Cheese Making
Practical Action
9. Allow it to stand for 10 minutes to drain the whey and allow the curd to become more
firm.
10. Heat the water in the jacketed container to heat the curd slowly to 40 oC within 30-40
minutes (a temperature increase of about 0.5o per minute).
11. During heating, stir the curd gently with a large spoon for about a minute at a time, every
4 or 5 minutes. This allows the curd to heat uniformly and prevents curd particles from
sticking together.
12. When the curd and whey reach 40oC, increase the heat and stir it more frequently until
the temperature reaches 45-46oC (within 10-15 minutes).
13. Hold at this temperature for 20-30 minutes, or until the pieces are firm and do not break
easily when squeezed. If the curd doesn't become firm enough at this temperature, heat it
to 50oC.
14. When the curd has firmed sufficiently, drain most of the whey and pour the remaining
curd onto fine cheesecloth on a mesh screen or a colander and drain the whey for 2-3
minutes (not longer or curd particles will stick together in large clumps).
15. Wash and cool the curd by immersing the cheesecloth and curd in a pan of clean, cool
water and then for 3-5 minutes in ice water.
16. Drain the curd using a mesh sieve or colander.
17. Pack the curd in pots and store in a refrigerator.
18. For salted curd, mix salt into the curd according to taste. For creamed curd, mix in either
sweet or sour cream according to taste.
Figure 1: Cheese vat.
Photo: Courtesy of Kleen-Flo Small
Scale Dairy Equipment.
Figure 2: Curd cutters.
Photo: Courtesy of Glengarry
Cheesemaking and Dairy Supply Ltd.
Vertical or horizontal curd cutters may be either motorised and fitted to a cheese vat or manual
cutters as shown in Figure 2. These are stainless steel frames strung with thin wires or blades.
The vertical cutter is first pulled through the cheese vat to cut the curd in one direction. It is
then used to make vertical cuts across the vat. Finally, the horizontal cutter is used to cut the
curd in one direction to cut the curd into cubes.
Cottage cheese
Milk is coagulated by adding either a lactic acid starter culture or live yoghurt (see Technical
Brief: Soured milk and yoghurt), and rennet using the following method:
1. Warm chilled pasteurised milk to 20oC and stir in the starter culture or live yoghurt.
2. Mix rennet in water (1 tablet, 2.5 teaspoons of powder or 20 - 30 ml liquid per 100 litres
of milk) and add to the milk. Mix for 5 minutes.
3. Allow the milk to stand for about 10 hours at 20oC or until the curd has formed.
4. Insert a knife into the curd. If the curd cuts cleanly, it is ready to be cut, otherwise wait
longer. Cut the curd into 1 cm cubes using curd cutters.
5. Let it stand for 15 minutes and then heat it slowly to 35-38oC for 30 minutes. The higher
the temperature, the firmer will be the curd. Stir occasionally to separate the curds.
Cooking shrinks the curds and they settle to the bottom of the pan.
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