Process for manufacturing marbled cheeses

A process for manufacturing marbled chesses form milk wherein the milk is acidified in a reproducible and reliable manner for renneting, comprising the steps of:

• providing a given volume of milk from which the marbled cheese is to be prepared;
• measuring the initial pH and the temperature of said milk;
• selecting a period of time within which the pH of the milk will be brought from the initial pH to a renneting pH, said renneting pH being between 6.0 and 6.6 and said renneting pH being the required renneting pH for the type of marbled cheese being manufactured;
• acidifying the milk for renneting solely by adding an acidogen to the milk, said acidogen being selected from the group consisting of gluconolactones and glucoheptonolactones and said acidogen being added to the milk in an amount which is the minimum amount required to bring the initial pH of the milk to the renneting pH within the selected period of time, said minimum amount of acidogen being determined based on the kinetics of transformation of the acidogen at said temperature of the milk and as a function of the volume of the milk and the selected period of time, whereby the milk is acidified for renneting and brought from the initial pH to the renneting pH solely by the acidogen;
• renneting the prepared milk by adding coagulating enzymes to the prepared milk;
• and then
• coagulating;
• forming;
• ripening and needling.