Cheese Processing Plant & Machinery Solutions

Milk is clarified, standardised for both fat and protein, and pasteurised before it reaches the cheese vat. The protein-to-fat ratio set here governs the yield and the final texture.

Starter culture and rennet are dosed into the vat and stirred in briefly, after which the milk is left still until a firm coagulum forms. Rennet coagulation, rather than acid alone, is what allows cheese to be ripened later.

The coagulum is cut into grains and then stirred and warmed so the grains contract and expel whey. Grain size and cooking decide how much moisture stays in the cheese.

Whey is drawn off and collected, and the curd is filled into moulds. Pressing knits the grains into a closed block and drives out the last of the free whey.

Blocks are dry salted or held in brine, then moved to ripening rooms where humidity and temperature are controlled. Flavour and body develop over the ripening period, which varies by cheese variety.

Ripened blocks are cut down to portion size. Depending on the product they are then sliced, diced or shredded for retail and food-service packs.

Portions are vacuum packed, flow wrapped or gas flushed in trays to hold the cheese without surface mould. Packs are then screened for foreign metal and packed into master cartons.