GB2477922A

GB2477922A - Method of cheese production using reduced size curds.

Info

Publication number: GB2477922A
Application number: GB1002657A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Andrew Martyn Lockyer
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2010-02-17
Filing date: 2010-02-17
Publication date: 2011-08-24
Also published as: GB201002657D0

Abstract

A method of forming cheese comprises the steps of: providing cheese curd 15, subjecting the curd to a size reduction step; and processing the size-reduced curd 30 to form cheese. The starting curd may have already been subjected to a primary milling step. The size reduced curd resulting from the method preferably has a size of less than 3 mm. The method may also include salting, weighing and forming/moulding steps. The resulting cheese block may then be vacuum sealed in a bag. An apparatus such as a shredder 25 for reducing the size of the curd pieces is also disclosed.

Description

A

Improvements in or Relating to Cheese Forming Systems The purpose of the invention is to quickly and efficiently form cheese curd info blocks for filling into bags for further vacuum packing and maturation.

When it coagulates, milk separates into a semi-solid portion known as curd, and a watery liquid known as whey. Cheese is made from the curd.

The current means for commercially forming cheese curd into blocks utilises a vertical tube of a cross section equal to the footprint of the finished block -nominally 280 x 360 mm in the case of the standard 20 kg block.

The cheese curd within the vertical tube is subjected to cyclic vacuum and also pressure from the increasing static pressure as it passes down the tube. At the lower end of the tube there is a means for cutting a block from the now semi homogeneous column of cheese curd. The block is nominally 190 mm high and represents 20 kg of finished cheese. The block is vacuum-sealed, boxed and placed in storage for cooling and maturation. Because the cut cheese block is a volume of cheese curd, the weight accuracy is variable and inconsistent.

During the travel from the top to the bottom of the vertical tube, the cyclic application of vacuum, together with the applied static pressure lead to the loss of fat and whey, both of which transport salt. These by-products have to be further processed.

The standard 20 kg cheese block will be matured for a number of months. After maturation if will be unwrapped, cut into portions and repacked before distribution.

The reason for the need of the vertical tube, and the traditional system of pressing cheese curd into blocks is to close the structure and facilitate fusion of the cheese curd particles into the homogeneous mass we consume.

Cheese curd often comprises particles produced at milling (Primary size reduction) ranging from 12 x 12 x 100 mm down to crumbs. The curd is rubbery. The purpose of the prolonged pressing of the cheese curd is to plastically deform each particle so that if becomes homogenous. The addition of vacuum assists by removing the air trapped between the particles. Using pressure and vacuum, a 20 kg cheese block can be formed into a manageable block within 30 minutes. The block is then bagged and vacuum-sealed for final pressing from the applied atmospheric pressure on the outside of the bag, together with a box to retain the square shape.

The present invention seeks to address the problems with known cheese forming systems.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of forming cheese comprising the steps of: a) providing cheese curd; b) subjecting the curd to a size reduction step; and c) processing the size-reduced curd to form cheese.

The benefits of the system are that the cheese is not subjected to the processes that cause whey and fat loss thereby increasing the overall efficiency of the cheese making process.

The curd supplied at step a) may have undergone a primary size reduction step, for

example by milling.

The average (secondary) size-reduced curd particle size may be 3mm or less. The average size-reduced curd particle size may be approximately 1.5mm.

Step b) may be performed by chopping the curd, for example by shredding.

The method may further comprise the step of introducing an additive before or after step b). Secondary size reduction would allow the incorporation of other ingredients into the cheese prior to packing without the risk of the added ingredients being washed out with the fat and whey.

The method may further comprise the step of adding salt before or after step b).

Secondary size reduction may enable later salt addition and thereby total salt retention within cheese.

The method may further comprise the step of measuring the size-reduced curd particles into weight batches. Due to the consistency of the size reduced cheese curd, the use of accurate weighing equipment can be used to reduce losses through giveaway.

The method may comprise the step of introducing the size-reduced curd particles into a former. The method may comprise the step of compressing the curd particles in the former to form a block.

The former may be positioned in a bag. The former may be positioned in the bag prior to addition of the curd.

The shape of the bag may be constrained so as to determine the shape of a resulting cheese block.

Following block formation the former may be removed to place the block into the bag.

The bag may then be sealed, for example by vacuum sealing. The bag constraint may be removed after sealing.

When forming a cheese block from the size-reduced cheese curd, in one embodiment a measured mass of curd can be placed into a thin walled forming chamber. A vacuum bag is placed around the outside of the forming chamber and the cheese curd pressed in the forming chamber for a short period of time. After pressing, the forming chamber is then withdrawn and the bag immediately vacuum sealed. The vacuum-sealed cheese block is then boxed in the normal manner.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided apparatus for forming cheese comprising size reduction means for reducing the size of primary curd particles prior to onward processing.

The size reduction means may comprise means for chopping primary curd particles, such as a shredder.

The apparatus may further comprise means for forming a cheese block from the size-reduced curd particles. The cheese block formation means may comprise a former for directly receiving size reduced curd particles and in which the curd is compressed to form a block. The cheese block formation means may further comprise a constraint which at least partly surrounds the former during compression.

The former may be removably received in a bag such that after formation the former can be removed to release a block into the bag.

The apparatus may further comprise vacuum sealing means for sealing a cheese block ready for maturation.

The proposed invention eliminates the need to deform the cheese curd over a period of time by secondary size reduction of the curd particles.

By reducing the size of the particles, the resultant coarse powder has a consistent density and improved flow properties.

Due to the elimination of fat and whey loss during the block production process, the loss of salt is eliminated making the process more efficient and reduces disposal costs.

The invention simply allows the production of any size of cheese block or portion. This would allow the consumer portion to be determined at time of cheese production.

Secondary size reduction of cheese particles reduces the time to form cheese blocks.

Secondary size reduction provides the ability to accurately control final cheese block weight.

Secondary size reduction provides a smoother resulting cheese block surface and sharper edges to the cheese block.

Directly packaging the size reduced cheese particles eliminates the loss of fat and whey during block production.

The present invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic representation of a process according to an embodiment of the invention: and Figures 2A to 2G are a schematic representation of various steps in a process according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention.

Referring first to Figure 1 there is shown a cheese processing system generally indicated 10.

Cheese curd 15 is formed by any appropriate method and fed into a hopper 20 which in turn feeds the curd 15 into a shredder 25. The shredder chops the curd pieces into smaller, size-reduced particles 30 which exit via a chute 35. The size-reduced curd 30 can then be further processed as required.

Referring now to Figures 2A to 2G there is shown an alternative forming system.

Primary size-reduced curd formed by milling is provided as a starting material.

The first phase of the process (Figure 2A) is to reduce the incoming cheese curd particles 115 to a small and consistently even size. The degree of reduction and the repeatability of the particle size will influence the finished cheese block weight accuracy and the cheese block surface finish.

The anticipated particle size produced in the secondary size reduction process would be less than 3mm and ideally 1.5 mm.

Secondary size reduction can be undertaken either before or after the addition of salt.

Size reduction is achieved using a high speed rotating system 125 similar to that used for shredding and dicing mature cheese. This provides a consistent particle size with the ability to make adjustments to optimise product.

After size reduction, the cheese curd particles 130 are measured into exact' weight batches 140 to match the required finished cheese block weight. This is achieved using existing multi-head weighting devices (Figure 2B).

The next phase of the process is preforming of the cheese block. A thin walled, open-ended tubular former 145 is used to determine the overall dimensions of the final cheese block; this could be round, rectangular, square or any other shape. The internal cross section of the former 145 represents the cross section of the finished cheese block.

However, the length of the former tube is extended to allow for the lower density of the size reduced cheese curd.

The former is positioned inside a bag 150, with the bag effectively closing one end of the former. The bag is the same bag that will be used for the vacuum sealing and maturation of the cheese block. The bag itself is constrained to maintain stability of the cheese block when the former is reduced. The bag is fitted over the former and surrounded by the constraint 155.

The weighed batch of size reduced cheese curd particles are poured into the former via the open end. The cheese curd particles 130 will now be in contact with the internal faces of the tubular former and the bag at one end (Figure 2C).

A device 160 for compressing the cheese curd particles to the required dimension is introduced through the open end of the tubular former. This step can be carried out under vacuum if required (Figure 2D).

The tubular former is now retraced leaving allowing the cheese curd particles to come into contact with the sides of the constrained bag (Figure 2E). The compressing device is then removed and the bag 150 is deep vacuum-sealed (Figure 2F).

The bag constraint 155 is removed and the finished cheese block 165 is ready for boxing or transfer to another cartonless system (Figure 2G).

The preforming operations are envisaged to be undertaken within a rotary machine at speed. The forming tubes would be changed to match the required cheese block size. Key

1 -Input Cheese Curd 2 -Size Reduction System 3-Secondary Sized reduced Chees Particles 4 -Batch Weighing System 5-Weighted batch in Former 6-Vacuum 7 -Press Curd in Former with optional Vacuum 8-Remove Former -cheese in bag 9-Deep Vacuum Seal Former Cheese Block 10-Remove constraints. Block Ready for traditional packaging

Claims

Claims 1. A method of forming cheese comprising the steps of: a. providing cheese curd; b. subjecting the curd to a size reduction step; and c. processing the size-reduced curd to form cheese.
2. A method as claimed in Claim 1, in which the average size-reduced curd particle size is 3mm or less.
3. A method as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which the average size-reduced curd particle size is approximately 1.5mm.
4. A method as claimed in any preceding claim, in which step b) is performed by chopping the curd.
5. A method as claimed in any preceding claim, further comprising the step of introducing an additive before or after step b).
6. A method as claimed in any preceding claim, further comprising the step of adding salt before or after step b).
7. A method as claimed in any preceding claim, further comprising the step of measuring the size-reduced curd particles into weight batches.
8. A method as claimed in any preceding claim, in which step c) comprises introducing the size-reduced curd particles into a former.
9. A method as claimed in Claim 8, further comprising the step of compressing the curd particles in the former to form a block.
10. A method as claimed in Claim 8 or Claim 9, in which the former is positioned in a bag.
11. A method as claimed in Claim 10, in which the former is positioned in the bag prior to addition of the curd.
12. A method as claimed in Claim 10 or Claim 11, in which the shape of the bag is constrained.
13. A method as claimed in any of Claims 10 to 12, in which following the block formation the former is removed to place the block into the bag.
14. A method as claimed in any of Claims 10 to 13, in which the bag is sealed.
15. A method as claimed in Claim 14, in which the bag is sealed by vacuum sealing.
16. A method as claimed in Claim 14 or Claim 15, in which the bag constraint is removed after sealing.
17. Apparatus for forming cheese comprising size reduction means for reducing the size of primary curd particles prior to onward processing.
18. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 17, in which the size reduction means comprises means for chopping primary curd particles.
19. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 17 or Claim 18, in which the apparatus further comprises means for forming a cheese block from the size-reduced curd particles.
20. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 19, in which the cheese block formation means comprises a former for directly receiving size reduced curd particles and in which the curd is compressed to form a block.
21. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 20, in which the cheese block formation means further comprises a constraint which at least partly surrounds the former during compression.
22. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 20 or Claim 21, in which the former is removably received in a bag such that after formation the former can be removed to release a block into the bag.
23. Apparatus as claimed in any of claims 16 to 22, further comprising vacuum sealing means for sealing a cheese block ready for maturation.
24. A method substantially as hereinbetore described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.
25. Apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.