Why Are There so Many Different Cheeses If They Are All Made with Basically the Same Processes?

Cheese comes in a wide variety of flavors, textures, and styles, but the process for making all cheeses remains basically the same. Making all cheeses requires mainly the same processes, but many factors influence how the finished product tastes, feels, and smells. Where the milk came from and eating habits of the mammal that produced the milk, climate conditions during the cheese making process, and the particular type of "microbes that the curd was inoculated with" all play a role in what a cheese will be like when it is completed ("CHAPTER 20: Industrial Microbiology").

The type of milk used in making cheese and the diet of the producer of the milk being used in the process inevitably impacts the end product. Cows, goats, and sheep usually provide the milk for cheese making. The diet of the producer of the milk plays an important role as well, and the climate the producer lived in also factors into the end result. Milk provides a base for cheese making, and the origin of the milk impacts the cheese. Everything that goes into producing the milk will also go into the making of the cheese; so this plays a factor in the differences of cheeses.

The climate, of the area where the cheese making occurs, influences the type of cheese achieved in the end. The temperature and humidity impacts the flavor of cheese during the ripening process ("CHAPTER 20: Industrial Microbiology"). Different cheeses are created when ripened in different locations. Environment adds to the unique flavor of the cheese.

Another factor that allows cheese to be different even when made in the exact same manner and with the exact same process relies on microbe strains. "Thousands of strains of the cheese-making bacteria and molds" provide cheese makers with numerous options for products to create ("CHAPTER 20: Industrial Microbiology"). These microbes play a key role in the different types of cheese in the world. If several of the same curds become inoculated by different strains, the cheese made varies.

Reference:

"CHAPTER 20: Industrial Microbiology." Génie Chimique: Accueil. N.p., 3 Nov. 1996. Web. 1 Apr. 2011. .