What are those hard white crystals in matured cheese?

Have you seen those small white crunchy specks on and in hard cheeses such as Cheddar and Parmesan? They are called calcium lactate crystals. They are part of the cheese and they are harmless.

They are usually pin head size and some cheeses have a few and some cheeses have lots.

These crystals are often sought out by connoisseurs of these cheeses as being indicative of a mature cheese with a strong flavour, but they are also misunderstood by others as being foreign matter or extraneous to the cheese. Calcium lactate is formed as the lactose in serum (residual moisture in the cheese) is turned into lactic acid as the cheese ages, the casein bound calcium is released into the serum and this combines with the lactic acid to form crystals over several months. There are several factors that may cause these crystals, the main ones are too much acid and too much moisture in the cheese. Other factors include slow cooling and high maturation temperatures.
The big question: If you purposely could make a cheese with Calcium Lactate Crystals would you?

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Making cheese prior to the course is not essential but it is very strongly recommended. I have found that over many years of providing cheesemaking courses, having some basic cheesemaking experience before you get to the course is an enormous help with taking in the information provided at the course.

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