What makes different types of cheese taste so different?
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There are several things that go into the flavors of cheese. To understand it, first you need to know how it’s made. To begin you need to make the curds. This is done by making the milk more acidic so that it curdles. For most cheeses this is done with a bacteria culture, but for certain cheeses this can be done with an acid.
For aged cheeses you can use a bacteria culture. There are two main bacteria culture types, mesophillic and thermophillic. Each of them has several different strains that each taste a little different. There are also bacteria that produce gas, like the bacteria used for Swiss cheese to make the holes.
For fresh cheeses (mozzarella, Ricotta, etc) you can often just use an acid to curdle the milk like citric acid, vinegar or lemon juice. Each of these can have their own slight flavor to them.
For many cheeses, you have to age them. The amount of time you age them will allow for the bacteria to grow, the flavor to deepen and the cheese to dry out a bit. Things like Parmesan age for years to get that strong flavor and really hard dry texture.
While aging it, you can either seal the cheese in a wax or let it develop a natural rind. The rind will grow other bacteria and molds on its surface that will influence the flavor.
There are also certain things you can add to the cheese. For example you can add an enzyme called lipase to get that flavor that Romano and Provolone have. Or you can add mold starters to them to get things like bleu cheese.
You can process cheese to make it more melty and give it a different texture. This was how they used to make American cheese, but I think the big companies make it from the byproducts of the cheese making process now.
You can take the curds of two different cheeses and press them together to make a sort of hybrid cheese. If one cheese is colored, then it will also give the marbled appearance. Think Colby Jack for instance.
Finally, you can add flavors to cheese using other ingredients like salts, spices, peppers, vegetables, wine, and a whole lot more.
EDIT: I almost forgot. You can make cheese with different types of milk. Cow’s milk will taste different than goat milk for instance.
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