Many experts are of the opinion that cultured cheese is the best as it has a more fully developed flavor. Taste is a personal opinion, so you might need to try different recipes and ingredients to find the cheese you like best. A component you’ll need as part of this process is the best cheese-making kit.
So, what is cultured cheese?
Cultured cheese is the best way to make flavorful cheese. By culturing cheese, you’re allowing the good bacteria to flourish. Any cheese that is made using a cheese culture is cultured cheese. This sounds confusing? Let’s explain. Cheese culture is simply a group of bacteria strains put together to make a certain type of cheese.Different bacteria strains achieve different results. Some companies do the job of putting together these bacteria strains. Don’t worry, these bacteria are not harmful to your body. The reason you want to have culture in your cheese is to improve the final flavor of it.
The way cheese culture works is that the bacteria consume lactose in the milk with the aim of raising the acidity level. In the process, they also convert the lactose into lactic acid.
The benefit of this is that it limits the effects of the bacteria already present in the milk while also allowing the coagulant (an important ingredient in cheese making) to take effect. Not all cheese culture is the same.
Classification of Cheese Culture
Cheese culture is normally classified based on the temperature they work best. A cheese culture can be:Thermophilic
This type of culture works in high temperatures. It’s best used for milk that is heated to high temperatures.Mesophilic
This type of culture works best in medium heat. You need to make sure that your milk is heated to 90 degrees Fahrenheit or 32.2 degrees Celsius.This is just one of the ways to divide the culture. Even in these temperature ranges, the cheese culture can still be categorized based on the ratio and strain of bacteria used. Different strains at different ratios can produce different types of cheese.
Is cultured cheese pasteurized?
To answer this question, there’s a need to understand what pasteurized means. Any product that has been pasteurized means that it has gone through heating at a particular temperature for a certain period of time to kill the bacteria inside it.The regulations for the temperature and time required for a product to be termed as pasteurized differs depending on where you live. With that said, pasteurized products are always safe and healthy for all people, including pregnant women.
Is cultured cheese pasteurized? There is no one clear answer to this question. Some types of cheese are made using pasteurized milk while some are made using raw milk.
It’s safe to say that cultured cheese made using pasteurized milk is pasteurized. There are fewer bacteria on them and they are safe for pregnant women to consume. Cream cheese, cottage, ricotta and Mozzarella fall in this category.
