glossary

"Eyes" or Openings

Holes and other openings in the cheese produced by pockets of gas which is released by bacterial action. Canadian Swiss cheese is a good example.

Acidulous

A clean, pleasant taste describing the slight tanginess of a curd or fresh cheese.

Aged

cheese that has been aged over 10 months to 1 year.

Aging

All the steps that go in ripening a cheese. Temperature, humidity and storage time all play a role.

Ammoniacal

An unpleasant odour emitted by a cheese that's past its prime, particularly by soft cheeses.

Annato

is a natural orange coloring used in making Orange cheddar

Artisanal

The milk is processed off the farm premises and uses milk produced from one or several farms using several methods for the manual manufacturing of cheeses.

Best Before Date

Inscription on the package identifying the date when the cheese, properly stored, will be at its best.

Bloomy rind

A white, velvety ring usually found on soft cheeses. It's produced by spraying the cheese surface with penicillium.

Blue-veined

Cheese that's been treated with penicillium and perforated with needles which allows air to enter the body and promotes the growth of blue mould. Canadian Ermite and Bénédictin are blue-veined.

Brine

a solution of salt water in which some cheeses are stored.

Butterfat

or milk fat (MF) is the fatty portion of milk.

Coagulation

What happens when milk solidifies and curds form.

Cold Pack

A cheese made from a blend of similar cheeses, usually Old Cheddar, achieved without any heating process or emulsifiers.

Cooked

A step in the making of hard cheese, during which the curd is heated to reduce the amount of moisture (whey).

Cross-contamination

Mixing of flavours and aromas from one cheese to another by cutting on the same knife without properly cleaning utensils and cutting surfaces each time. This can also occur when a very pungent or strong cheese is placed next to a mild cheese.

Curd

The solids formed during coagulation, in the early stages of cheese making. Curds are subsequently pressed and aged or enjoyed as is.

Curdling

The preliminary stage of cheesemaking in which the solids (curds) are separated from the liquids (whey).

Cutting

The act of slicing curd to eliminate more whey.

Double cream

a bloomy rind cheese with a milk fat content from 30%to 35% and moisture of 50%.

Draining

The process by which whey is drained from the milk solids, just before pressing.

Enzyme

A substance used to promote the curdling of milk i.e. rennet, pepsin, microbial.

Extra aged

cheese that has been aged over 2 to 7 years but not designated by year.

Farmstead

The milk is processed at the farm and uses only the milk produced on the farm.

Ferment

A mixture of lactic acid bacteria that has the ability to convert lactose into lactic acid and that contributes to the development of flavour.

Fermentation

The process that occurs during the ripening process and that affects the final character of the cheese.

Firm

A category of interior-ripened cheeses that are characterized by low moisture content and an extensive range of flavours that become more pronounced with age.

Flavoured

cheese that has particulates or flavouring added to cheeses like Havarti, Monterey Jack, Feta, Cheddar, Cream Cheese.

Fresh

A category of cheeses that have not undergone a ripening process and depend on lactic curdling for their delicate, tangy flavour and moist texture.

Hard

A category of Canadian interior-ripened cheeses that are cooked to remove as much moisture as possible and have a lengthy aging process, which accounts for their sharp, complex aromas and flavours.

Industrial

The milk is processed using manufacturing methods that are highly mechanical and automated. The milk comes from several farms.

Interior-ripened

Describes a cheese in which ripening occurs evenly throughout the entire body of the cheese.

Lactose

The sugar that naturally occurs in milk. Since ripening removes most of the lactose, fresh cheeses contain higher amounts, while firm and hard cheeses have just traces.

Lactose-free

cheeses that are designated as having no lactose (milk sugar).

Lactoserum

liquid residue from milk after the removal of cheese curds in the manufacture of cheese.

Light Cheese

Cheese that has a 25% or more reduction in butterfat content as compared to its “normal” counterpart.

M.F.

Milk fat content.

Marbled

A cheese made with orange and white curds pressed together.

Medium

cheese that has been aged over to 4 to 9 months.

Mixed rind

Refers to a blend of moulds or bacteria or other elements that a producer can use to provide a different rind structure for flavour and aroma

Moisture

The amount of liquid remaining in the cheese. Expressed as a percentage.

Nutty

a cheese with the flavour or aroma of fresh hazelnuts or almonds that occurs from the cultures used in specific cheeses.

Organic Milk

Milk that comes from a certified organic operation.

Pasta filata

Italian term for cheeses made with curd which is heated in hot whey and that are mechanically stretched before being pressed into moulds. The resulting cheeses are more elastic. Examples are Fior di Latte, Caciocavallo, Mozzarella and Bocconcini.

Pasteurization

The process by which milk is heated to high temperatures to destroy certain bacteria. Most Canadian cheeses are made with pasteurized milk.

Pasteurized Milk

Milk has been pasteurized by being held at a temperature of not less than 61.6°C for a period of not less than 30 minutes, or for a time and a temperature that is equivalent thereto in phosphatase destruction, as determined by official methods MFO-3, Determination of Phosphatase Activity in Dairy Products, November 30, 1981 (i.e. 72°C for 15 seconds).

Penicillium

The family of moulds that are cultured on the surface of soft cheeses to produce "bloomy" rinds, characteristic of Brie and Camembert, and internally to produce blue-veined cheeses such as Ermite and Bénédictin.

Penicillium Candidum

is a fungus used in the production of brie and camembert. It grows on the cheese surface forming a filamentous, a felt like covering and releases enzymes to flavor and ripen the cheese.

Penicillium Glaucum

fungus that is used to cause blue cheese to develop mold. Ex: Borgonzola style cheese. It is milder than Penicillium Roqueforti. Stilton cheese uses half of this fungus and half of penicillium Roqueforti.

Penicillium Roqueforti

fungus that is added to curds before pressing and activated by “needling” the cheese with a device that punches small holes which allows the mold spores to grow vegetative cells and spread within the cheese. Ex: Roquefort style cheeses. Stilton cheese uses half of this fungus and half of penicillium Glaucum.

Piquant

A cheese that is pleasantly sharp and has a stimulating flavour or aroma.

Pressed

Describes a cheese whose whey was not drained naturally but eliminated in a mechanical pressing process.