Method and system for making extruded portions of cheese

A method of for forming bulk cheese into extruded portions of cheese:

• forming a generally homogenous cheese mass from a plurality of cheese pieces;
• advancing the generally homogenous cheese mass into a portioning chamber;
• blocking an exit of the portioning chamber;
• filling a metering chamber with some of the generally homogenous cheese mass, the generally homogenous cheese mass being disposed upstream of the exit of the portioning chamber;
• blocking an entrance of the portioning chamber;
• unblocking the exit of the portioning chamber after filling of the metering chamber with the generally homogenous cheese mass;
• and
• empting the metering chamber to extrude some of the generally homogenous cheese mass through a die plate, thereby forming extruded cheese.