the form of a cylinder wrapped in foil material. It has a rich yellow color, a sour taste and a characteristic ammonia smell.
3. A certain type of product made with bacteria and white mold but no slime. On food shelves, this subgroup is represented by a cheese called "Camber", which is distinguished by a pronounced sour-milk taste. It is packaged in cardboard packaging, on which the necessary identification data are indicated. Moisture (50%) and fat (60%) are quite high.
4. To give cheesespeppery, spicy taste, blue or greenish mold is used in their production. This method of production is characterized by a s alty taste, a specific smell and oiliness. Roquefort cheese is the fruit of this type of cheesemaking.
5. The last variety of this subgroup are products obtained without holding the ripening stage. They can be found under the following trademarks: "Adyghe", "Home", "Amateur".

Brines

For the production of cheese, all types of milk of domestic animals are used - goat, sheep, cow and buffalo. The milk clot is placed in brine for further maturation. They are characterized by a multi-layered soft texture, at the same time slightly brittle and without the presence of a crust. The range of cheeses includes the following varieties:

• chechil;
• Ossetian;
• suluguni;
• Georgian;
• Limanskiy;
• Tushinsky.

The most common variety of the brine group is the typical cheese.

Musted

Some types of processed cheese are good alternatives to butter. To somehow diversify the preparation of sandwiches, they can be smeared on bread. Meanwhile, they are subject to the rational use of milk.

The raw materials for their production are rennet cheeses, with some deviations from the standard norms, but in the category of quality products. Butter, cottage cheese, sour cream, powdered milk and without failmelting s alts that ensure protein dissolution and mass uniformity.

The assortment of processed cheeses consists of the following types:

• Canned, produced by sterilization and pasteurization. They are sometimes available with food additives such as ham pieces.
• Chunky: City, Russian, Kostroma, Poshekhonsky.
• Pastey: "Friendship", "Viola", "Summer", "Amber", "Wave".
• Sausage: with cumin, pepper and additional ingredients; smoked, without additives.
• Sweet: Fruit, Chocolate, Honey, Coffee.
• Cheese for lunch: with onion flavor, with pieces of white mushrooms.

President

President cheeses are popular with many consumers. The range of products manufactured under this brand is quite extensive. In Russia, they are produced in the Moscow region by the Lactalis Vostok company, which has its own sales market.

Under the trademark "President" products are made from sheep's and goat's milk with a creamy consistency, as well as soft, moldy and fresh. Here are some representatives of the range of cheeses from the company: emmental, camembert, brie.

On sale you can find colorful plastic containers, packaged in 400 grams. These are processed cheeses, which are famous for the presence of fillers and were produced taking into account taste preferences. From them you can choose creamy, with mushrooms or ham.

Pickled. Cheese has 45% fat content and is available in containers with different volumes.

There are also rennet cheeses in the assortmentof the highest grade. Cow's milk is supplied as the main raw material for their production. They have a dense porous structure with small "eyes" and yellow color. Hard cheese is suitable for making canapes and traditional sandwiches. On sale there is a weight (4.5 kg) and packaged (250 grams). Dry matter contains 50% fat.

Sour milk

Produced with the participation of lactic acid, by coagulation. Ripening period from 7 to 45 days. For some individual variants, this process does not apply. For example, coffee and tea curds are made without maturation. With the help of starter introduced into milk in combination with whey, casein is precipitated.

Green cheese (grated) is produced with a monthly ripening period from skimmed milk, "Hartssky" - from fresh cottage cheese. The volume of such dairy products, as a rule, is limited. These include: Curd, Pultost, Olmutsky, Glarnsky, Konkualsky.

In closing

Carrying out a general overview of the classification and assortment of cheeses allows you to see the possibilities of cheesemaking and the state of the market. Analysts argue that the volume of sales of goods can be judged on the economic well-being of people. Consuming a large amount of cheese is due to its beneficial properties. They play an important role in the human diet.