At refrigerator temperatures, the fat in a piece of cheese is as hard as unsoftened butter , and its protein structure is stiff as well. Flavor and odor compounds are less easily liberated when cold. For improvements in flavor and texture, it is widely advised that cheeses be allowed to warm up to room temperature before eating. If the cheese is further warmed, to 26–32 °C (79–90 °F), the fats will begin to "sweat out" as they go beyond soft to fully liquid. [ 15 ]
Above room temperatures, most hard cheeses melt. Rennet-curdled cheeses have a gel -like protein matrix that is broken down by heat. When enough protein bonds are broken, the cheese itself turns from a solid to a viscous liquid. Soft, high-moisture cheeses will melt at around 55 °C (131 °F), while hard, low-moisture cheeses such as Parmesan remain solid until they reach about 82 °C (180 °F). [ 16 ] Acid-set cheeses, including halloumi , paneer , some whey cheeses and many varieties of fresh goat cheese , have a protein structure that remains intact at high temperatures. When cooked, these cheeses just get firmer as water evaporates.
Some cheeses, like raclette , melt smoothly; many tend to become stringy or suffer from a separation of their fats. Many of these can be coaxed into melting smoothly in the presence of acids or starch . Fondue , with wine providing the acidity, is a good example of a smoothly melted cheese dish. [ 17 ] Elastic stringiness is a quality that is sometimes enjoyed, in dishes including pizza and Welsh rarebit . Even a melted cheese eventually turns solid again, after enough moisture is cooked off. The saying "you can't melt cheese twice" (meaning "some things can only be done once") refers to the fact that oils leach out during the first melting and are gone, leaving the non-meltable solids behind.
As its temperature continues to rise, cheese will brown and eventually burn. Browned, partially burned cheese has a particular distinct flavor of its own and is frequently used in cooking (e.g., sprinkling atop items before baking them).
Health and nutrition
In general, cheese supplies a great deal of calcium , protein , phosphorus and fat . A 30-gram (1.1 oz) serving of Cheddar cheese contains about 7 grams (0.25 oz) of protein and 200 milligrams of calcium. Nutritionally, cheese is essentially concentrated milk: it takes about 200 grams (7.1 oz) of milk to provide that much protein, and 150 grams (5.3 oz) to equal the calcium. [ 18 ]
Cheese potentially shares other of milk's nutritional content as well. The Center for Science in the Public Interest describes cheese as America's number one source of saturated fat , adding that the average American ate 30 lb (14 kg) of cheese in the year 2000, up from 11 lb (5 kg) in 1970. [ 19 ] Their recommendation is to limit full-fat cheese consumption to 2 oz (57 g) a week. Whether cheese's highly saturated fat actually leads to an increased risk of heart disease is called into question when considering France and Greece , which lead the world in cheese eating (more than 14 oz/400 g a week per person, or over 45 lb/20 kg a year) yet have relatively low rates of heart disease. [ 20 ] This seeming discrepancy is called the French Paradox ; the higher rates of consumption of red wine in these countries is often invoked as at least a partial explanation.
Some studies claim that cheddar, mozzarella, Swiss and American cheeses can help to prevent tooth decay . [ 21 ] [ 22 ] Several mechanisms for this protection have been proposed:
- The calcium, protein, and phosphorus in cheese may act to protect tooth enamel .
- Cheese increases saliva flow, washing away acids and sugars.
- Cheese may have an antibacterial effect in the mouth. [ citation needed ]
Controversy
Effect on sleep
A study by the British Cheese Board in 2005 to determine the effect of cheese upon sleep and dreaming discovered that, contrary to the idea that cheese commonly causes nightmares , the effect of cheese upon sleep was positive. The majority of the two hundred people tested over a fortnight claimed beneficial results from consuming cheeses before going to bed, the cheese promoting good sleep. Six cheeses were tested and the findings were that the dreams produced were specific to the type of cheese. Although the apparent effects were in some cases described as colorful and vivid, or cryptic, none of the cheeses tested were found to induce nightmares. However, the six cheeses were all British. The results might be entirely different if a wider range of cheeses were tested. [ 23 ] Cheese contains tryptophan , an amino acid that has been found to relieve stress and induce sleep. [ 24 ]
Casein
Like other dairy products, cheese contains casein , a substance that when digested by humans breaks down into several chemicals, including casomorphine , an opioid peptide . In the early 1990s it was hypothesized that autism can be caused or aggravated by opioid peptides. [ 25 ] Based on this hypothesis, diets that eliminate cheese and other dairy products are widely promoted. [ citation needed ] Studies supporting these claims have had significant flaws, so the data are inadequate to guide autism treatment recommendations. [ 26 ]
Lactose
Cheese is often avoided by those who are lactose intolerant , but ripened cheeses like Cheddar contain only about 5% of the lactose found in whole milk , and aged cheeses contain almost none. [ 27 ] Nevertheless, people with severe lactose intolerance should avoid eating dairy cheese. As a natural product, the same kind of cheese may contain different amounts of lactose on different occasions, causing unexpected painful reactions. As an alternative, also for vegans , there is already a wide range of different soy cheese kinds available. Some people suffer reactions to amines found in cheese, particularly histamine and tyramine . Some aged cheeses contain significant concentrations of these amines, which can trigger symptoms mimicking an allergic reaction : headaches , rashes , and blood pressure elevations.
Pasteurization
A number of food safety agencies around the world have warned of the risks of raw-milk cheeses. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration states that soft raw-milk cheeses can cause "serious infectious diseases including listeriosis , brucellosis , salmonellosis and tuberculosis ". [ 28 ] It is U.S. law since 1944 that all raw-milk cheeses (including imports since 1951) must be aged at least 60 days. Australia has a wide ban on raw-milk cheeses as well, though in recent years exceptions have been made for Swiss Gruyère , Emmental and Sbrinz , and for French Roquefort . [ 29 ] There is a trend for cheeses to be pasteurized even when not required by law.
Compulsory pasteurization is controversial. Pasteurization does change the flavor of cheeses, and unpasteurized cheeses are often considered to have better flavor, so there are reasons not to pasteurize all cheeses. Some say that health concerns are overstated, pointing out that milk pasteurization does not ensure cheese safety. [ 30 ] This is supported by statistics showing that in some European countries where young raw-milk cheeses may legally be sold, most cheese-related food poisoning incidents were traced to pasteurized cheeses. [ citation needed ]
Pregnant women may face an additional risk from cheese; the U.S. Centers for Disease Control has warned pregnant women against eating soft-ripened cheeses and blue-veined cheeses, due to the listeria risk, which can cause miscarriage or harm to the fetus during birth. [ 31 ]
World production and consumption
| Top cheese producers (1,000 metric tons) [ 32 ] | |
|---|---|
 United States | 4,275 (2006) |
 Germany | 1,927 (2008) |
 France | 1,884 (2008) |
 Italy | 1,149 (2008) |
 Netherlands | 732 (2008) |
 Poland | 594 (2008) |
 Brazil | 495 (2006) |
 Egypt | 462 (2006) |
 Argentina | 425 (2006) |
 Australia | 395 (2006) |
The biggest exporter of cheese, by monetary value, is France; the second, Germany (although it is first by quantity). Among the top ten exporters, only Ireland, New Zealand, the Netherlands and Australia have a cheese production that is mainly export oriented: respectively 95%, 90%, 72%, and 65% of their cheese production is exported. [ 33 ] Only 30% of French production, the world's largest exporter, is exported. The United States, the biggest world producer of cheese, is a marginal exporter, as most of its production is for the domestic market.
| Top cheese exporters (Whole Cow Milk only) - 2004 (value in '000 US $) [ 34 ] | |
|---|---|
| France | 2,658,441 |
| Germany | 2,416,973 |
| Netherlands | 2,099,353 |
| Italy | 1,253,580 |
 Denmark | 1,122,761 |
| Australia | 643,575 |
 New Zealand | 631,963 |
 Belgium | 567,590 |
 Ireland | 445,240 |
 United Kingdom | 374,156 |
Germany is the largest importer of cheese. The UK and Italy are the second- and third-largest importers. [ 35 ]
| Top cheese consumers - 2003 (kilograms per person per year) [ 36 ] | |
|---|---|
 Greece | 27.3 |
| France | 24.0 |
| Italy | 22.9 |
 Switzerland | 20.6 |
| Germany | 20.2 |
| Netherlands | 19.9 |
 Austria | 19.5 |
 Sweden | 17.9 |
Greece is the world's largest ( per capita ) consumer of cheese, with 27.3 kg eaten by the average Greek. ( Feta accounts for three-quarters of this consumption.) France is the second biggest consumer of cheese, with 24 kg by inhabitant. Emmental (used mainly as a cooking ingredient) and Camembert are the most common cheeses in France [ 37 ] Italy is the third biggest consumer by person with 22.9 kg. In the U.S., the consumption of cheese is quickly increasing and has nearly tripled between 1970 and 2003. The consumption per person has reached, in 2003, 14.1 kg (31 lb). Mozzarella is America's favorite cheese and accounts for nearly a third of its consumption, mainly because it is one of the main ingredients of pizza. [ 38 ]
Cultural attitudes
Although cheese is a vital source of nutrition in many regions of the world, and is extensively consumed in others, its use is not universal. Cheese is rarely found in East Asian dishes, as lactose intolerance is relatively common in that part of the world and hence dairy products are rare. However, East Asian sentiment against cheese is not universal; cheese made from yaks ' ( chhurpi ) or mares' milk is common on the Asian steppes ; the national dish of Bhutan , ema datsi , is made from homemade cheese and hot peppers and cheese such as Rushan and Rubing in Yunnan , China is produced by several ethnic minority groups by either using goat's milk in the case of rubing or cow's milk in the case of rushan. Cheese consumption is increasing in China, with annual sales more than doubling from 1996 to 2003 (to a still small 30 million U.S. dollars a year). [ 39 ] Certain kinds of Chinese preserved bean curd are sometimes misleadingly referred to in English as "Chinese cheese", because of their texture and strong flavor.
Strict followers of the dietary laws of Islam and Judaism must avoid cheeses made with rennet from animals not slaughtered in a manner adhering to halal or kosher laws. [ 40 ] Both faiths allow cheese made with vegetable-based rennet or with rennet made from animals that were processed in a halal or kosher manner. Many less-orthodox Jews also believe that rennet undergoes enough processing to change its nature entirely, and do not consider it to ever violate kosher law. (See Cheese and kashrut .) As cheese is a dairy food under kosher rules it cannot be eaten in the same meal with any meat.
Rennet derived from animal slaughter, and thus cheese made with animal-derived rennet, is not vegetarian . Most widely available vegetarian cheeses are made using rennet produced by fermentation of the fungus Mucor miehei . Vegans and other dairy-avoiding vegetarians do not eat real cheese at all, but some vegetable-based cheese substitutes (usually soy -and almond -based) are available.
Even in cultures with long cheese traditions, it is not unusual to find people who perceive cheese - especially pungent-smelling or mold-bearing varieties such as Limburger or Roquefort - as unpalatable. Food-science writer Harold McGee proposes that cheese is such an acquired taste because it is produced through a process of controlled spoilage and many of the odor and flavor molecules in an aged cheese are the same found in rotten foods. He notes, "An aversion to the odor of decay has the obvious biological value of steering us away from possible food poisoning, so it is no wonder that an animal food that gives off whiffs of shoes and soil and the stable takes some getting used to." [ 41 ]
Collecting cheese labels is called " tyrosemiophilia ".
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