How Is Provolone Cheese Made?
Separating the Whey To make any kind of cheese, milk must first be separated into curds and whey. This is done by adding a thermophilic culture, a type of bacteria, to several gallons of milk. The culture for provolone usually includes s. thermophilus, d.s.lactis, helveticus and maltodextrin. The milk and culture are put into steel vats and allowed to ripen for an hour. Lipase enzymes and rennet are then added to the pot, which make the milk look very much like it has curdled. Within half an hour, the milk “sets,” meaning that the hard curds separate out from the liquid whey. Cutting and Agitation After the curds are set, they must be cut using a knife. A sharp knife is run through the curds, cutting them into small blocks, much like cutting a cake. The pot is agitated or stirred for about 10 minutes, and then heated slightly to about 39 degrees F. They are stirred 10 more minutes, and then settled for 5 minutes. At this point, some of the whey is poured out, and agitation begins again
