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AssigneeInstitut National de la Recherche Agronomique
InventorsGerard Grosclaude, Jean Regnier, Marcel Cavarroc
Estimating the term…
A process and apparatus for the continuous manufacture of cheese starting with the ultrafiltration retentate of milk or a milk product until the solids content is approximately that of the desired cheese. Additional constituents such as fat are added so that the resulting cheese precursor or precheese has solids content and fat to solids ratio substantially the same as the desired cheese. The cheese precursor is heated and mixed with rennet. The rate of flow of this mixture into a coagulation cylinder is controlled so that the flow in the coagulation cylinder is laminar throughout. The temperature of the cylinder wall is maintained slightly below that of entering mixture so as to obtain, in equilibrium, the formation of a coagulation front which is substantially plane and at right angles to the axis of the coagulation cylinder, thereby homogenizing the texture of the resulting curd. The cylinder cross section is approximately that of the desired cheese. The coagulation cylinder opens into a floatation tank which separates cut slices from the cylindrical mass of curd issuing from the cylinder. No treatment is required between the cutting of slices and ripening. The floatation liquid is also circulated through a shell around the cylinder to maintain its wall at the desired temperature. This process may be used for soft, semi-hard and hard cheese but is particularly adapted to relatively small diameter cheese intended to be sold whole by the retailer.
Apparatus for the continuous manufacture of cheese from ultrafiltration retentate from milk or a milk product capable of subsequent transformation into cheese until the liquid has a solids content about that of the cheese to be made to which additional constituents have been added to obtain a liquid cheese precursor, comprising means for heating the cheese precursor to a temperature higher than a selected temperature of coagulation, mixing means for intimately mixing the heated cheese precursor with rennet, said mixing means being in permanent communication with the inlet of at least one elongate coagulation cylinder having an inlet at one end and a continuously open outlet end at the end of the cylinder removed from the inlet, and having a smooth-walled interior and an interior and outlet cross section which is substantially the cross section of the desired cheese, means for continuously feeding the liquid cheese precursor to the cylinder inlet, means for controlling the rate of flow of the incoming heated mixture so that the flow of the mixture or mass inside said coagulation cylinder is laminar at all points, means for maintaining the temperature of the interior wall of said coagulation cylinder below that selected for coagulation to provide a substantially plane coagulation front at right angles to the axis of said coagulation cylinder, cutter means for cutting slices of curd at the outlet open end of said coagulation cylinder for producing slices of curd the cross section of each of which is substantially the internal and outlet cross-section of the coagulation cylinder, and means for transferring the slices of curd away from said coagulation cylinder and cutter means, wherein the means for transferring the slices of curd away from said coagulation cylinder and cutter means comprises a floatation tank wherein the outlet end of said coagulation cylinder opens into said floatation tank adapted to contain a liquid alimentary medium the density of which is at least that of the slice of curd cut at said open end, the apparatus further comprising a heat exchanger means and a closed circuit for circulating the liquid medium including means for pumping the liquid medium from said floatation tank through the heat exchanger means for regulating the temperature of the liquid medium and into a thermostatically controlled shell said shell being spaced around said coagulation cylinder and constituting said means for maintaining the temperature of the interior wall thereof, said shell being connected, in turn, back to said floatation tank, said apparatus further comprising means for pumping cheese precursor and rennet to said mixing means and means for dividing and distributing the incoming mixture of cheese precursor and rennet from said mixing means, proximate to the inlet of the coagulation cylinder, wherein said means for dividing and distributing the incoming mixture is shaped to distribute the mixture of cheese precursor and rennet along the interior wall of said coagulation cylinder.
Apparatus for the continuous manufacture of cheese from ultrafiltration retentate from milk or a milk product capable of subsequent transformation into cheese until the liquid has a solids content about that of the cheese to be made to which additional constituents have been added to obtain a liquid cheese precursor, comprising means for heating the cheese precursor to a temperature higher than a selected temperature of coagulation, mixing means for intimately mixing the heated cheese with precursor with rennet, means for pumping cheese precursor and rennet to said mixing means, said mixing means being in permanent communication with the inlet of at least one elongate coagulation cylinder having an inlet at one end and a continuously open outlet end at the end of the cylinder removed from the inlet, and having a smooth-walled interior and an interior and outlet cross section which is substantially the cross section of the desired cheese, means for continuously feeding the liquid cheese precursor to the cylinder inlet, means for dividing and distributing the incoming mixture of cheese precursor and rennet from said mixing means, proximate to the inlet of the coagulation cylinder, means for controlling the rate of flow of the incoming heated mixture so that the flow of the mixture or mass inside said coagulation cylinder is laminar at all points, means for heating said coagulation cylinder, means for maintaining the temperature of the interior wall of said coagulation cylinder, including means for thermostatically controlling the temperature of said cylinder, below that selected for coagulation to provide a substantially plane coagulation front at right angles to the axis of said coagulation cylinder, cutter means for cutting slices of curd at the outlet of said coagulation cylinder for producing slices of curd the cross section of each of which is substantially the internal cross-section of the coagulation cyliner and means for transferring the slices of curd away from said coagulation cylinder and cutter means, wherein said means for dividing and distributing the incoming mixture is a flow divider comprising a pair of oppositely and outwardly tapering conical portions lodged inside said coagulation cylinder the inlet end of which is of complementary conical shape and in permanent communication with said mixing means, said flow divider being shaped to distribute the mixture of cheese precursor and rennet along the inlet end of the interior wall of said coagulation cylinder.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.