IE36507B1 - Improvements in or relating to cheese making - Google Patents

Abstract

1345659 Cheese making NEW ZEALAND DAIRY RESEARCH INSTITUTE 30 June 1972 [13 July 1971] 30857/72 Heading A2B A method (and a corresponding apparatus) for making cheese includes the steps of elevating drained curd to the upper part of a curd fusion chamber having horizontal cross sections which diminish gradually in area between the upper part and a lower discharge part, allowing the curd to remain in part of the chamber for a time sufficient to achieve a desired pH in the curd, discharging the curd from the discharge part such that the first admitted and is first discharged, consolidation and some flow of curd occurring in a substantially vertical direction during passage of curd through the chamber. Whey may be drained from the curd in the chamber, such as by perforated pipes surrounded by the curd or to channels communicating to the walls of the chamber. The curd may be discharged via nozzles of desired shape and be cut into blocks for further treatment such as milling, preferably oriented such that milled fingers of curd having their length parallel to the direction of curd flow are obtained. Alternatively the discharged curd may be forced through cutters to cut it into bars which are then cut into fingers by transverse cutters. The converging surfaces of the fusion chamber may comprise a low friction material. The chamber may be in the form of a tower having at least one downwardly inwardly tapering section. The curd may be elevated pneumatically, and is preferably fed into the chamber with some horizontal velocity so that the fed curd descends gently onto the accumulated curd. To empty the chamber air under pressure may be employed. The process may be operated either as a continuous or batch process. [GB1345659A]