Why Is Milk White and Cheese Yellow? This Is Why
Are you a true cheese lover? A fan of French cheese, Italian cheese, or perhaps most of all the Dutch cheeses that our little country is so famous for? We completely understand. That’s why we found it so fascinating that a program was made about how Dutch cheeses get their yellow color…
Because when you have a glass of milk in front of you, and a cheese sandwich next to it, do you ever wonder why one is white and the other yellow? I mean, that milk comes from the same kind of cow, right? The answer may therefore come as a surprise—and not necessarily a pleasant one. And what about goat cheese?
From white to deep orange
We have written articles about these questions before: why is goat cheese white, and what is the difference between pale yellow and bright orange cheddar? The answer already came up there, and the Keuringsdienst van Waarde also recently made a fascinating episode explaining the yellow color of many Dutch cheeses.
An exotic touch (literally)
If you buy cheese at the supermarket, you’ll find ‘Colouring: E160(b)’, or ‘annatto’, on the ingredients list of many cow’s milk cheeses. They are the same thing, and as we wrote before, it is an extract from an exotic plant that adds no flavor but does give the cheese a yellow color. But the cheesemonger also sells cheeses that have been given a yellow boost by the producer and would otherwise be considerably paler, as shown in the episode. There is also the matter of carotene, as described in our article about white goat cheese.
Great program
And what a great program Keuringsdienst van Waarde is! It investigates issues and asks questions that many consumers wonder about, packaged in a thorough yet entertaining format. A fun little intro, customer service responses that sometimes leave you completely dumbfounded (which makes the well-informed answers all the more interesting), and if you have half an hour to spare (at home or on public transport, for example), we definitely recommend spending it on one of their episodes. You’re guaranteed to learn something from it.
You can watch the episode about the yellow color of cheese here, and you’ll also see the results of a panel survey investigating whether we as consumers are actually waiting for dyed cheese or not. Interesting!
Also read:
- Eddie’s food pet peeves: a word about kaasstengels versus kaastengels
- 10 tips from chefs for an even better cheese fondue
- They’ve done it again: gold for this Swiss Gruyère, the best cheese in the world
