Cheese production begins with mixing milk and rennet.
Centuries ago people began breeding animals to process milk. This is when people discovered make cheese. They would use buckets for gathering the milk and netting to strain the milk after it was mixed with rennet. Once it was cooled the person would press it in a type of bucket, holding it under pressure for up to three days. When it was removed from being under pressure the cheese was ready for waxing and storage or eating at the dinner table. Today more than 670 different cheeses are produced around the world.
Curd Preparation
Curd preparation begins by adding rennet* (a complex enzyme) with milk until it curdles or coagulates together. Once the mixture has curdled it is drained off, splitting into the liquid portion called whey and the crumbles called curd. Whether you intend on producing small batches or 150 liters of milk per day, there are machines designed to handle the production of cheese curds. The first machine used is called a cheese vat. This mobile and tiltable cheese curd preparation vat is equipped for cutting and processing of the milk and rennet. This machine is flexible in handling up to 1,000 liters of milk per day and is easy to maintain and clean.
*Traditionally rennet comes from the stomachs of young milk-fed calves, lambs or goats. Its complex enzyme helps it digest the mother's milk by creating a reaction separating solids (curds) and liquid (whey). Today people can substitute commercially produced vegetable rennet for animal rennet.
Portioning
The quality of cheese is influenced very early in the process by the caliber of the curd and portioning technique. This is precise work and mistakes cannot be corrected later. Therefore paying close attention to the early processing steps will result in a higher quality cheese in the end. The exact and precise dosing during coagulum is interlinked in order to ensure the product's weight, consistency, form and grade of the cheese. The portioning machine system comes in a single-track or multiple-track with up to 20 inclined or vertical dosing chambers filled or emptied by pistons. This completely hygienic system is optimal for dosing the product gently, with total flexibility, maximum capacity and overall best hygiene.
Mechanization
The next machine the cheese enters is the draining system. This phase can take many hours because the cheese curd is processed in the machine to separate itself from the liquid. Cleverly conceived systems accommodate the draining procedures in small storage areas. Each system uses a climate-controlled conveyor to ensure correct temperature during acidification and drainage. Using a climate-controlled conveyor system offers complete control over the draining process and the specific cheese type you are producing. The development of the cheese rind is influenced by warming, steaming or cooling, using a combination of fans to help even out the drainage of the cheese. This positive effect reduces the variations of cheese weights.
Cheese Ripening
Like wine, cheese needs a place to mature over time in order to guarantee its continuity. Four factors affect the ripening of cheese to its delicate desired flavor. It needs to be matured in a consistent climatic condition with a corresponding temperature, humidity and air circulation. Under no circumstances should the ripening process be disturbed; thus high standards of hygiene are essential. For this reason manual operations should be avoided, which is why mechanized ripening rooms with climate-control equipment offer the best conditions. For this application look for a machine that can stack, turn, rotate, position, transport and unstack. Made of stainless steel, this open system is easy to clean and designed for quick operations in confined spaces.
Cleaning
Block molds hold cheese during ripening, then are rinsed away.
After the cheese has ripened it goes onto a rack cleaning system where it is soaked in a water solution to remove it from its shape-mold and rinse off excessive salt. Once the cheese shape-mold and salt are discarded inside the system, each rack is sterilized and readied for the next batch of cheese to be cleaned. Look for a rack cleaning system and shape-mold cleaning machine for all your cheese cleaning needs.
Cutting
There are a hundred different ways to cut cheese; however, the most widely used are bar, block and round cutting styles. Another fully automated machine requires only an overseer, making work easy. The cut machines can be used individually or integrated into lines. When cheese is added to the machines, they divide the cheese into two or three large blocks, then feed it into a second slicer which cuts it into groups of two, three or four bars.
Plant Control Systems
Intelligent automation systems can monitor, operate and control all aspects of cheese making: milk treatment, curd preparation, portioning, climate-controlled draining, demolding, ripening and packaging your product. The entire system controls every stage in the cheese production process. This is contained all in one system and can be tailored to your precise requirements.
Tags: cheese curd, cheese This, cleaning system, climate-controlled conveyor, complex enzyme, curd preparation
