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Cooling & salting systems for cheese
by Egon Skovmose on Friday, July 14, 2006
Cooling and Salting Systems:
1 Cooling:
1.1. Trolley Tables and Cheese Vats:
In the production of different variety cheeses a preferred cooling of the cheese's (normally 24 hours) is done before being put into brine solutions.
Earlier it was very common that the cheese, after pressing was placed in cleaned cheese vats again in cold water or a square vat either of fiberglass material or stainless steel, for cooling the cheese until the next day.
Vat of Fibreglass Material:
Today where we produce cheese several times a day in the same vat or tank, normally a vat of fibreglass material is used for cooling of the cheese. The cheese is put either directly in the vat or is put on a rack, which then is lowered into the vat.
2 Salting
2.1 Basin, made of brick:
In some cheese plants we still find basin's made of brick for salting of cheese. The basins are of such a height that they are comfortable to stand and work over, when the cheese has to be put in or is turned. On the outside they are normally covered with tiles, which are easy to keep clean.
2.2 Fibreglass Vats:
Fibreglass vats are used a lot as salting vats for cheese. They can either be of the same height as the bricked basins, so that the cheese is placed in the vats by hand or they can be from 1 1/2 - 2 m high and here the cheese is placed first on a rack (normally of stainless steel), after which they are lifted up into the saltbrines, with the aid of a lift or crane.
2.3 Rack's which are lowered into Basins in the Floor:
This is about the same principle as the latter, though we have bricked basins in the floor. They can be approximately 2m deep. The cheese is put on a rack and so that the cheese will stay on the shelves and not float away, there are frames of stainless steel on the side of the rack. It is adviseable to place nylon mats on top of the cheese so that the cheese will not have marks from the racks, if they float up against the next shelf.
Stirring of saltbrine in the basins is normally done with the help of air.
This consists of a row of salting trays made of fiberglass material. In the trays the holes are alternating from side to side. This is so there is good circulation and thereby a uniform cooling and salting of all types of cheese.
For safety reasons the saltbrine tank and balance tank should be under the floor level in the salting room. The saltbrine can be cleaned with the help of a filter and also be pasteurized. A cluster of pressure valves will secure the same pressure regardless of the number of stacks salting and ensure that saltbrine does not run over and out of the trays.
This system is space saving and transportable, plus secures a uniform salting of all cheese types.
There are certain conditions which may give problems:
1. The valves can stick. This allows the cooling water and saltbrine mix. The cheese is salted too early and saltbrine is diluted.
2. In certain conditions, especially in the beginning, greasy cheese can result with too high pH values in the saltbrine. Here it is necessary to control the salt percentage and pH in saltbrine and possibly adjust with salt and hydrochloric acid (HCl.)
3. Saltbrine in contact with stainless steel can give corrosion problems, depending on pH, salt concentration and temperature.
4. Very soft cheese can be deformed in the trays.
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