group them by their moisture content and the
microbes that ripen them. The more moisture
removed from the curd, the harder the
cheese’s eventual texture, and the longer its
lifespan. A fresh cheese with 80% water lasts
a few days, while a soft cheese (45–55%)
reaches its prime in a few weeks, a semihard
cheese (40–45%) in a few months, a hard
cheese (30–40%) after a year or more. And
ripening microbes create distinctive flavors.
The box on p. 60 shows how cheesemakers
create such different cheeses from the same
basic materials.
Cheese Flavors from Proteins and Fats
The flavor of a good cheese seems to fill
the mouth, and that’s because enzymes
from the milk and rennet and microbes
break down the concentrated protein and
fat into a wide range of flavor compounds.
The long, chain-like casein proteins are
first broken into medium-sized pieces