Salt is probably one of the most important factors in cheese making. It can make or break a cheese as it has many functions such as moisture control, lactic acid/microbiological control, rind development, flavour and texture. Its usually added once the milk has coagulated and the majority of the why has been removed. It can have an instand effect when expelling teh reaiming whey from teh cheese to longer turn flavour enhancing and maturation.
- Brine soaked cheeses - Edam/Gouda
- Salt is mixed with curds - Cheddar/Stilton
- Sprinkled onto the surface of the cheese - Camembert, Limburger
Once the curds have been salted or brined starter culture slows down dramatically and acidification slows down. Whey also carry lactose out of the cheese, if lactose levels are high the cheese PH will continue to drop causing high levels of acid during maturation.
Moisture Control
When the fresh cheese is covered in salt, it dissolves and penetrates the cheese causing the remaining why to be extracted. The why is then drained away or simply evaporates from the cheese. Over time the salt dehydrates the cheese to the correct amount for that particular cheese.
Rind Formation
As cheese is dry salted it starts to dehydrate the surface of the cheese. The % of salt and overall humidity/temperature will determine the thickness of the rind. The salt concentration within the rind also controls the environment for microbiological activity which influences the overall cheese.
At the start of ageing water is held within the protein (casein) resulting in a drier and softer cheese
Surface Microbiological Control
Salt controls the amount of micro-organisms on the rind. The less salt consentration the more micro-organisms can penetrate the cheese and vis-versa. If too little salt is used there could be a danger of attracting some undesirable bacteria. The consentration target has to be followed in creating a specific cheese.
Flavour
Not only does salt add a more savoury taste to the cheese, it controles the micro-organisms that also influence the cheese overall flavour. Salt has to be measured carefully to work with each individual cheesee e.g. In highly salted cheeses such as Feta and Stilton the salt influences the action of Lipase enzymes that give an overall piquant flavour
Salt Type
Standard sodium chloride table salt is used. Its best to use coarse rather than fine. This to absorbs teh whey at a steady rate compared to fine salt which can absorb so quickly it can flush out teh fat resulting in an incorrect salt content.
There are many types of salts, cheese friendly household eating salt are most common. These are minerals composed primarily of Sodium Chloride (NaCl) and essential to our well-being. Salt is produced from evaporating sea water and also mining ancient seabed deposits. These are manufactured in many ways including:
- Raw sea salt which is bitter due to magnesium
- Refined flourinated/iodized and anticaking salt. Iodine is used as a health benifait which unfortunately kills some of the good bacteria/culture in the cheese. Anicaking such assodium aluminosilicate, potassium ferrocyanide, or magnesium carbonate prevent the formation of lumps caused by moisture. Due to this its not recommended for dry salt but can be used in brine.
- Refined salt which is pure Sodium Chloride.
- Kosher/Malden/Rock salt is mainly used in cheesemaking as its does not contain Iodine
- Canning and Pickling is also non-iodized and can also be used in cheesemaking.
