Skip to the content
Peabody TeachFor teachers and grown-ups

Curds and Whey: How Milk Becomes Cheese

7th grade nonfiction passage about cheesemaking: 249 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

7th grade nonfiction cheesemaking 249 words

Curds and Whey: How Milk Becomes Cheese

Milk is a liquid, yet cheese can be firm enough to slice. The change begins when a cheesemaker warms the milk in a large vat and adds a starter, which is a group of friendly bacteria. The bacteria feed on the natural sugar in the milk and produce acid. The acid makes the milk slightly sour and prepares it for the next step.

Next comes an ingredient called rennet, an enzyme that has traditionally come from the stomachs of young calves, although some modern cheesemakers use versions made by microbes. Rennet causes the main milk protein, casein, to clump together. Within a short time the milk thickens into a soft mass, something like pudding. The cheesemaker cuts it with long blades into small pieces. The solid pieces are called curds, and the yellowish liquid that separates from them is called whey.

The smaller the cheesemaker cuts the curds, the more whey drains out, and the drier and harder the cheese will turn out. A soft cheese is cut into big pieces and handled gently, while a hard cheese is cut small and stirred in the vat. Then the curds are pressed into molds and salted, where they knit together into one block.

Last comes aging. Cheese is stored in a cool room for weeks, months, or even years. During that time, bacteria and molds slowly change its flavor and texture. This is why a young cheese tastes mild and creamy while an old one can taste sharp and crumbly.

Questions

  1. What do the bacteria in the starter feed on? in the text

  2. What does rennet do to the milk protein called casein? in the text

  3. What are curds, and what is whey? in the text

  4. Why is a hard cheese cut into small curds? in the text

  5. Why might an old cheese taste sharper than a young one? think about it

  6. Why would a cheesemaker keep the curds large for a soft cheese? think about it

Words to know

starter
a group of helpful bacteria added to milk
rennet
an enzyme that makes milk thicken into curds
curds
the solid lumps that form when milk thickens
whey
the watery liquid left after curds form
aging
storing cheese for a time so its flavor changes
Share

One passage, three levels

The same topic and facts written three ways, so a mixed class can read and talk about one text. Each group’s sheet shows only a shape; the key says which is which.

● Easier · 169 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.8

Milk is a liquid, but cheese is solid. How does milk change? A cheesemaker does it in steps.

First, the milk is warmed in a big vat. Then the cheesemaker adds a starter. A starter is a group of friendly bacteria. They eat the sugar in the milk and make acid. The milk gets a little sour.

Next, the cheesemaker adds rennet. Rennet makes the milk protein clump together. The milk turns thick and soft, like pudding. Then it is cut into small pieces. The solid pieces are called curds. The yellow liquid that drains off is called whey.

The size of the pieces matters. If they are cut small, more whey drains out. Then the cheese is dry and hard. If they are cut big, the cheese stays soft. The curds are pressed into molds and salted.

Last, the cheese is aged. It sits in a cool room for weeks or years. Bacteria and molds slowly change the taste. Young cheese is mild. Old cheese can be sharp.

▲ This passage · 249 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.5

Milk is a liquid, yet cheese can be firm enough to slice. The change begins when a cheesemaker warms the milk in a large vat and adds a starter, which is a group of friendly bacteria. The bacteria feed on the natural sugar in the milk and produce acid. The acid makes the milk slightly sour and prepares it for the next step.

Next comes an ingredient called rennet, an enzyme that has traditionally come from the stomachs of young calves, although some modern cheesemakers use versions made by microbes. Rennet causes the main milk protein, casein, to clump together. Within a short time the milk thickens into a soft mass, something like pudding. The cheesemaker cuts it with long blades into small pieces. The solid pieces are called curds, and the yellowish liquid that separates from them is called whey.

The smaller the cheesemaker cuts the curds, the more whey drains out, and the drier and harder the cheese will turn out. A soft cheese is cut into big pieces and handled gently, while a hard cheese is cut small and stirred in the vat. Then the curds are pressed into molds and salted, where they knit together into one block.

Last comes aging. Cheese is stored in a cool room for weeks, months, or even years. During that time, bacteria and molds slowly change its flavor and texture. This is why a young cheese tastes mild and creamy while an old one can taste sharp and crumbly.

■ Harder · 277 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 9.3

Milk is a liquid, yet cheese can be firm enough to slice, and the transformation between the two depends on a carefully ordered series of steps. A cheesemaker begins by gently warming the milk in a large vat and stirring in a starter, a community of friendly bacteria. These bacteria feed on the natural sugar in the milk and produce acid, which makes the milk faintly sour and prepares it for what follows.

Next comes rennet, an enzyme that has traditionally been taken from the stomachs of young calves, although some modern cheesemakers prefer versions produced by microbes. Rennet causes casein, the principal milk protein, to clump together, and within a short time the milk thickens into a soft mass resembling pudding. The cheesemaker then cuts this mass with long blades into small pieces. The solid pieces are called curds, while the yellowish liquid that separates from them is known as whey.

The size of the pieces determines much of what the cheese will become. The smaller the curds are cut, the more whey drains away, and the drier and harder the finished cheese will be. A soft cheese is cut into large pieces and handled delicately, whereas a hard cheese is cut small and stirred vigorously in the vat. Afterward, the curds are pressed into molds and salted, and they knit together into a single block.

The final stage is aging. The cheese rests in a cool room for weeks, months, or even years, and during that time bacteria and molds gradually transform its flavor and texture. This explains why a young cheese tastes mild and creamy, while an old one may be sharp and crumbly.

Download as one PDF

How to use it

  1. Press Read it big (or B) to put the text on the projector, or Full screen (F) to fill the whole screen.
  2. Ask the questions one at a time and use Show answer when the class has decided. A shows or hides every answer.
  3. Print student copy for the class, or Print with answers for yourself.

Ideas for class

  • Before reading, put starter, rennet, curds, whey and aging on the board with their meanings from the Words to know section and have students predict what the text will be about.
  • Read it aloud once while students follow along, then have them reread it alone or with a partner. At a calm 100 words a minute it takes about 2 minutes to read aloud.
  • Use the Read it big button (or B) to put the text on the projector, and Show answer on one question at a time so the class commits to an answer first.
  • Question 5 asks the reader to infer. Ask students to point to the words in the passage that led them to their answer.
  • Ask students to write one question the passage did not answer, then look for the answer in a book or on a classroom screen.
  • Print the student copy for independent work and keep the answer-key copy for yourself.

Related

Questions

What reading level is "Curds and Whey: How Milk Becomes Cheese"?

It was written for 7th grade. It has 249 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 6.5. That is a formula's estimate from sentence length and syllables, and it is not a Lexile or a guided reading level, so check it against your students.

What do the questions ask?

There are six. 4 ask for something the text says directly and 2 ask the reader to work something out from clues. Each has an answer in the key, and the answers are written as a teacher would accept them, not as the only possible wording.

How long does it take to read?

About 2 minutes read aloud at 100 words a minute. For a one-minute fluency check, paste it into the fluency timer and use the word count.

Can I print it?

Yes. Print student copy gives the passage, the questions with lines to write on, and the word meanings. Print with answers gives the same page with the answers filled in. Both are made in your browser.

Is this passage from a published book?

No. It was written for Peabody Teach, so there is no book to buy and no login to read it.

Nothing you do here is sent to us. No sign-in, no ads.