Thanks to modern technology, almost any product can be made from "chemistry". To check the cheese at home for naturalness, you need to arm yourself with an ultraviolet lamp, iodine, a microwave. Or rely on your own eyes, taste buds and sense of smell.
Attention to the label
The first thing to look for when choosing cheese is the label.
Natural cheese is called just “cheese”. Cheese and cheese-like products are not cheese.
Further we lower a look at structure. It should not contain vegetable oil (palm or other), starch and other dubious ingredients. Cheese consists of:
- milk;
- rennet;
- fermented milk sourdough;
- salt.
Dyes, calcium chloride, and preservatives are often added to natural cheese. But this is already a question, rather, of quality.
In comparison, a cheese product has a completely different composition. In it you can find:
- 20% of milk;
- palm or coconut oil;
- milk fat substitutes (non-dairy fats);
- non-dairy proteins;
- starch;
- flavor enhancers.
The information on the packaging would be enough to verify the naturalness. If not for one “but.” Intermediaries, and sometimes manufacturers themselves, sometimes give false information about the composition. They manage to sell a cheese product under the guise of cheese 3–7 times more expensive.
If you doubt the quality of the cheese, it is better to play it safe and check it for naturalness using simple tests.
What will the appearance, smell and taste tell?
If you regularly eat natural cheese, distinguishing the falsified product is easy. The cheese product:
- chemical, sour, sometimes unpleasant odor;
- "Rubber" consistency;
- a strange aftertaste that has nothing to do with milk.
Natural cheese consists of natural products. It smells like milk. Regardless of the variety, milky notes are also guessed in the taste. In addition, if you leave it on the table at room temperature, it will begin to deteriorate. Within a few hours, a hard crust forms on top. The cheese product under similar conditions remains almost unchanged.
UV test
If you have a UV lamp at home, turn off the light and shine on a thinly sliced cheese slice. The test will help identify vegetable fats. If present, small blue spots will appear on the surface. Natural cheese should not “glow” in the dark.
Iodine test
Starch is added to many dairy products. It gives additional volume, and also plays the role of a thickener. Starch is used in the production of low-quality sour cream, cottage cheese, as well as processed cheeses. Checking its availability in dairy products is simple:
- Put a few drops of iodine on the product.
- Wait 3-5 minutes.
- Rate the color changes.
- When starch is present, the product will turn dark blue, dark green or gray.
- If there is no starch, iodine will leave brown or orange traces.
Rolling check
The cheese product resembles plasticine. If you start rolling it in your hands, it will become malleable and soft. Real cheese cannot be rolled up. It crumbles and does not turn into a ball, no matter how you try.
Fusion test
Before you eat the product, do another small experiment:
- Cut a small slice.
- Put it on bread.
- Microwave for exactly 1 minute.
- Rate the changes.
- Quality cheese should melt evenly. It does not drain and is not covered with greasy spots. But most importantly, it smells good.
- The cheese product practically does not melt and has no smell.
Attention to moisture
The cheese is sweating. That is his nature. Pay attention to the nature of the released moisture:
- watery sweat covers the cheese product;
- barely noticeable droplets of fat appear on the cheese.
And what is the cost?
Natural cheese is made entirely from milk. For the preparation of 1 kg, at least 10 l of milk is required.
Multiply the cost of a liter package of milk by 10. This is the minimum retail price of real cheese.
If the price tag indicates a significantly lower cost, be sure that you have a fake.
How to understand that low-quality cheese?
The main thing in making cheese is the right process. The quality of the product, its appearance, texture, taste, color and smell largely determine the maturation. A cheese head can ripen for several months and even years. This significantly slows down the production. Therefore, manufacturers often use "accelerators" of ripening, or even send an unripe product for sale.
You can determine the poor quality of cheese by the following signs:
- The product has a heterogeneous consistency.
- It is inelastic - it does not bend, but breaks.
- There are few or no eyes on the cheese (if this is not a varietal feature).
Why is it so important to check the cheese for naturalness?
Real cheese is good for your health. It contains a large amount of calcium, protein and healthy milk fat. Buying a cheese product instead, you do not get the expected benefits. In addition, overpay several times. The cost of a cheese product is very low.
Is a cheese product harmful to health?
A cheese product does not cause poisoning. The palm oil contained in it is not a dangerous or harmful substance. The main danger posed by this unloved by many ingredient is the accumulation of trans fats in the body. Given that palm oil is added to almost all foods today, it’s best not to eat fake cheese. It is simply useless and in the long run can cause problems with the liver, blood vessels and metabolism.
To summarize. Natural cheese has a simple composition: milk, rennet, sourdough, salt. It has a pleasant milky smell and taste, a uniform color. It is well cut. When heated, it melts. Does not react chemically with iodine. If you leave the natural cheese on the table, it will rather soon wind up and become moldy. Simple tests will help you choose a quality product that will only benefit your health.