>Arly:
>
>  do you know if there is mold in all cheeses? I know that it is there in
>some....
>
>  what is the enzyme?
>
>                            patricia

It's been many years since I had to know this information for my exams, and
I would rather have a book at hand to refresh my memory, but I can't find
one, so here goes:

Mold-ripened cheeses:

blue (of which Roquefort is a specific type, named for the Roquefort caves
in which the cheese is inoculated and ripened; the caves contain or at
least were the original source of the particular mold which gives the
cheese its flavor, appearance, etc.), Camembert, Brie

Bacteria-ripened cheeses include the other medium to hard and very hard
cheeses, examples include Limburger (which is an exception, being soft),
Muenster,  Cheddar, Swiss, and Parmesan.

Unripened cheeses include cottage, farmer's, and cream cheese, and other
similar types.

Enzyme:  the principal enzyme is rennin, from calves' stomachs, sold as
Rennet.  Also available for vegetarians is rennetless cheese, but I cannot
remember what is substituted to create the curd.  I believe the unripened
cheeses such as cottage are clabbered (curdled) with bacteria inoculation
and subsequent acid production (the bacteria produces the acid over the
space of a few hours) rather than enzymatically.

Bacteria:  I don't remember, but my guess is the same species we culture
buttermilk, yogurt, kefir, etc. with; primarily Lactobacillus spp. (L.
bulgaricus, L. acidophilus, others), possibly Bifidobacterium.  There are
probably others I've forgotten.

I will run this past Dr. Charlotte Brennand, who will have all the answers,
if she has time to address the question.

Arly Helm                                       [log in to unmask]