Method for forming blocks of natural cheese from cheese curd

Abstract

Crumbled cheese curd is fed into the top of a hollow column in a chamber maintained at a sub-atmospheric pressure so as to form in the column a pillar of curd devoid of air pockets. The curd in the lower portion of the pillar being compressed by the weight of superimposed curd to press out whey therefrom and consolidate the curd, and the pillar of curd is repeatedly lowered, the bottom end of the pillar severed to form a block of cheese, and fresh curd added to the top of the pillar. During the lowering of the pillar of curd, the top of the pillar is subjected to a higher pressure than that acting on the bottom of the pillar so that the differential pressure exerts a force on the top of the pillar urging the pillar downwards and prevents fracture of the pillar due to frictional resistance with the walls of the column. The curd is fed into the chamber through a feedpipe connected between the top of the chamber and the outlet of a hopper containing curd under atmospheric pressure, the differential pressure between the hopper and the chamber causing curd to flow along the feedpipe. The feedpipe discharges into a cyclone separator in the top of the chamber for separating air from the curd.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.