Insights on Cheese and its Production Process

 Cheese is an ancient traditional fresh or fermented dairy product with a long history of production that is derived from the milk of various mammals. Cheese is mostly made from the milk of cows but also other mammals, including sheep, goats, buffalo, etc. Cow milk is commonly used for making cheese all over the world however buffalo milk can also be used for Cheese making with certain process modifications. The quality of raw milk used for cheese making determines the quality of resulting cheese. Cheese is a milk concentrate (contains casein and fat.

Cheese making was basically a farmhouse practice till 18th century. Scientific developments during the early 19th century have provided guidelines, which has a great impact on cheese making and ripening process. And hence, cheese making became an Art with Science. The cheese making process has undergone several developments in terms of mechanization and automation during the course of history. Several machines have been developed for continuous and mass production for different varieties of cheese with inline packaging.

Traditionally, cheese was kept for months or sometimes even years for ripening and development of typical texture and flavour. Scientific development and research have accelerated the cheese ripening process and to achieve the desired texture and flavour in a very less time.

    

                                                                                        

                                     

According to the FSSR (2011), cheese means the ripened or unripen soft or semi-hard, hard and extra hard product, which may be coated with food grade waxes or polyfilm, and in which the whey protein/casein ratio does not exceed that of milk. Cheese is obtained by coagulating wholly or partly milk and/or products obtained from milk through the action of non-animal rennet or other suitable coagulating agents and by partially draining the whey resulting from such coagulation and/or processing techniques involving coagulation of milk and/or products obtained from milk which give a final product with similar physical, chemical and organoleptic characteristics. The product may contain starter cultures of harmless lactic acid and/or flavor producing bacteria and cultures of other harmless microorganisms, safe and suitable enzymes and sodium chloride. It may be in the form of blocks, slices, cut, shredded or grated cheese. FSSR (2011) has also defined cheese on the basis of ripening as follows:

 1. Ripened cheese is cheese which is not ready for consumption shortly after manufacture but which must be held for some time at such temperature and under such other conditions as will result in necessary biochemical and physical changes characterizing the cheese in question.

2. Mould ripened cheese is a ripened cheese in which the ripening has been accomplished primarily by the development of characteristic mould growth through the interior and/ or on the surface of the cheese.

3. Un-ripened cheese including fresh cheese is cheese which is ready for consumption shortly after manufacture. Cheese or varieties of cheeses shall have pleasant taste and flavour free from off-flavour and rancidity. It may contain permitted food additives and shall conform to the microbiological requirements prescribed in the regulation.

Type of Cheese	Moisture Content (maximum) %	Milk Fat Content on Dry Basis (minimum) %
Hard pressed cheese	39	48
Semi hard cheese	45	40
Semi soft cheese	52	45
Soft cheese	80	20
Extra hard cheese	36	32
Mozzarella cheese	60	35
Pizza cheese	54	35

Table Legal standard of cheese

Milk doesn’t turn into delicious cheese on its own. Another important ingredient in cheese is a coagulant, which helps the milk turn into curds. The coagulant may be a type of acid or, more commonly, rennet. Rennet is an enzyme complex that is genetically engineered through microbial bioprocessing. Traditional rennet cheeses are actually made with rennin, the enzyme rennet is meant to replicate. Rennin, also known as chymosin, is an enzyme that is naturally produced in the stomachs of calves and other mammals to help them digest milk.

Milk and coagulant are the main components of cheese, but cheese can also include sources of flavoring, such as salt, brine, herbs, spices and even wine. Some cheeses may be made with identical ingredients, but the end product will differ based on different aging processes.

The cheese production is carried out from lactic acid fermentation of milk. By the enzymatic activity of rennin the coagulation of milk protein and formation of curd will take place. After the curd is formed it is heated and pressed to remove the watery part of the milk, salted and then ripened. The organisms responsible for the manufacturing of cheese are Lactobacillus lactis, Propionibacterium species. and Penicillium species.

The basic principles of cheese manufacturing involves the removal of water from milk with a consequent six to tenfold concentration of the protein, fat, minerals and vitamins by the formation of a protein coagulum that then shrinks to expel “whey”. The processes involved are- acidification, coagulation, cooking, salting, dehydration or syneresis, moulding (or shaping) and pressing, packaging and maturation or storage.

Table Classification and main varieties of cheese

Fig The general processing process of natural cheeses

The overview of cheese manufacturing process can be outlined as:

·         Preparing the milk: Before it can be turned into cheese, the milk may need to be processed.

·         Acidifying the milk: Adding cultures to the milk allows it to begin to ferment and makes it more acidic.

·         Curdling the milk: Adding rennet causes a reaction that curdles the milk, creating curds.

·         Cutting the curd: Next, the cheese maker cuts the curd with knives and heats it, further separating the curds and whey.

·         Processing the curd: Processing the curd through stirring, cooking and washing continue to acidify and dry the curds.

·         Draining the whey: Next, the whey is drained, leaving only a mat of cheese curds.

·         Cheddaring the cheese: The cheese maker next cuts the curd mat into sections and repeatedly flips the sections before milling the mat.

·         Salting the cheese: For some cheeses, the next is dry salting, and for others, it is brining.

·         Shaping the cheese: Next, cheese makers shape the cheese, often using molds to assist.

·         Aging the cheese: Some cheeses are aged for anywhere from a number of days to a number of years.

Parameters that can affect the cheese quality:-

• Type of milk used for Cheese production

• Temperature of renneting & subsequent cooking of the curd in the whey.

• Treatment of curd after separation from the whey.

• Degree of souring & fineness of cutting.

• Time, temperature & relative Humidity of curing.

• Milling & salting of the curd before placing it in the hoop or mould.

• The pressure Applied to the cheese.

• Special treatment such as pricking or stabbing the cheese, bathing in brine & surface treatment to   produce.

Cheese making refers to the production of cheese by using bacterial culture, enzymes and stabilizers to condense the milk proteins and fat and to preserve the cheese. The formation of cheese requires milk as a raw material. The production of acid after the fermentation by the starter culture and the salting step mainly add longevity to cheese.

Cheese is the milk product that forms by the coagulation of milk protein (Casein). The production of cheese is a lengthy procedure to carry out, which involves high maintenance and cleanliness of the equipment, and requires a long time.

Cheese manufacturing can be broken into two sub-segments, cheese making, and cheese processing. Each of these sub-segments can produce cheese that is intended for direct consumer purchase or institutional/commercial customers. Dependent on the business plans of manufacturers, these two sub-segments could potentially be located in the same facility.

Cheese making is the process where milk is received, the fluid milk is processed and transformed into cheese. The cheese is typically formed into larger blocks, being as large as 640 lb (290 Kg). Many of these large blocks are made for cheese processors where they are often cut down to more manageable sizes, with 40 lb (18 Kg) blocks being among the most common. Smaller, artisan or limited production operations may form their cheese into wheels. Sizes and weights of these wheels will vary depending on the type of cheese and the product scope of the manufacturer.

The second sub-segment, cheese processing, take the blocks of cheese and process them further. Processing includes reducing into smaller blocks, shredding, slicing, and blending cheese. The cheese is made by one then processed and packaged within a different facility for commercial use.