About The Basic Preparation Of Foodstuffs: Dairy Products.
CHEESES
Cheese is made from milk which has been naturally or artificially soured. The former method is brought about by standing the milk in a warm place and allowing natural, friendly bacteria to turn the milk's natural sugars into lactic acid. The latter method is effected by adding an enzyme, usually in to form of rennet.
Colouring and salt are usually added too. The whey is then drained off and the curds are pressed into moulds where they are ripened or cured. Some cheeses are subjected to pressure; soft cheeses are not. Curds are ripened or cured by a variety of means. The method, the quality of the milk and its pasture, the breed of cow, sheep or other animal and the type of bacteria all govern the final product.
Some local environmental conditions are unique and those areas are capable of producing cheeses that are not successfully copied anywhere else: for instance Roquefort and Camembert, although factories do attempt it. Some even have a measure of success: remember that most of the world's Cheddar cheese now derives from the United States and Canada.
The constituents of cheese are typically: 33% fat, 33% protein and 33% water with salt, colouring, sugar etc making up the rest. These percentages vary from region to region as some producers use full-cream milk, others skimmed-milk and yet others add extra cream. Some add extra sugar, most do not. All cheeses have a high calcium content and may be considered 'concentrated milk' and stored as such.
Many people say that cheese must not be kept in a fridge and although storing in water, as for milk, is not a viable option, a cool larder is certainly ideal. Try the traditional method of suspending it from a hook in muslin in a cool, breezy place. If it is hot, moisten the cheesecloth with water to which a little vinegar has been added.
Cheese is typically served in Europe with a salad or/and bread and is often served after or instead of the sweet course. Hard cheese can be difficult for children to digest and grating it first will make it more palatable to them. Once grated the cheese can be sprinkled on vegetable or fish soups or sauces; added to egg, pasta, rice and oatmeal dishes; put on baked potatoes or pastry; toasted on bread or put in salads and sandwiches.
How To Cook Cheese: A little known fact is that many people find cooked cheese indigestible and the reason lies in its structure. Here is why: cooked starch can be digested by the saliva in the mouth but other foods must pass to the stomach or intestines for this process. They are, however, broken up in the mouth. Digestion of protein begins in the stomach and is completed in the small intestine, while fat is not rendered soluble until it reaches the small intestine.
Cheese possesses a high fat and protein mixture, but in melting, the fat often covers the protein and prevents the digestive juices reaching it in the stomach. Therefore, its digestion is delayed until the fat has been absorbed in the intestines. Cheese can be rendered more digestible by:
1] Adding to or combining with starchy foods. The starch will absorb the fat, not allowing it to cover the protein.
2] Using seasoning: Cayenne Pepper or mustard will irritate the intestinal lining, causing the release of extra digestive juices.
3] Cooking quickly at high temperature. This prevents the protein from becoming tough and stringy and therefore, harder to digest. Add cheese late to sauces.
4] Adding alkali: so, large pinch of Bicarbonate of Soda per 75g (3 ozs) will help neutralize the fatty acids and make the proteins easier to digest.
CHEESES
Cheese is made from milk which has been naturally or artificially soured. The former method is brought about by standing the milk in a warm place and allowing natural, friendly bacteria to turn the milk's natural sugars into lactic acid. The latter method is effected by adding an enzyme, usually in to form of rennet.
Colouring and salt are usually added too. The whey is then drained off and the curds are pressed into moulds where they are ripened or cured. Some cheeses are subjected to pressure; soft cheeses are not. Curds are ripened or cured by a variety of means. The method, the quality of the milk and its pasture, the breed of cow, sheep or other animal and the type of bacteria all govern the final product.
Some local environmental conditions are unique and those areas are capable of producing cheeses that are not successfully copied anywhere else: for instance Roquefort and Camembert, although factories do attempt it. Some even have a measure of success: remember that most of the world's Cheddar cheese now derives from the United States and Canada.
The constituents of cheese are typically: 33% fat, 33% protein and 33% water with salt, colouring, sugar etc making up the rest. These percentages vary from region to region as some producers use full-cream milk, others skimmed-milk and yet others add extra cream. Some add extra sugar, most do not. All cheeses have a high calcium content and may be considered 'concentrated milk' and stored as such.
Many people say that cheese must not be kept in a fridge and although storing in water, as for milk, is not a viable option, a cool larder is certainly ideal. Try the traditional method of suspending it from a hook in muslin in a cool, breezy place. If it is hot, moisten the cheesecloth with water to which a little vinegar has been added.
Cheese is typically served in Europe with a salad or/and bread and is often served after or instead of the sweet course. Hard cheese can be difficult for children to digest and grating it first will make it more palatable to them. Once grated the cheese can be sprinkled on vegetable or fish soups or sauces; added to egg, pasta, rice and oatmeal dishes; put on baked potatoes or pastry; toasted on bread or put in salads and sandwiches.
How To Cook Cheese: A little known fact is that many people find cooked cheese indigestible and the reason lies in its structure. Here is why: cooked starch can be digested by the saliva in the mouth but other foods must pass to the stomach or intestines for this process. They are, however, broken up in the mouth. Digestion of protein begins in the stomach and is completed in the small intestine, while fat is not rendered soluble until it reaches the small intestine.
Cheese possesses a high fat and protein mixture, but in melting, the fat often covers the protein and prevents the digestive juices reaching it in the stomach. Therefore, its digestion is delayed until the fat has been absorbed in the intestines. Cheese can be rendered more digestible by:
1] Adding to or combining with starchy foods. The starch will absorb the fat, not allowing it to cover the protein.
2] Using seasoning: Cayenne Pepper or mustard will irritate the intestinal lining, causing the release of extra digestive juices.
3] Cooking quickly at high temperature. This prevents the protein from becoming tough and stringy and therefore, harder to digest. Add cheese late to sauces.
4] Adding alkali: so, large pinch of Bicarbonate of Soda per 75g (3 ozs) will help neutralize the fatty acids and make the proteins easier to digest.
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