How to choose cheese: date of manufacture, composition, quality features, packaging and proper storage conditions

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

Real cheese can only be called a product that is made from milk, bacterial starter and natural enzymes. It is quite nutritious and has a rich taste. In order for cheese to be useful, it must certainly be natural and of high quality. Today we will tell you how to choose the right cheese that will be as he althy, tasty and natural as possible.

About cheeses

Currently, a huge number of different varieties of cheese have been created. All of them are usually divided into families. According to the production method, they can be rennet - milk curdling in this case occurs under the influence of rennet; fermented milk - for their production, lactic acid starter is used; fused. Before we talk about how to choose a good cheese, we note that most often this product is made from sheep, cow and goat milk or a mixture of them. In some countriesit is made from buffalo, mare or camel milk.

Cheese ripening

When choosing a product, it is important to know that hard cheeses ripen from two months to several years, soft - no more than 2-6 weeks. It is believed that the older the cheese, the more "stinky" and expensive it is. Therefore, if you prefer to eat cheeses that do not have a specific smell, you should choose young cheeses or brine varieties.

How to choose cheese: icons

All over the world it is customary to protect the quality of cheeses by controlling the authenticity of origin. In France, this is the mark AOC, in English-speaking countries - PGI, PDO, in Spain and Italy - DOP, DOC. This badge guarantees that the product was produced in this territory and that all certain rules were strictly observed. In our country, the quality of cheeses is guaranteed by the following inscription: “Complies with the technical regulations for milk and dairy products. No. 88-FZ.

Cheese composition

Before you start buying cheese, you should pay attention to the label and read what is included in this product. The set of components contained in an ideal cheese is as follows: milk, rennet (other milk-clotting preparations can also be used, but exclusively of animal origin) and a starter culture of lactic acid microorganisms. S alt and calcium chloride are allowed in the cheese.

Choice

How to choose cheese in the store? When choosing a cheese, be sure to pay attention to its full name and what is included in the product. tryavoid the following additives: arboxymethylcellulose - E-466, sunset dye - E-110, carrageenan - E-407, carotenes - E-160 a, b.

If the composition includes milk powder, preservatives, stabilizers, individual milk components, dyes and other food additives, this is low quality cheese. Very often, instead of animal enzymes, microbial ones are used, most often they are transgenic. These cheeses do not require aging.

Marking

Speaking about how to choose high-quality cheese, do not forget about the labeling, it is an important element that should be taken into account when buying. Very often on the label you can find the following name: “cheese product” and other consonant names for the word cheese. We must say right away that this kind of purchase should be abandoned due to the fact that such cheese is not natural. Most likely, it contains vegetable fats and other substitutes. Preference should be given to a product made not according to TU, but according to GOST.

Price

One of the main criteria when choosing cheese is its price. Let's take mozzarella as an example. On average, one liter of milk costs about 25 rubles. (or slightly lower) for large wholesale buyers. For 12-13 kg of mozzarella, you need to spend 100 liters of milk. The cost of it will be about 200-225 rubles. Add to this figure the additional costs associated with the purchase of rennet (and other starters), for production, packaging, shipping, business profits and store percentage. An adequate price for 1 kg of such a product should be equal to 500rub., so a natural product a priori cannot be cheap.

How to choose natural cheese

Most often we associate this product with hard cheese, which is indeed the most popular type. But there are also other varieties: sour-milk, soft, brine and processed. We will tell you how to choose this product in order.

Hard cheese

In order not to make a mistake in choosing hard cheese, it is recommended to examine it properly, smell it and be sure to feel it. External signs that may indicate a substandard product:

• the presence of irregularities, cracks, wrinkles and other defects;
• loose, crumbly consistency;
• torn edges;
• dry, moldy and rancid (a sign of spoilage);
• greasiness (indicates the presence of palm oil);
• mold (only allowed in special varieties);
• thick subcortical layer;
• white bloom;
• peeling crust (presence of bacteria);
• uneven coloring;
• uneven distribution of eyes (large in one place, small in another);
• presence of drops on the surface or humidity (presence of vegetable fats in the product).

In many modern shops there is an opportunity to taste the cheese before making a purchase. When tasting this type of cheese, you should not feel any creaking on your teeth. With such properties of the product, this is a sign that it containsunbroken milk proteins. It should not taste too sweet or s alty, this criterion depends on the particular variety. You can check the naturalness of the product as follows: cut off a flat piece of cheese and then bend it in half - it should not break. Quality cheese should have good plasticity, but it should not be "rubber".

Soft cheeses

When buying soft cheeses, you should follow approximately the same pattern as when choosing hard ones. They differ only in consistency, soft cheeses are much wetter. The amount of moisture in them depends on the variety. Please note: despite its softness, the cheese must necessarily retain springiness and elasticity.

We want to give some recommendations on how to choose blue cheese. Such a product should be a little loose and soft. It has a specific aroma (the smell of penicillin), and the ammonia smell not inherent in this type of cheese is a sign that the product is spoiled. In most cases, cheeses are imported, so special attention should be paid to the expiration date. Blue cheese is not recommended to be bought immediately in large quantities due to the fact that it quickly deteriorates.

Brine cheeses

When creating such products, special brines are used. Cheeses have no rind and are quite brittle. The most famous of all is the cheese. Suluguni cheese is no less popular. Their assortment is also represented by other varieties: these are Adyghe, Yerevan, Ossetian, Georgian, Chechil, Tushinsky, Limansky, Lori, Chanakh. ATunlike hard cheeses, bacteria develop very quickly in brine, and in order to extend the shelf life, they are sometimes s alted. When buying such a product, it is better to taste it.

Sour milk cheeses

This product is obtained by fermenting milk with lactic acid. Cheese is nothing like its semi-hard or hard counterparts. It is extraordinarily soft, tender and most similar in texture to cottage cheese. In order to understand what is offered to you on store shelves under the guise of such cheese, you need to read the name on the package. In the event that the word cheese is indicated there, you have a natural product. But if you read "cheese product", "curd cheese product" or "cream cheese product", the conclusion is obvious: this is a plant-based product.

The choice of curd cheeses is very high. Which cottage cheese to choose? Flavored varieties of this product are presented in a large assortment for sauces and sandwiches: with herbs, with the taste of mushrooms, fish, etc. When choosing them, you should pay attention to the fact that they contain not only flavors that imitate real ones, but also pieces natural products.

Which cheese to choose for cream? Of course, cottage cheese with a creamy taste, not containing extraneous additives. It should be white in color, have a delicate texture and a slightly s alty taste. Regardless of the choice of this or that curd cheese, when buying, pay attention to the integrity of the package, the date of manufacture and the expiration date. The consistency of such cheese should behomogeneous, and he should be soft, without mold and liquid.

Cream cheese

A soft, creamy product with a creamy taste is called cream cheese. All of them, regardless of the recipe, are considered dairy products that have a soft texture. During their production, there is no maturation stage, and additional processing processes, such as melting or smoking, are excluded.

Let's consider which cream cheese to choose. In order to purchase a high-quality product, you need to learn how to choose it correctly. There are some rules to follow:

1. Only buy from reputable stores.
2. The container must be clean, intact, have a label.
3. It is necessary to observe during storage the temperature regime of +2….+6 °C.
4. All information on the label must be in Russian and contain all data on the composition, value, production date, expiration date of the product and its manufacturer.

Natural cream cheese should not contain vegetable fats, gelatin, starch, flavors, dyes. Its shelf life cannot exceed 3 weeks, if a longer shelf life is indicated, this means the presence of preservatives in it.

Processed cheese

The most difficult choice for a consumer of a good quality product is when buying processed cheeses. The ideal product should include the following components: hard rennet cheese, cream, milk, sl. butter. Often producers for the preparation of processed cheesesthey use second-class raw materials, defective, spoiled cheese, milk powder, vegetable oils. Pay attention to the fact that at least it does not contain preservatives.

One of the varieties of processed cheese is smoked cheese. The very first thing you need to pay attention to is that it should not be dry and crumbly. Its shell must be shiny and free from mechanical defects. During cutting, it should not stick to the knife. The mass must be homogeneous and have no voids.

Storage rules

When buying a product, in addition to the question of how to choose a good cheese, another question often arises: how to store it correctly. Consider what requirements for storage conditions must be observed.

Hard cheeses are stored in refrigerators with a temperature of -4….+8 °C, with a humidity of 85-90%. Humidity must be observed, otherwise the cheese may dry out or become moldy. The shelf life is up to 4 months, depending on many factors: preservatives, crust thickness, moisture content, s alt, packaging, presence of spoilage microorganisms.

Brine cheeses should be stored in a s alt solution at a temperature close to +5 °C, the storage time directly depends on how s alty the solution is. Average indicators: for suluguni - one month, for brynza - about two. Brine cheese without brine can be stored for no more than a week.

The allowable storage temperature of soft cheeses is 0…+8 °C, their shelf life is much shorter than that of hard cheeses. At home, they can be stored onlya few days. Sometimes manufacturers can make this period longer by adding preservatives or underripening the cheese.

Processed cheese (including smoked), unlike others, has a longer shelf life due to the fact that it is subjected to heat treatment (melting). It can be stored at -4 to +4 °C for up to two months.

The storage conditions of fermented milk cheeses must be approached with particular care, it is necessary to maintain a stable and correct temperature regime. When storing cheese in the refrigerator, the temperature should be maintained within the range of 0 …. +6 ° C, the storage time is a maximum of 2 weeks. Can be stored in the freezer at temperatures up to minus 18 ° C, but no more than 45 days.

Packaging

How to choose the most suitable packaging for cheese? Very often, on the shelves of the store, pieces of cheese are wrapped with a film, but this is not the best way to store, rather economical. With such packaging, the product can be stored for no more than 10 days. The most effective way is in foil, such packaging material perfectly protects the product from environmental influences. The most important thing is to close the cut at the cheese well.

Some manufacturers cover their product with a paraffin shell, which, of course, is an advantage, since it allows you to make the shelf life longer. Experienced cheese makers recommend several interesting ways to store cheese at home: place the product with a couple of sugar cubes in a closed container or wrap it ins alty napkin. It must be remembered that cheese should not be stored next to products such as lard, meat, fish. Its best neighbors are other dairy products.