How does one make cheese?

Every variety of cheese is made in a unique way, though most cheese recipes can be condensed into eight basic steps. (These eight basic steps were first outlined by Frank Kosikowski in his book Cheese and Fermented Milk Foods.) More cheesemaking resources are listed on this page. Below the eight steps is a link to a diagram showing how different manufacturing methods lead to different varieties of cheese.

1) SET THE MILK: This is the act of coagulating the milk into a curd, and can be accomplished with either rennet (a mixture of enzymes derived from the fourth stomach of ruminant animals), or an acid such as lactic acid or vinegar, or sometimes a combination of both.

2) CUT THE CURD: Depending on the type of cheese being made, the curd is cut into pieces of varying sizes. This serves to expel the whey that had been previously trapped in the curd. Whey is simply a mix of water, milk solids, and whey proteins. The curd on the other hand is made up of casein (a specific kind of protein) and milk fat.

3) COOK AND HOLD THE CURDS: This step causes the curds to firm up and expel more whey.

4) DRAIN THE WHEY: This step formally separates the curd (which will end up being your final cheese) from the whey.

5) KNIT THE CURDS: During this step, the curd pieces come together into one mass.

6) PRESS THE CURDS: During pressing, more whey is expelled, the curds become more closely-knit, and the cheese takes a definite shape and texture. Most hard cheeses are pressed in a cheese press with active force, while most soft cheeses are pressed under their own weight by gravity.

7) SALT THE CURDS: Adding salt to the curds serves many purposes, including expelling more whey, controlling the final moisture content of the cheese, preserving the cheese by inhibiting bacterial growth, and adding flavor.

8) SPECIAL APPLICATIONS: This step really depends on what kind of cheese you're making. For instance, if you're making Mozzarella cheese, here's where you'd pull and stretch the cheese in hot water to create the stringy structure. If you're making bloomy-rind cheese, you might spray the outside surface with hydrated mold spores.