I understand that producing different kinds of cheese (blue, cheddar, brie, etc.) is all about the method of production. And it seems it should follow from that that you could take a gallon of milk from the same cow and produce many different kinds of cheeses.
But somehow that seems improbable to me. Am I just being obtuse? Is that really just how it works, or do you need different kinds of milk too?
This is the book you need.
If you can’t find that in the local Oxfam, wonder over to here and learn about the wonders of cheese making.
Basically, there are a whole bunch of variables (temperature, pressure, type of enzyme, amount of salt added to name a few) that give the final cheese its very varied properties. Once you start using camel milk, or whatever - it becomes even more complicated.
But essentially, all those variables happen after the milk has been… milked. Right? So you could make a bunch of different cheeses out of the same milk?
I will keep an eye out in Oxfam.
Some cheese can be made from skimmed milk, but essentially milk can be turned into a bunch o’ cheeses. Water, barley and yeast can be turned into a bunch o’ beers, why not milk?
I remember reading that the big problem in cheesemaking is not how to make different cheeses, it is how to make the same cheese twice - the variables involved (in the properties of the milk, the enzymes, the temperatures, the bacterial cultures, the maturing process) make it actually quite difficult to achieve uniformity of end product (Wine is like this too, I suppose).
Wow I am a cheesemaker let me see if I can help you out. Ok here is the process. We make a few kinds of cheese and the processes vary a little for each one. The main cheese we make is called Cougar gold. I work at the Washington State Creamery.
We take the milk and dump it into a big vat. Then we add a certain amount of lactic starter that starts breaking down the milk. We determine the amount of starter by a.)how much milk and b.) the percentage of milk fat and proteins in the milk. We then add our culture, the bacteria that we use to flavor the cheese. The is one of most important parts because if the culture varied at all the cheese would have a drasticly different flavor. We have been using the same culture to make out cheese since WWII. After the starter and culture get mixed in we add an enzyme that sets the milk and makes it cheese. After the cheese has set for the proper length of time we take the huge cheese blob and cut it up then cook it for about and hour. After the cooking it done we pump everything out on a huge table with a drain running down the middle.
At this point we have little cheese curds and whey. The goal now it to drain the proper amount of whey from the cheese. We start by letting all the eccess whey drain off. Now we have on huge loaf of cheese. From here we cut the cheese into smaller loaves and do series of cheese manipulations, ie. flipping and turning and stacking the cheese in various manners, to make sure that whey drains out in a constant manner. During this time we keep a close eye on the acidity of the cheese. We want it to hit a certain range the low end if for safety of the consumer the high end is for taste. We can control the speed by how warm we keep the table. After about 2 hours of letting the whey drain out we will hit the proper acidity. At this time we toss the loaves we made into a milling machine that cuts the loaves into half inch curds. We mix salt into the curds, this stops the bacteria from going at it so i woun’t get any more acidic. We then toss the curds into metal hoops and press them overnight to get even more whey out. the we cut it, package it and age for a year before it goes out to the public.
We also make an American and Smokey Cheese we use the same process but we use a diffrent culture for those. And we make a Viking cheese with is a high moiture cheese. It has a lower acidity and doesn’t stay on the table or get pressed as long. It is only aged 2 months. It also uses a diffrent culture.
So in short, There are several variables that are used to make diffrent cheese, change any one of then and it can drastically change to taste and texture of the cheese. And while most cheeses are made out of cow milk diffrent animals have diffrent protiens in their milk giving them a diffrent flavor. We only use cow millk.
If you would like more information or if you would like to try some of our cheese please visit http://www.wsu.edu/creamery/
Man, I wish I was a cheesemaker.
Alas, they only want a chef 
Francesca,
Well, yes and no. Milk from different breeds of cow is not necessarily the same. All cows milk can be used to make pretty much any cheese, but milk from some breeds is better at making some cheeses than others. This is most noticable in lightly processed cheeses - cottage cheese being an extreme example.
I’ve been to a dairy/cheese factory where they had a whole range of cheeses for tasting, including several where the same cheese variety had been made from different breeds of cows. There was a noticable variation in some of those. Interesting experience, a bit like going to a winery for a wine tasting.
DancingFool
Blessed are the cheesemakers…
BEHOLD! The power, of cheesemakers!
I am the cheesemaster!
What cheeses are made from Goat or Sheep milk?
At least in France there are plenty of cheeses made from goat, most of them called chevre-something. Sheep cheeses are a bit less common, although there is the very famous case of Roquefort, which should be made from ewe milk.
Feta, to which I am rather partial, is made from sheep’s milk.
And isn’t mozzarella made from buffalo milk - or was someone having me on?
Once upon a time, yes… but that was before the Italian buffalo became extinct.
Unless you’re talking about milk from western New York… but that would be Buffalo milk.
:rolleyes:
Hey, Popup, do you happen to know whether “Roquefort” is a brand name, or simply an eponym? 
IIRC it’s a trademark. And a very disputed one, I seem to remember.
Not quite sure what you’re trying to say here.
Anyway, here are some pictures of the definitely-not-extinct Italian buffalo:
http://www.deliaonline.com/ingredients/food/a_0000000188.asp