Cheesemaker course

The cheesemaker is the figure who takes care of the whole milk processing process up to the transformation into cheese and / or other derivatives such as cream, yogurt, starting from the choice of raw milk and rennet to be used. The first dairymen date back to the Sumerian civilization, third millennium BC, as evidenced by a bas-relief called Dairy Frieze, where characters who work milk are represented. In 700 BC, some Asian tribes migrated to Europe, bringing customs and livestock with them. The first milk processing that spread in Europe were the acidic drinks Kumis and Komos (cited by Herodotus). The cheesemakers of the Roman Empire perfected the dairy techniques, introducing the use of cow's milk in the preparation of cheeses. The modern cheesemaker works the milk to obtain cheese respecting the ancient traditions, or new technologies, with the use of adjuvants such as lactic ferments and rennet, also dealing with the preparation of "fresh" products: yogurt and ricotta. The professional profile of the cheesemaker includes the weighing of the milk, the addition of rennet, and the shaping, the skimming, the buttering. In some cases the producers have formed associations, with the aim of promoting local dairy products.