The cheese rind’s characteristics help to define the type of cheese and largely determine its flavor. Furthermore, cheese rind constitutes a man-made ecosystem that has resulted from the selection and establishment of functional microbial communities.
It is during the ripening stage that the rind or crust forms on the cheese's surface. The rind controls the loss of moisture from the internal part of the cheese and regulates the escape of gases released during ripening.
Many ripened cheeses are coated in wax to protect them from mold contamination and to reduce the rate of moisture loss. Cheeses that naturally develop a thick, tightly woven rind, such as Swiss, do not require waxing.
Cheese can be classified to:
➢ Fresh Cheese
➢ Bloomy Rind Cheese
➢ Natural Rind Cheese
➢ Washed Rind Cheese
➢ Blue Cheese
A cheese rind that forms naturally when the outside of the cheese hardens from contact with air during the cheesemaking process.
Natural rinds tend to be thicker and harder, and sometimes gritty. Examples of natural rinds: Stilton, Montgomery Cheddar, Tomme de Savoie, Cantal, Parmigiano Reggiano, and Tumalo Tomme.
Natural Rind cheese
