Cheese making method and apparatus

Apparatus for the continuous manufacture of cheese from raw curd, comprising a structure supporting:

• (a) first endless conveyor means,
• (b) means for feeding curd in a continuous steam onto said first conveyor means,
• (c) second endless conveyor means arranged to receive curd discharged from said first conveyor means,
• (d) third endless conveyor means arranged to receive curd from said second conveyor means,
• (e) fourth endless conveyor means arranged to receive curd from said third conveyor means,
• (f) a plurality of agitators arranged at spaced intervals along each of said first, second, third and fourth conveyor means and operable to agitate the curd thereon,
• (g) means for spraying liquid onto curd on said first and second conveyor means to wash lactic acid from the surfaces of the curd,
• (h) means for applying salt to the curd on the upstream portion of said fourth conveyor means,
• (i) a plurality of trays arranged beneath each of said conveyor means to collect whey drained from curd on the conveyor means, said trays being so arranged to segregate whey of different acid levels drained from different sections of each of the conveyor means,
• (j) an external casing mounted on said structure and enclosing said conveyor means and drainage trays to enable the curd to be maintained at a substantially constant temperature and to avoid air-borne contamination, and
• (k) individual drive means operable to drive each of said conveyor means at variable speeds independently of the speed of the other conveyor means, whereby acid development in the curd may be regulated by controlling the residence time of the curd on each conveyor means in accordance with the acid level of the whey in each of said trays.

Apparatus for the continuous manufacture of cheese from a mixture of raw curd and whey, comprising a structure defining a drying and de-wheying section, a fusing section, a cheddaring section, a milling section, a salting section, and a mellowing section, and including

• (a) a reservoir for reception of a mixture of raw curd and whey, said reservoir having a weir for overflow of curd and whey,
• (b) an inclined drainage screen arranged to receive overflow of curd and whey at said weir, the screen having openings for drainage of whey therethrough while curd moves downwardly by gravity over the screen,
• (c) means for adjusting the angle of inclination of said drainage screen to regulate the residence time of the curd on the screen,
• (d) a first endless slat conveyor in said drying and de-wheying section and arranged to receive drained curd from the lower end of said drainage screen,
• (e) a second endless slat conveyor in said fusing section and arranged to receive curd discharged from said first conveyor,
• (f) a third endless slat conveyor in said cheddaring section and arranged to receive curd discharged from said second conveyor,
• (g) a milling device in said milling section arranged to receive curd discharged from said third conveyor and to cut the curd into separate pieces,
• (h) a fourth endless slat conveyor arranged to receive curd discharged in pieces from the milling device, said fourth conveyor extending through the salting and mellowing sections,
• (i) means for applying salt to the curd on said fourth conveyor during passage through said salting section, the salt being absorbed into the curd during passage through said mellowing section,
• (j) side skirts mounted on said structure in sliding contact with the slats of the slat conveyors, the skirts retaining the curd on the conveyors and arranged to effect lateral compression of the curd during passage through the drying and de-wheying section and to permit lateral expansion of the curd during passage through the cheddaring section,
• (k) a plurality of peg stirrers spaced along each of said conveyors and operable to agitate the curd on the conveyors, each peg stirrer comprising a rotatable transverse shaft and a plurality of radially extending pegs mounted on said shaft and arranged to engage curd on the conveyor upon rotation of the shaft, the peg stirrers spaced along said second and third conveyors and on the downstream portion of the fourth conveyor having the pegs thereof not extending on all sides of the shaft whereby it is possible to position the stirrers such that the pegs do not engage curd on the conveyors,
• (l) means for spraying liquid onto curd on said first and second conveyors to wash lactic acid from the surface of the curd,
• (m) a plurality of trays arranged beneath each of said conveyors to collect whey drained from curd on the conveyor means, said trays being so arranged to segregate whey of different acid levels drained from the different sections of the apparatus, and
• (n) individual drive means operable to drive each conveyor and regulate the speed of the conveyor independently of the speed of the other conveyors, whereby acid development in the curd may be regulated by controlling the residence time of the curd in each section in accordance with the acid levels of the whey in said trays.