State of Maine Cheese Logo

Address/ Telephone

461 Commercial Street
Rockport Maine 04856

Telephone:
(local) 207-236-8895
(toll free) 800-762-8895

Fax: 207-236-9591

Store Hours:
Monday-Friday 9a-5p
Saturday 9a-5p
Sunday Noon-4p

How do we make cheese?

Jack Cheese

Image of paddles stirring milk.

It all starts with receiving milk from local farms. Then the milk is pasteurized at our plant just before cheese production begins.

We add starter bacteria and an enzyme to the pasteurized milk to cause the milk to curdle.

Image of paddles stirring curds and whey.

After the milk has turned into a semi-solid we use wire knives to turn it into curds and whey (the curds are the solids and the whey is the liquid).

The curds and whey are heated to the desired temperature and then are allowed to rest.

Image of water being added to curds and whey.

For Jack cheese after draining off some of the whey we add cool water back into the curds and remaining whey. (For differences in making Cheddar see the Cheddar Section below.)

Image of whey being drained from vat of cheese.

After the curds and whey have been sufficiently cooled most of the remaining whey is drained from the curd and salt is added.

Herbs and/or spices may be added at this point.

Close-up image of Jack curd in cheese form.

The curd is transferred to a cheesecloth lined form which will give the final cheese it's shape.

Image of forms in their pressed state

The cheese is pressed overnight in the forms to firm the cheese and remove any remaining whey.

The final forty pound block of cheese.

Finally, the next day the cheese is removed from the form, sealed in plastic, and moved to the cooler to age. After the appropriate amount of time has passed. The blocks will be cut into retail size, repackaged and made available for sale.


Cheddar Cheese

Cheddar cheese is made in a similar way to Jack except that when the curds and whey are done resting, almost all of the whey is drained from the curd (without adding any water). The curds are pressed against the sides of the vat to squeeze out the remaining whey. Then the curd is cut into slabs which are turned and piled in a process called "cheddaring".

Image of cheddaring.

The slabs of curd are then run through a curd mill where they become cheddar curd.

Image of curd mill.

The curd is salted and transferred to forms

Image of cheddar curd being poured into forms.

After the curd are in the forms the rest of the make is the same as for Jack cheese.