MakeA–Z reference
A home cheesemaker's glossary
The working vocabulary of the make room — from affinage to water activity — defined plainly, so any recipe reads clearly.
Cheesemaking borrows from French, Italian, dairy science, and centuries of craft, which can make recipes feel coded. These are the terms you'll meet across the Make section, defined in plain language and cross-linked to where they're used.
- Acidification
- The drop in pH as starter bacteria turn lactose into lactic acid — the central flavor-builder and safety hurdle. See fundamentals.
- Affinage / affineur
- The craft of aging and finishing cheese; an affineur is the specialist who does it. See aging & affinage.
- Annatto
- A natural orange-red seed extract used to color cheeses like many cheddars. Cosmetic, not flavor.
- Bandaging / clothbinding
- Wrapping a hard cheese in lard-rubbed cloth so it breathes while aging — the traditional cheddar rind.
- Brine
- A salt-water bath used to salt formed cheese and, in washed rinds, to wipe the surface.
- Calcium chloride (CaCl₂)
- An additive that restores calcium balance in pasteurized/store milk for a firmer set. See cultures & rennet.
- Cheddaring
- Stacking and turning slabs of drained curd to expel whey and build a dense, layered texture. See hard & aged.
- Chymosin
- The active coagulating enzyme in rennet. Fermentation-produced chymosin (FPC) is the modern vegetarian standard.
- Clean break
- The test for set curd: a knife lifted through it leaves a clean, glossy split — the signal it's ready to cut.
- Coagulation
- Milk turning from liquid to gel, via rennet (enzymatic) or acid. Step two of the nine.
- Culture / starter
- The bacteria added to acidify milk. Mesophilic work at moderate temps; thermophilic tolerate hot cooks.
- Curd
- The solid mass of fat and protein left when milk coagulates — everything that isn't whey.
- DVI
- "Direct vat inoculation" — freeze-dried culture sprinkled straight into the milk; the easiest home format.
- Eyes
- The holes in Swiss-type cheese, made by gas from propionibacteria during aging.
- Flocculation
- The first visible stage of coagulation; affineurs time the cut as a multiple of the flocculation point.
- Lipase
- An enzyme (added or native) that breaks down fat for sharp, piquant flavor.
- Lipolysis / proteolysis
- The breakdown of fats (lipolysis) and proteins (proteolysis) during aging — where aged flavor comes from.
- Make / make room
- The cheesemaking session itself ("today's make"), and the clean space it's done in.
- Mother culture
- A starter propagated from a small seed before use — cheaper at scale, riskier than DVI for home use.
- Pasta filata
- "Spun paste" — stretched-curd cheeses like mozzarella. See the method.
- pH
- The acidity measure that tracks the safety hurdle and the mozzarella stretch window (~5.2). Worth measuring.
- Rennet
- The enzyme preparation that coagulates milk — animal, microbial, or fermentation-produced. See cultures & rennet.
- Rind
- The cheese's surface — natural, bloomy, washed, waxed, or bandaged. Managed during affinage.
- Slip-skin
- A rind that separates from a too-wet or too-warm soft cheese — a cave humidity/temperature fault.
- Washed curd
- Rinsing curd with water to remove lactose for a sweeter, supple cheese (Gouda, Havarti).
- Washed rind
- A rind cultivated by brine-wiping to grow B. linens — the funky orange cheeses. See the method.
- Water activity (aw)
- The free water available to microbes. Lower aw (drier, saltier cheese) is safer and longer-keeping.
- Whey
- The liquid left after the curd forms — can be re-cooked into ricotta. See fresh cheese.