The diagram shows how cheese is made through a step-by-step process. There are ten stages in total, starting with fresh milk being prepared and ending with ripened cheese.
In the first four steps, unpasteurized milk can be handled in two ways. Most cheese-making methods begin with pasteurization, standardization, and filtration, but these steps are not needed in traditional methods. After that, the milk is placed in a tank with fermenting microorganisms and rennet, which is an enzyme. The mixture then thickens into curds and whey, which are cut, stirred, and cooked to continue the process.
In the next stages, the whey is removed, and the curds that remain are milled and salted to create fresh cheese, like cottage cheese and cream cheese. Then, the mixture is put into metal molds and pressed to remove extra whey. The last step happens when the cheese is matured. At this point, ripened cheese is made and can be eaten or sold for customers.