What is Cheese mite?
[[File:Cheese mite.jpg|thumb|right|250px|{{Center|Cheese mites under [[wikt:magnification|magnification]]}}]] '''Cheese mites''' are [[mite]]s which live in food, [[grain]] and [[Plant|plant leaves]]. They are sometimes found in [[flour]] but prefer [[cheese]].<ref name=Solway8>Andrew Solway 2004. ''What's Living in Your Kitchen?'' (Chicago, IL: Heinemann Library, p. 8</ref> [[Refrigerate]]d cheese is not usually affected as they prefer [[wikt:warm|warm]], [[wikt:damp|damp]] foods.<ref name=Solway8/> Cheese mites are used to make certain [[cheese]]s. [[Milbenkäse]] and [[Mimolette]] are two [[example]]s.<ref>Michael H. Tunick 2014. ''The Science of Cheese'' New York: Oxford University Press, p. 228</ref> The action of the mites on the surface of these cheeses adds to the [[flavor]].<ref>Thalassa Skinner; Ming Tsai; Laurel Miller 2012. ''Cheese for dummies''. Hoboken: Wiley, p. 154.</ref> It also gives them a distinctive appearance. A 2010 [[Scanning electron microscope|SEM]] study found that Milbenkäse cheese was produced using ''[[Tyrolichus casei]]'' mites, while Mimolette cheese used ''[[Acarus siro]]'' mites (also known as flour mites).<ref name = Species>{{cite journal |last = Melnyk J.P. |display-authors = etal |date=2010 |title = Identification of cheese mite species inoculated on Mimolette and Milbenkase cheese through cryogenic scanning electron microscopy |url = https://archive.org/details/sim_journal-of-dairy-science_2010-08_93_8/page/3461 |journal = Journal of Dairy Science |volume = 93 |issue = 8 |pages = 3461–3468 |doi = 10.3168/jds.2009-2937 |access-date = 7 September 2011 |pmid = 20655414}}</ref> ==References== {{reflist}} [[Category:Cheese]] [[Category:Arachnids]] {{biology-stub}}