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How Cheese is Made
There are the three basic steps in making cheese.  The difference between cheese is solely contributed to the type milk, the pastures that the animals graze on, and their overall environment.

The Three Basic Steps in Cheese Making
Today, hundreds of specialized cheese-making techniques are in use.  Minor variations, in any of these techniques, can result in the creation of a new cheese having its own distinct flavor and characteristics. 

Although the number of cheese making techniques is very large, they have three important commonalities.  The following are the three key steps involved in the conversion of fermenting milk into finished cheese:

1.      First, lactic-acid producing bacteria is introduced to curdle the milk, transforming its proteins, butter fat, minerals, sugar and vitamins into solid lumps called curds;

2.      Second, the curds are separated from the milky liquid, called whey, and are salted [for taste and curing], cooked [if necessary to shrink the curd], drained, shaped and/or pressed [to eliminate more whey] into moulds;

3.      Finally, the shaped curds are ripened using a variety of different aging [generally, the longer it is aged the more pronounced is the flavor] techniques.

The Main Classifications of Natural Cheese
For our purposes, we will group natural cheeses into five main classifications:  [1] Fresh, [2] Soft, [3] Semi-soft/semi-hard, [4] Hard and [5] Very Hard.  

1. Fresh Cheese:
   The two most popular kinds of fresh, unripened cheeses are cottage cheese and cream cheese.  These are not true cheeses since they are made without rennet, are not cooked or ripened and have no visible rind or mould growth.
   
   In general, to make fresh cheese, the milk is first curdled and the curd is placed into sacks where it is slowly drained for a few hours, without pressure.  Since there is no ripening process, the curd is plunged into tubs of warm water, cut and stretched and is then molded or shaped.  Salt is then stirred into the mixture.
    
2. Soft-White Cheese:
   The typical mark of the soft cheese is its supple interior [pâte], which is a direct result of its high water content.  As a rule, soft cheeses will have a creamy inter consistency with a slightly harder, white rind. 
   
   During soft cheese production, lactic acid bacteria is added to the milk to cause it to curdle.  It is then drained and lightly salted.  The curds are ‘lightly’ cut to separate the mixture into the solid components [curd] and the liquid [whey].  Mould cultures are then either added to the milk or sprayed on the formed cheese.  The curds are then ladled into perforated mounds to drain with high ambient humidity.   After a few hours, the cheese is taken out of the moulds to ripen for a few weeks. 
    
3. Semi-Soft/Semi-Hard:
   Theses cheeses are divided into the 3 categories of:  [1] Washed-rind Cheeses, [2] Interior-ripened Cheese and [2] Blue Cheeses:
    
   1. Semi-Soft, Cheese with Washed Rind:
      Once curdling is complete, the curds are drained, salted, and usually cut.  They are then placed into perforated moulds [sometimes lined with a cheese cloth] to drain.  During the long ripening process the cheese surfaces are regularly rubbed with cloths soaked with a combination of red cultures [bacteria and various ferments] and beer, brandy, brine, cider, olive oil, wine or some other mould inhibitor or dunked into such a mixture.   The washing mixture is used to discourage the formation of a bitter-tasting, grey, hairy mould called ‘cat fur’.
      
      Typical examples of semi-soft cheeses with washed rind are: Brick, Carré de l’Est, Celtic Promise, Chambertin, Chaumes, Cîteaux, Colby, Epoisses, Limburger, Livarot, Munster, Pont l'Évêque, Trappist and Reblochon.
       
   2. Semi-Soft, Interior-ripened [Natural Rind] Cheese:
      Once the curdling process is finished, the curd is broken, with fine wire-like knives, and microbes are added to the mixture.  These cheeses are usually not cooked but might be lightly pressed to speed up draining.  The mixture is divided, put into moulds [which are seldom lined with a cheese cloth], drained and interior-ripened. 
      
      Examples of semi-soft, interior-ripened cheeses are: Aisy Cendré, Bel Paese, Edam, Fontina, Harvarti, Monterey Jack, Morbier, Oka, Port Salut, and Raclette.
       
   3. Semi-soft, Blue Cheese:
      The blue-veined Blue, Roquefort, Stilton and Gorgonzola cheese are interior-ripened cheese that can belong to the semi-soft cheese family.  They are never pressed or cooked.  The curd remains in the moulds for 1 to 2 weeks.  The moulds are turned frequently to let the weight of the curds press out more of the whey. 
      
      Once the cheese structure can support itself, it is taken from the mould, injected with veins of ‘blue’ mould and rubbed with salt.  The cheese is then cured, in cellars, for various terms.  As is the case with other interior ripened cheese, blue cheese is ripened from the center towards the surface.
      
      Typical examples of semi-soft, blue cheeses are: Roquefort, which is only made from sheep’s milk.  Blue d’Auvergne, Bleu de Gex, Danish Blue, Gorgonzola and Stilton are made with cow’s milk.
       
4. Hard Cheese:
   A starter culture of special bacteria is added to the milk to change the lactose into lactic acid; this causes the casein to coagulate to form curds.  The mixture is then allowed to drain to release some of the whey. 
   
   The remaining mixture, for these cheeses, is then gently heated.  The curds may then be cut into large blocks, but more often they are finely cut, into almost a rice size, and are drained to release more liquid.  The separated curd is then placed into mounds where it is often submitted to cheddaring.  Cheddaring is where layers of curd are stacked upon each other to squeeze out excess whey, thus promoting further drainage.  Salt is then added.  This process results in a drier, firmer cheese.  
   
   Hard cheeses contain not more than 56% moisture, and can be divided into two categories:

a.     Solid Hard Cheeses: 
Examples are Cheddar and Cantal.

b.    Hard Cheeses with Holes:
Examples are Emmental and Jarlsberg.

5. Very Hard Cheese:
   Very hard cheeses are usually cooked, pressed into hoops [or moulds] and are aged for as long as two years.  These cheeses, which contain less than 30% moisture [such as hard Manchego Curado, Parmesan and Romano], are often used as grating cheeses because of their textures.