is stored, conditions that determine the
moisture content of the cheese, the growth of
microbes, the activity of enzymes, and the
development of flavor and texture. Specialist
cheese merchants in France and elsewhere are
also affineurs: they buy cheeses before they
have fully matured, and carefully finish the
process on their premises, so that they can sell
the cheeses at their prime.
Industrial producers usually ripen their
cheeses only partly, then refrigerate them to
suspend their development before shipping.
This practice maximizes the cheeses’ stability
and shelf life at the expense of quality.
OPPOSITE: Principal cheese families. Only
distinctive processing steps are shown; most
cheeses are also salted, shaped in molds, and
aged for some time. Curdling the milk, cutting
the curd, heating the curd particles, and
pressing are methods of removing
progressively more moisture from a cheese,