Cheese is a fermented milk product. Its properties are very similar to common yogurt. Both are made by milk fermentation. They also contain soft acid bacteria, which are very good for health. However, the concentration of cheese is higher than that of yogurt, similar to solid, and its nutritional value is more abundant.
Ten kilos of milk only makes one kilo of cheese, so cheese is condensed milk. Cheese is rich in nutrients such as protein, calcium, fat, phosphorus and vitamins, and is a pure natural healthy food. Most people choose cheese from the perspective of cooking food, such as pizza, pasta, salad, baking, etc. What kind of cheese is suitable for which cooking method, here is an introduction to everyone.
1. Mascarpone Cheese
Mascarpone Cheese is a "fresh cheese" formed by adding tartaric acid to cream and then removing part of the water. It is originated in Lombardy, Italy. Because the raw material uses cream instead of milk, mascarpone has a relatively high fat content, which can reach more than 60%. Mascarpone is a representative of fresh cheese. It has a smooth texture, sweet taste and rich milk flavor. It can be eaten directly as a snack and is often used to make desserts such as tiramisu, puffs, and cheesecake.
2. Mozzarella Cheese
Mozzarella cheese, native to Campania and Naples in southern Italy, is a mild-flavored cheese. The real mozzarella is made from buffalo milk, but modern milk products are more common. Mozzarella is light yellow in color and contains about 50% milk fat. The product of authentic buffalo milk is very white in color and has a thin bright shell, which is very elastic and easy to slice. The maturity period is about 1 to 3 days. As mozzarella matures, its texture becomes softer and its flavor intensifies. Authentic buffalo milk products have a sweetness, depth and breadth that ordinary milk products cannot match, and the flavor is much better. The mozzarella cheese made from buffalo milk is quite different from the one we buy in the supermarket. As a must-have Italian cheese for pizza, mozzarella's unique brushed texture must be your first impression of it. To make mozzarella, the coagulated and filtered curd must be repeatedly kneaded and stretched in hot water so that it has a slender structure and sufficient ductility.
3. Cheddar Cheese
Cheddar cheese, mild in flavor, soft in texture, chewy in texture, ranging in color from white to pale yellow, and in flavor depending on how long it has been stored. Some are slightly sweet (9 months) and some are heavier (24 months). Cheddar cheese melts easily, makes sandwiches, and is also used as a dressing. Cheddar cheese is made from raw milk through a series of complex processing techniques such as sterilization, fermentation, coagulation and maturation. Most processed cheeses are made from cheddar cheese.
4. Parmesan cheese
Parmesan cheese is a hard cheese with a firmer texture than cheddar, generally within 30% moisture content, and is cooked but not squeezed in the manufacturing process. Parmesan is named after Parma and Emilia in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, where it is produced. Many cheese lovers call this cheese the king of cheese. Its formula is said to have hardly changed in seven hundred years and is protected by the EU name at the place of origin. Parmesan is mostly light yellow in color and has a savory taste. In addition to mixing salads, cooking pasta, and stewing rice, it can also be used to make thick soups and green sauces.
5. Feta cheese
Feta cheese is the most famous dairy product and iconic food in Greece, and only Greece can produce Feta cheese. Feta cheese is made of goat's milk and is a soft cheese with strong sour and salty taste. Feta cheese is commonly used in salads, but also in some Greek-inspired dishes.
6. Blue Cheese
Blue cheese is a semi-soft cheese that is loose, meltable, and crumbly. Traditional blue cheese has no rind, white parent, blue mold, and a slightly more intense flavor. Blue cheese, with a history of more than two thousand years, has a spicy flavor. The reproduction of green mold makes the cheese form a beautiful blue pattern, and at this time the cheese can be eaten, and its taste is strong and spicy. Unlike other cheese varieties, blue cheeses mature from the center outward.