How is Mimolette made?

1. Milk Management:

Mimolette creation commences with the utilization of locally sourced cow’s milk, which undergoes meticulous scrutiny for quality. Post-inspection, the milk undergoes a sequence of treatments including bactofugation, microfiltration, ultrafiltration, centrifugation, and mixing. Following this, it undergoes pasteurization and standardization before being heated in a vat.

2. Vat Craft and Curd Formation:

Within the cheese vat, the milk experiences a series of pivotal steps:

– Inoculation with lactic and maturation ferments.

– A minimum two-hour milk ripening period achieved by introducing mesophilic lactic bacteria.

– Addition of annatto to get the characteristic orange hue.

– Introduction of rennet, initiating coagulation.

– During coagulation, the milk transforms into curd, retaining whey within its structure.

– To concentrate valuable milk components like proteins (casein) and fat, a drainage process is executed, involving operations to achieve the desired dry matter content and prevent potential defects like a sticky crust.

– Cutting the curd into smaller grains to enhance drainage surface area.

– Washing the curd grains with water, resulting in a higher pH level.

– Final stirring completes this phase, allowing the curd to naturally undergo gradual acidification.

3. Moulding, Pressing, and Unmoulding:

The cheese vat’s contents move to a pre-pressing vat where curd aggregates post-whey filtration. Cut curd blocks are then placed into molds, shaping the cheese while aiding whey drainage through acidification. This acidification, initiated during vat work, corresponds to lactose fermentation into lactic acid by the added bacteria.

4. Salt Integration:

Mimolette embraces salting through immersion in brine, imparting a distinctive flavor and influencing subsequent aging. Salt also impacts microorganism and enzyme development, playing a protective role by slowing down these processes and complementing the drainage phase.

5. Drying:

The drying phase, termed ressuyage, involves eliminating excess surface moisture from the cheeses after brine immersion.

6. Affinage:

Crucial to determining the final quality, the aging process engages various biochemical transformations of curd constituents (casein, fat, and soluble milk components) under microbial enzymes. Atmospheric composition, water availability, temperature, and pH influence microbial development and mite proliferation. Each cheese undergoes care routines such as turning and brushing. Post-aging, Mimolette attains its unique organoleptic qualities, defining its appearance, texture, taste, and aroma.