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Click here to read the previous post (Cheese: Part 4).
Blue Cheese or bleu cheese
GeneralIt is a general classification of cow's milk, sheep's milk, or goat's milk cheeses that have had Penicillium cultures added so that the final product is spotted or veined throughout with blue, blue-grey or blue-green mold, and carries a distinct smell. Some blue cheeses are injected with spores before the curds form and others have spores mixed in with the curds after they form. Blue cheeses are typically aged in a temperature-controlled environment such as a cave.
The characteristic flavor of blue cheeses tends to be sharp and a bit salty. The smell of this food is widely considered to be pungent. This is due to the types of bacteria encouraged to grow on the cheese; for example, the bacterium Brevibacterium linens, responsible for the pungent smell of many blue cheeses, is also the cause of human foot odor. Due to this strong smell and flavor, blue cheeses are often considered an acquired taste. They can be eaten by themselves or can be crumbled or melted over foods.
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Click here to read the previous post (Cheese: Part 3).
Mozzarella
GeneralIt is a generic term for several kinds of Italian cheeses that are made using spinning and then cutting (hence the name, as the Italian verb mozzare means "to cut"). A few different types of mozzarella cheese:1. Mozzarella di Bufala (buffalo mozzarella) is made from domesticated water buffalo milk2. mozzarella fior di latte, made from fresh pasteurized or unpasteurized cow's milk3. low-moisture mozzarella, which is made from whole or part skimmed milk, and widely used in the food service industry4. smoked mozzarellaFresh mozzarella is generally white, but may vary seasonally to slightly yellow depending on the animal's diet. It is a semi-soft cheese. Due to its high moisture content, it is traditionally served the day it is made, but can be kept in brine for up to a week, or longer when sold in vacuum-sealed packages. Low-moisture mozzarella can keep refrigerated for up to a month, though some pre-shredded low-moisture mozzarella is sold with a shelf life of up to 6 months. Mozzarella of several kinds are also used for most types of pizza, lasagna, or served with sliced tomatoes and basil in Insalata caprese.
Process
Mozzarella is traditionally produced solely from the milk of the domestic water buffalo. A whey starter is added from the previous batch that contains thermophilic bacteria, and the milk is left to ripen so the bacteria can multiply. Then, rennet is added to coagulate the milk. After coagulation, the curd is cut to large, 1" to 2" pieces, and left to sit so the curds firm up in a process known as healing. After the curd heals, it is further cut to 3/8" to 1/2" large pieces. The curds are stirred and heated to separate the curds from the whey. The whey is then drained from the curds and the curds are placed in a hoop to form a solid mass. The curd mass is left until the pH is at around 5.2 to 5.5, which is the point when the cheese can be stretched. The cheese is then stretched and kneaded to produce a delicate consistency -- this process is generally known as pasta filata. It is then typically formed into ball shapes or in plait. In Italy, a "rubbery" consistency is generally considered not satisfactory; the cheese is expected to be softer.
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Please click here to read on my post about Blue Cheese.
Click here to read the previous post (Cheese: Part 2).
Parmesan Cheese or Parmigiano-ReggianoGeneralIt is a hard granular cheese, cooked but not pressed, named after the producing areas near Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, and Bologna, and Mantova, Italy. Under Italian law only cheese produced in these provinces may be labeled "Parmigiano-Reggiano", while European law classifies the name as a protected designation of origin.ProcessParmigiano-Reggiano is made from raw cow's milk. The whole milk of the morning milking is mixed with the naturally skimmed milk (it is left in large shallow tanks to allow the cream to separate) of the previous evening's milking, resulting in a part skim mixture. The milk is pumped into copper-lined vats. Starter whey is added, and the temperature is raised to 33-35°C. Calf rennet is added, and the mixture is left to curdle for 10-12 minutes. The curd is then broken up mechanically into small pieces (around the size of rice grains). The temperature is then raised to 55°C with careful control by the cheese-maker. The curd is left to settle for 45-60 minutes. The compacted curd is collected in a piece of muslin before being divided in two and placed in moulds. There are 1100 L of milk per vat, producing two cheeses each. The curd making up each wheel at this point weighs around 45 kg. 
The cheese is put into a stainless steel round form that is pulled tight with a spring powered buckle so the cheese retains its wheel shape. After a day or two, the buckle is released and a plastic belt imprinted numerous times with the Parmigiano-Reggiano name, the plant's number, and month and year of production is put around the cheese and the metal form is buckled tight again. The imprints take hold on the rind of the cheese in about a day and the wheel is then put into a brine bath to absorb salt for 20-25 days. After brining, the wheels are then transferred to the aging rooms in the plant for 12 months. Each cheese is placed on wooden shelves that can be 24 cheeses high by 90 cheeses long or about 4,000 total wheels per aisle. Each cheese and the shelf underneath it is then cleaned manually or robotically every 7 days. The cheese is also turned at this time. Gourmets consider Parmigiano-Reggiano a splendid "table cheese" for eating not merely for grating. Many consider it to be at its best at 24 to 30 months, when it is still soft and crumby, with tiny crunchy spots from the crystallised salt, yet rich and complex in flavor. The only additive allowed is salt, which the cheese absorbs while being submerged for 20 days in brine tanks saturated to near total salinity with Mediterranean sea salt. The product is aged an average of two years. The cheese is produced daily, and it can show a natural variability. True Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese has a sharp, complex fruity/nutty taste with a strong umami flavor and a slightly gritty texture. Inferior versions can impart a bitter taste.
The average Parmigiano-Reggiano wheel is about 18-24 cm high, 40-45 cm in diameter, and weighs 38 kg.
Uses of the cheese include being grated with a grater over pasta, stirred into soup and risotto, and eaten in chunks with balsamic vinegar. It is also a key ingredient in alfredo sauce and pesto.
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Click here to read the previous post (Cheese: Part 1).
Cheddar Cheese:GeneralIt is a relatively hard yellow to off-white, and sometimes sharp-tasting cheese originally made in the English village of Cheddar, in Somerset. Cheddar cheese is the most popular cheese in the United Kingdom (UK), accounting for 51% of the country's £1.9 billion annual cheese market.Cheddar cheese is produced in many places, both in the UK and in other countries, including Ireland, the United States (US), Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada and Iceland. In most countries, Cheddar cheese in its various forms, is readily available, ranging from mild lower-fat cheeses to the more mature higher-fat and sharper cheeses. Only cheese produced and sourced in the English counties of Somerset, Devon, Dorset, and Cornwall may be given the Protected Designation of Origin name "West Country Farmhouse Cheddar".ProcessCheddaring refers to an additional step in the production of Cheddar-style cheese where, after heating, the curd is kneaded with salt, then is cut into cubes to drain the whey, then stacked and turned. Strong, extra-mature Cheddar, sometimes called vintage, needs to be matured for up to 15 months. The cheese is kept at a constant temperature often requiring special facilities. As with production of other hard cheese varieties in other regions worldwide, caves provide an ideal environment for maturing cheese. The curds and whey are separated using rennet, an enzyme complex normally produced from the stomachs of new-born calves (in vegetarian cheeses, bacterial-, yeast- or mould-derived chymosin is used).CharacterThe ideal quality of the original Somerset Cheddar was described by Joseph Harding in 1864 as "close and firm in texture, yet mellow in character or quality; it is rich with a tendency to melt in the mouth, the flavor full and fine, approaching to that of a hazelnut". Cheddar, made in the classical ways, tends to have a sharp, pungent flavour, often slightly earthy. Its texture is firm, with farmhouse traditional Cheddar being slightly crumbly.
Just the other day, someone asked me what is the obvious difference between cheddar cheese and Parmesan cheese. Instead of answering the question, I replied that there are many types of cheese and people use different cheese for different purpose. Haha. Seriously I dont know what is the difference between cheddar cheese and Parmesan cheese. And months before that, I saw an unusual cheese in the supermarket. It was full of molds and the smell was terrible (well, for me it is terrible). The cheese is called as Blue Cheese. I was wondering who on Earth would want to eat that kind of ugly-looking & stinky cheese. Haha.
Before I chose to take up Pastry, I had so many courses in mind, but NOT pastry. (Pastry is just one of my hobbies.) I tried to apply a few different courses and had even applied for TESL, but I guess all those courses that I chose are just never meant for me. *shrugged*So after a few attempts on those courses that I chose, I gave up and asked around for a suitable course for me instead. It was quite inappropriate because I am supposed to decide for myself, but I was really desperate and frustrated with everything. In the end, I listened to someone's advice and chose this course that I'm taking now. Well, I decided to listen to that advice because I do love pastry!
To tell frankly I'm not a person who goes to the kitchen often (if you get what I mean), until one day in year 2005. The mother of a friend of mine baked a type of 'cake' which she calls as Kek Batik. I never knew about Kek Batik before that, so I was surprised to know that this 'cake' was made by using Marie Biscuits instead of flour. So I asked for the recipe and she told me how to bake it. I went home and couldnt stop the burning desire inside of me to bake this Kek Batik. I think I bought all the ingredients needed the day after and started to bake on that same day.
~Kek Batik~
~Marie Biscuit~
Besides that I love pastry because it is not just about the food, but it is also about art. Though I am not an art student, but I like everything beautiful. And I'm not a very creative person, but I love doing artwork. =) I don't really know the art of pastry and yet I admire those who can create a very beautiful masterpiece. But I dont want to just admire those beautiful masterpieces, I want to learn how to do that and create my own masterpiece. I hope I can. =)
