The Art & Science of Making Cheese

At Little Qualicum Cheeseworks

We've broken our process down into 8 digestible steps. Read on to discover how we craft fresh milk into delicious cheese!

1. Milk quality

Good cheese can only be made from good milk.

It all starts with the grass. The vast majority of our farm is covered in it and it’s our “secret” to making great cheese. Throughout the growing season, part of our herd grazes in our fields and part feeds on hay in a spacious open-air barn.

Good cheese can only be made from good milk, which only comes from a contented & well-cared-for animal. Learn more about our farming practices and how we keep a happy herd here.

Cheesemaking is part science and part art. Many factors affect how a cheese turns out – both controllable and uncontrollable, and an artisan cheese-maker must learn to ‘read’ the milk in order to create the best possible cheese from it. We do have control over such things as processing temperature and time, plus the types of cultures and moulds. However, fate often decides other important factors, like external, climatic humidity and crucial qualities in the milk which vary from season to season.

Did you know?
Happy cows produce good milk, and lots of it! What they eat impacts the flavor of the milk, which in turn affects how the cheese made from it tastes.
Did you know?
Grass fed milk is higher in nutrients than conventional milk from cows with a grain-based diet.

2. Pasteurization

Milk is heated for a specific amount of time to eliminate any bad bacteria.

Every morning, about 1500L of fresh milk is pumped straight to the Cheeseworks where it’s either made directly into raw milk cheese to be aged or gently heated to pasteurization temperature for our fresh, soft cheeses. Pasteurization is a process in which the milk is heated up for a time to eliminate any potentially harmful bacteria. At this point some of the milk is transferred to a smaller storage tank to supply our milk dispenser, and will be ready to sell once it is rapidly cooled to 4°C.

Did you know?
As with many countries, all milk sold in Canada must be pasteurized. Raw (unpasteurized) milk may only be used to make aged cheeses.

3. Acidification

The milk acidifies as good bacterial cultures eat the lactose in the milk.

After pasteurization the milk is cooled and culture is added. These specific bacterial cultures increase the acidity by turning the sugars (lactose) into lactic acid, a critical step in producing the final flavour of the cheese.

Cheese cultures perform three main functions in the production of cheese:

1. Develop acidity. As the good bacterial culture converts milk sugar (lactose) into lactic acid, the milk becomes more acidic, preparing it for the next step in the process.

2. Naturally preserve the cheese. Cultures prevent the growth of unwanted bacteria that can spoil the cheese and shorten its shelf life.

3. Promote ripening. Without cheese cultures, your favorite cheeses would lack the rich flavor, texture, aroma, and the taste they're known for.

Did you know?
The sugar naturally found in milk is called lactose. The longer a cheese is aged, the more lactose is broken down by the bacteria in it. This means that aged hard cheeses are lactose-free.
Did you know?
The end flavour of a cheese, particularly those made from raw milk, is said to be influenced by geographical location. This concept of “terroir” is why so many cheeses are named after the region where they are made (Gouda, Gruyère, etc).

4. Coagulation

Enzymes coagulate the milk into a thick jelly-like mass.

Once the bacteria have done their job, the milk has reached the right acidity. Enzymes (rennet) are then added to coagulate the milk, transforming it into a semi-solid (curd). This is where you start to see the milk turn into cheese.

5. Cutting & stirring

The newly formed curd is cut to release the liquid whey.

Once it has reached the correct firmness, the newly formed curd is cut into pieces to release the liquid whey. Wires are gently drawn through the mass to separate the curds (cheese chunks) and whey (the left-over liquid).

At this stage, the curd and whey mixture is stirred. Soft cheeses are stirred as little as possible so the curd stays intact. A skin forms around the curd, trapping water inside so that the resulting cheese contains more moisture. Curd for hard cheeses is slowly heated during the stirring process to reduce the moisture content in the finished cheese.

Fun Fact
Curd is cut to what we call “marshmallow” size for softer cheeses like Brie, and for firmer cheeses like our Mt Moriarty it is cut to a smaller “pea” size.
Cutting
Stirring

Whey off with cheesemaker and trays for cheese

6. Draining & pressing

Whey drains from the curd after being poured into moulds.

The vat is elevated and, with the help of gravity, the curds and whey are gently poured through a hose into moulds where they drain for up to 18 hours. Some types of cheeses are pressed with weights to help the curd join together and achieve the cheese’s final shape.

For cheeses like our “Jills”, there is an extra step called milling where bricks of drained curd are fed through a machine that “mills” them into French-fry-like pieces. Here they are salted and seasoned before being pressed back into moulds.

Draining is the final step for fresh soft cheeses like our Fromage Frais. From here they are salted, seasoned, and packaged.

After draining, cheeses like our Brie (seen here) are placed in a brine bath. Salt plays many important roles in the making of cheese:⁠⁠ It adds flavour⁠, preserves the cheese⁠, slows down the conversion of lactose to lactic acid, and expels whey to help form a rind⁠.

7. Salting & ripening

After salting, cheese is stored in the ripening room to develop.

Once draining is complete and we have solid blocks of cheese the next morning, the “wheels” are removed from their moulds and placed in a salt brine; this enhances flavour and helps to preserve the cheese. Then it’s off to the ripening room to rest for as long as six weeks. (For some types of cheese, salt is mixed in with the milled cheese curd before being pressed into shape. On Thursdays, we keep some of these freshly salted curds aside and package them up as - you guessed it - cheese curds!)

The ripening room is the modern day equivalent of a cheese cave. Micro flora take over in an environment with strictly controlled temperature and humidity, and sometimes natural yeasts and moulds are introduced as well; these help form a protective rind and add to the complexity of the flavour. The fuzzy white mould, penicillium candidum, for example, is what covers Brie, creating its signature mushroomy aroma and creamy texture.

Brie: Day 1
Brie: Day 5
Brie: Day 10

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8. Aging

Time, temperature, and humidity determine the final flavour and texture of a cheese.

After their stay in the ripening room, hard cheeses are sealed up and transported to a cool environment for further aging.

Like wine, many cheeses get better with age. Throughout the aging process, bacteria, enzymes, and sometimes moulds break down the body of the cheese so you will discover different aromas, flavours and textures at different times during the life of the cheese. Not every type of cheese needs to be aged though - certain varieties are made fresh such as cream cheese or Fromage Frais. Some of our hard cheeses require up to a couple months to reach desired consistency and flavour, and others take up to a year.

Each batch is tested for quality before being packaged and sold.

Did you know?
Cheese can take anywhere from a day to several years to make from start to finish.
Did you know?
All raw milk cheeses must age for a minimum of 60 days. Along with the right acidity, this process helps to eliminate any harmful bacteria present.

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