Joel Olson
2007-06-16 07:29:40 UTC
Smoked
Smoked cheese, which is characterized by the flavor and aroma of smoke,
usually is American-type or Cheddar cheese. Only good-quality cheese
should be smoked. The smoked flavor is imparted in 1 of 3 ways:
(1) A chemical or so-called liquid smoke may be added to the milk from
which the cheese is made, or to the curd shortly after it is cut.
(2) The cheese may be salted with so-called smoked salt. However,
this sometimes gives the cheese a streaked appearance.
(3) The cheese may be smoked in the same way as meat. The smoking
facility consists of two rooms. In one room, wood - preferably hickory -
is burned slowly, in a smothered condition. An opening or pipe conveys the
smoke to the second room. The temperature in this room should be low
enough so the cheese will not melt - preferably no over 100 F. The
cheese is cut into small portions, which may be wrapped loosely in parch-
ment, and they are placed on shelves in the second room for a day. Then
the cheese is rewrapped for marketing.
Some Italian cheeses, such as Provolone, are also smoked. Some manu-
facturers make smoked process cheese, cheese foods, and cheese spreads.
The principal ingredient in these is smoked American cheese.
USDA Agr. Handbook No. 54, Cheese Varieties and Descriptions,
George P. Sanders, issued 1953
Smoked cheese, which is characterized by the flavor and aroma of smoke,
usually is American-type or Cheddar cheese. Only good-quality cheese
should be smoked. The smoked flavor is imparted in 1 of 3 ways:
(1) A chemical or so-called liquid smoke may be added to the milk from
which the cheese is made, or to the curd shortly after it is cut.
(2) The cheese may be salted with so-called smoked salt. However,
this sometimes gives the cheese a streaked appearance.
(3) The cheese may be smoked in the same way as meat. The smoking
facility consists of two rooms. In one room, wood - preferably hickory -
is burned slowly, in a smothered condition. An opening or pipe conveys the
smoke to the second room. The temperature in this room should be low
enough so the cheese will not melt - preferably no over 100 F. The
cheese is cut into small portions, which may be wrapped loosely in parch-
ment, and they are placed on shelves in the second room for a day. Then
the cheese is rewrapped for marketing.
Some Italian cheeses, such as Provolone, are also smoked. Some manu-
facturers make smoked process cheese, cheese foods, and cheese spreads.
The principal ingredient in these is smoked American cheese.
USDA Agr. Handbook No. 54, Cheese Varieties and Descriptions,
George P. Sanders, issued 1953