Glossary of Cheese Terminology
Acidic A term used to describe a slightly sour flavor to cheese.
Aging A process in which cheese is left to mature. The longer it ages, the less moisture it has and the more flavorful it will become.
Ammoniated When some cheeses such as Brie and Camembert become overripe, they will taste and smell like ammonia.
Annatto Coloring matter obtained from the natural pigments in the seeds of Bixa orellana.

Bacterial Cultures Used in cheesemaking as a starter to coagulate the milk.
Bloomy Rind The white, flowery rind that forms on soft ripened cheese as a result of being sprayed with the Penicillium candidate spore. The best known examples are Brie and Camembert.
Blue-Veined Describes the blue colored streaks running through cheeses such as Stilton and Roquefort which is the result of an added mold (usually Pencillium Roqueforti) during the cheesemaking process.
Body The term body is used to designate the physical consistency of cheese. The body may be soft, firm hard semi-soft, waxy. resilient, flaky or crumbly. Body is largely dependent on moisture content - the higher the moisture content the softer the cheese.

Brine A mixture of salt and water used for salting some cheeses. Also used for storing and pickling Feta cheese.
Buttermilk Residual liquid after conversion of cream to butter.

Butterfat A term used to describe the fat content of milk or cheese.
Casein The main protein of milk, which is made up of essential amino acids. It is acted upon by lactic acid and rennet to form the curd which becomes cheese
Cheddaring A cheese that is ‘cheddared’ has the drained curd particles fused into a mass for about one and a half hours before milling, salting and forming into individual cheeses.

Cheesecloth Thin cotton material used for draining cheese curds.
Coagulation The point in cheesemaking where the milk protein clumps together to form curds.
Cooked Curd A step in the cheesemaking process in which the curd is heated in order to expel more whey. Examples of cooked cheeses are Emmental and other swiss types.
Cream The fat-containing fraction of milk.
Crumbly A cheese is considered crumbly when it breaks away or crumbles when cut -often applicable to Blue Veins and vintage Cheddars.
Curds The solid state of milk after coagulation. The curds contain most of the fat and milk protein.
Curdling An early stage in cheesemaking when milk is coagulated.
Curing Also known as maturing or ageing - the stage in the cheesemaking process when a cheese is left to ripen.

Eyes Holes produced as a result of gas bubble formation during fermentation.
Fresh Cheese which has not undergone an aging or ripening process (Cottage Cheese Cream Cheese, Ricotta..)
Hard

Descriptive term for cooked cheeses.
Interior Ripened The process of ageing or maturing the cheese during which time aroma and flavour develop. In some cheeses. gas is produced which forms 'eyes' as in Edam, Gouda and Swiss style cheeses.
Holes Openings in the body of cheeses, they may be jagged or slightly rounded (also known as eyes).

Lactic Milk aroma, sometimes flavor, of certain cheeses.

Mild A term used to broadly denote a soft almost gentle taste.

Mold Molds can be on the surface or the interior of the cheese. Surface mould development depends on seeding the cheese with spores of white Penicillium molds. Internal molds result from the introduction of spores of blue Penicillium molds to create blue veined cheeses. Some of the newer Double Cream cheeses have both a surface mold and an internal mold. Mold spores added to cheeses during the cheesemaking process are edible. Molds which form later as the result of poor storage methods are inedible and should be cut off or the cheese discarded entirely.

Mushroomy Flavor and aroma description of certain soft and semi-soft cheeses, particularly members of the Brie/Camembert family.
Natural Rind A rind which forms naturally due to bacteria in the cheese or one that forms as the result of the surface being sprayed with mold spores to create a natural crust.
Nutty Flavor description of certain cheeses, often refers to a hazelnut flavour.

Open Texture description referring to a cheese which contains openings and holes in its body. The opposite is close.
Pasta Filata Italian cheese of the stretched curd variety.
Penicillium Molds which are developed either internally in blue-veined cheeses or on the surface of bloomy rind cheeses.
Piquant Descriptive term for a sharp tasting cheese. Usually applied to Romano, Pecorino.

Process Cheese A blend of one or more natural cheeses.The cheese is first ground and emulsifiers are added to keep the fat from separating from the solids. This aids the smoothness and allows the cheese to be pasteurized through heating. The result is a product which is less susceptible to spoilage because the aging process has been stopped.
Rennet An enzyme derived from animals which coagulates milk. Other alternative coagulates of microbial or plant origins are also used in cheesemaking.
Rind The external surface of the cheese which may be formed naturally or artifically. It takes many forms both thick and thin, hard and soft. It's role is to protect the interior of the cheese allowing it to ripen and in some cases, affects the final flavor of the cheese.
Ripe When a cheese reaches its peak of flavour.
Ripened Aged or matured cheese.
Skimmed Milk When part or all of the cream has been removed from milk, the milk is referred to as skimmed. Cheeses made from such milk have a lower fat content than usual.

Soft-Ripened Cheese which ripens from the rind inward. Best examples are brie and camembert.
Starter A bacterial culture which produces lactic acid from milk sugar (lactose).
Surface Ripened The ripening takes place from the surface of the cheese to the centre. Surface ripened cheeses typically develop an edible rind or crust which influences the flavour and body of the cheese.
Tangy Descriptive term used to denote a cheese's flavour usually meaning sharp, distinctive, flavoursome.

Texture Texture describes the manner of union of the particles that make up the cheese. The cheese may be open ie. with holes or close - without holes.

Unripened Unripened cheeses are also known as fresh cheese. Fresh cheese hasn't been aged. The most common example of a fresh cheese would be cottage cheese.
Washed Rind The rind of certain cheeses are washed regularly during the ripening process with various solutions ranging from salt water to wine or brandy. This keeps the cheese moist and as well as adds flavor. Some of the strongest smelling and tasting cheeses in the world are washed rind varieties.
Whey In the curd forming process, it is the by product after the curds have been removed. The liquid portion of the milk that has been separated from the solid; it contains most of the milk sugar.