: What are these little crystals in my Cheese? In some Mature Cheddar, whilst slicing with a knife, I've noticed some tiny crystals. What are these crystals are they a sign of good Cheddar or not?

Vote Up Vote Down   0 Reactions

Login to give Reaction!

To quote On Food and Cooking (Harold McGee), page 63, about crystals in Cheddar:

In aged Cheddar, there are often
crystals of calcium lactate, formed
when ripening bacteria convert the
usual form of lactic acid into its
less soluble mirror ("D") image.

In blue cheeses:

The white crystals often visible
against the blue mold of a Roquefort,
or detectable in the rind of a
Camembert, are calcium phosphate,
deposited because the Penicillium
molds have made the cheese less acid,
and calcium salts less soluble.

And, in other aged cheeses:

In Parmesan, Gruyere, and aged Gouda,
the crystals may be calcium lactate or
else tyrosine, an amino acid produced
by protein breakdown that has limited
solubility in these low-moisture
cheeses.

So, basically there are a variety of salts present in the milk, and formed from milk by the action of bacteria and molds. As the cheese dries, and ripening micro-organisms act on the cheese, these salts fall out of the solution and crystallize. Personally, I love the slight crystalline texture present in aged cheeses, as it almost always comes with a robust and mature flavor.