Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation

Federal Agency for Education

State educational institution higher professional education

Mari State University

Agrarian Technological Institute

Department of technology of milk and dairy products

Production technology of hard rennet cheeses

Introduction

1. Secrets of cheese making

2.1 Milk preparation

2.2 Curling

3 Getting cheese

3.1 Cheese takes shape

3.2 Salt - to help beneficial microflora and taste

4 Cheese maturation

5 Quality requirements for hard rennet cheeses

6 Labeling and packaging of cheeses.

Bibliography

Introduction

The problem of nutrition is one of the most important social problems, since human life, health and work are impossible without good food.

Soviet scientists developed the theory of balanced nutrition, according to which the human diet should contain not only the required amount of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, but also substances such as essential amino acids, vitamins, mineral salts, in certain proportions beneficial to humans.

Dairy products, given their biological usefulness in the organization proper nutrition plays a paramount role. This fully applies to cheese, the nutritional value of which is due to the concentration of milk proteins and fat in it, the presence of essential amino acids, calcium and phosphorus salts, which are so necessary for the normal development of the body. Cheese is good for people of all ages, especially for children. Cheese contains from 18% to 25% of protein, and a significant part of it is in a soluble form, therefore it is well absorbed by the body. The dry matter of many types of cheese contains 45-55% fat, from 1.5 to 3.5% mineral salts. The calorie content of cheese ranges from 2500 to 4500 calories. The content of vitamins in mature cheeses is: vitamin A 600-1300, B 1 40-80, B 2 300-900, PP 20-40, pantothenic acid 200-800 (mcg per 100 g of cheese).

Start industrial production cheese production in Russia dates back to 1866, but in pre-Soviet times, cheesemaking was a small-scale business, which was characterized by heavy manual labor.

The modern cheese industry is a well-equipped branch of the dairy industry. In recent years, more than 100 large cheese-making factories equipped with modern high-performance equipment have been built and put into operation. According to the catalog of the International Dairy Federation, there are about 500 types of various cheeses in the world. In the world cheese industry, a unified classification of cheese products has not yet been formed. The main reason is that in different countries cheeses are produced with the same name, but differing in manufacturing technology, and vice versa, cheeses made using the same technology, but having different names. Historically, the French cheese classification has been the most common.

In Russia, repeated attempts were also made to create their own classification of cheeses according to manufacturing technology. But due to the fact that cheeses were classified mainly domestic production, the application of these scientific works in our days, when the market is dominated by imported products, it is difficult. Therefore, Russian specialists have recently proposed an improved classification that includes foreign-made cheeses. Although it does not cover the entire range of imported products, it does include groups of cheeses made from buffalo milk.

Now cheese is available not only on the shelves of city stores, but also in countryside and their selection is varied.

1. Secrets of cheese making

The ancient Roman agronomist Lucius Columella called the creators of cheese sorcerers and wizards. Remarkable transformations that occur in the preparation of cheese.

The cheese maker does not have to choose the raw material from which to produce cheese, he uses only one type of raw material - milk, and receives dozens of types of cheese, differing in taste, texture and pattern.

A man who, many centuries ago, accidentally discovered curdled milk in the stomach of a killed calf, for the first time touched the secrets of cheese making. Subsequently, it turned out that one of the four sections of the stomach of a calf or lamb secretes abomasum, an enzyme that coagulates milk and decomposes proteins. This phenomenon of nature, like others, people have put at their service. Now a preparation called rennet is prepared from abomasums.

For a long time it was believed that the introduction of rennet into milk is the main, if not the only reason for its transformation into a qualitatively New Product. And only after a person knew the microcosm, was revealed the miraculous role in the creation of cheese of specific types of microorganisms - lactic acid bacteria.

Scientists agree that these bacteria and their enzymes have a major impact on the multi-day cheese-making process. And at the same time, researchers are discovering new aspects of the influence of rennet, revealing the role of the enzymes of milk itself, their actions interconnected with lactic acid bacteria.

Until recently, intuition was almost the master's main weapon, knowledge of production "secrets" determined his qualifications.

2. The first step in cheese making

2.1 Milk preparation

At the cheese factory, a tanker with the inscription “Milk”, which has just arrived, is first met by a laboratory assistant, who takes samples of milk to determine its taste and smell, consistency, temperature, acidity, purity, fat content, etc. Periodically, at the cheese factory, the degree of bacterial availability of milk, the composition of the microflora in it, and its ability to coagulate with rennet are also determined.

It happens that it is difficult, and sometimes impossible, to produce good cheese from milk that seems to be normal in terms of basic indicators, if it contains a lot of harmful microorganisms or it does not coagulate well with rennet.

To produce a cheese with a standard chemical composition, the milk is normalized in terms of fat content, after being mixed with 15-20% of mature milk to improve the quality of the cheese. The maturation of a part of milk is carried out at a temperature of 8-17 ˚C, until the acidity increases by 1 ˚T. Then the milk is pasteurized at a temperature of 71-74 ˚C with an exposure of 20-25˚C, and cooled to the fermentation temperature. This creates conditions for the further normal functioning of beneficial microflora - lactic acid bacteria. “Cheese is milk that has matured,” wrote the Englishman Edward Bunard in 1937 in his book The Delights of Epicurus. The author in this case takes a certain poetic liberties, and more precisely, cheese is formed from dense particles that appear in milk as it matures. This maturation is rapid, as evidenced by the speed at which fresh milk sours. Cheese making is a way of controlling and modifying a process in order to obtain a product capable of ripening instead of simply rotting.

2.2 Curling

Sourdough is introduced into a cheese-making bath filled with milk - this is a pleasant drink, moderately thick, with a pure sour-milk taste and aroma, reminiscent of sour cream, "stuffed" with lactic acid bacteria.

In sourdough, the number of lactic acid bacteria reaches hundreds of millions per ml. Once in a favorable environment (warm milk), the bacteria begin the main process of cheese production - lactic acid fermentation.

The next step is to add rennet to the milk. There are 5 tons of milk in a cheese bath, and only about 100 grams of rennet is added in solution. One part of the enzyme for 50,000 parts of milk, after 5-10 minutes, all the milk begins to thicken quickly. And soon a gentle clot is formed, gradually thickening. This is the separation of milk into soft pieces of cottage cheese and liquid whey. If after about 30-40 minutes a spatula (a special metal plate) is inserted into it, it seems to split in this place, exposing smooth porcelain-like edges and a transparent greenish whey, which consists of various proteins, sugar, minerals and water.

Simply put, curdling is the process by which certain bacteria present in raw milk multiply; these are the so-called lactic acid bacteria that can thicken casein (the main milk protein) without outside help. But when milk is pasteurized (quickly heated to 70˚), not only harmful bacteria are killed, but also beneficial ones. The bacterial culture added to curdle milk is called a starter. But besides the starter, another ingredient is added to help the cheese making process. It is a rennet extract obtained from the stomach of dairy calves and is used as an amber colored liquid or in dehydrated form (powder or tablets). In addition to speeding up the process of separating the curd mass from the whey, rennet makes the casein insoluble, which contributes to a firmer curd mass.

3. Getting the cheese

So, the rennet began its work. The resulting clot is crushed, and the so-called cheese grain-protein particles 3-6 mm in size are formed. The cheese grain floating in the whey is heated, this is a very responsible operation, since its purpose is to create conditions for the development of certain types of microorganisms. The heating temperature also underlies the production classification of cheeses. Features of the production of large cheeses is the use high temperature heating (54-58˚С).

3.1 Cheese takes shape

The mass is separated from the whey by placing it in a special porous container. It is fed into a cheese maker, and from it, through a pipeline, the cheese grain enters a rapidly rotating apparatus, which feeds it into molds.

Cheese production technology "Russian"

The technological process for the production of Rossiyskiy cheese is carried out according to the technological scheme shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Technological scheme for the production of cheese "Russian"

acceptance. The technological process of production of cheese "Russian" begins with the acceptance of raw materials.

Milk delivered in a sealed form and vehicles having a sanitary passport.

Acceptance of milk consists in determining its quantity, quality control and sorting.

Each batch of milk entering the plant is subjected to control. A batch is understood as milk delivered at the same time, of the same variety, in uniform containers, from one farm, issued with one accompanying document. When transporting milk in tanks, each section (compartment) of the tank is considered a batch.

Milk acceptance includes the following operations: checking accompanying documents, inspection of containers, organoleptic evaluation of milk, temperature determination, sampling for analyzes to assess the quality of milk, analyzes, milk sorting, preparation of necessary documentation.

When inspecting the container, note: serviceability and cleanliness of the container; the presence and integrity of seals, the presence and condition of rubber rings under the lids of flasks and tanks; the presence of plugs and covers on the branch pipes of tanks.

After mixing, in each packaging unit (section of a milk tank, flask), the organoleptic characteristics of milk are determined: smell, color and texture. Taste assessment is carried out only after boiling the milk sample.

The temperature of milk is measured in each section of the tank in two or three flasks from each batch, in doubtful cases in all flasks, in accordance with GOST 26754-85.

Analyzes characterizing the quality of milk are carried out according to GOST 3624-67.

Based on the results of the organoleptic assessment, physicochemical (density) and biological (reductase and rennet-fermentation tests) analyzes, the cheese suitability of milk is determined and possible ways of preparing it for processing are determined.

Milk reservation. Reservation of milk consists in storing it at a temperature of 2 to 6 ° C for no more than 24 hours after milking, cleaning and cooling. For this purpose, tanks, a separator - a milk cleaner, a cooler should be installed in the places of reservation.

Reservation of milk ensures the rhythm of production, allows you to deliver milk at a certain time, organize its proper processing at the plant.

Milk maturation. The optimal mode of maturation of milk in cheese making is keeping it at a temperature of 10 ± 2? C for 12 ± 2 hours. In the process of maturation, the physicochemical and technological properties of milk change (the amount of soluble nitrogenous substances increases, the redox potential decreases, etc.). All this has a positive effect on the rennet coagulation of milk, the development of microbiological and biochemical processes and its quality.

Heat treatment of milk. Heat treatment of milk is carried out to destroy technically harmful for cheese making and pathogenic microflora, viruses and bacteriophages, as well as to clean its somatic cells. The optimal mode of pasteurization of milk in cheese making is heating it to a temperature of 70 to 72°C with an exposure of 20 to 25 s.

Milk is pasteurized immediately before being processed into cheese.

Normalization of milk. To obtain standard cheeses in terms of mass fraction of fat, milk must be normalized, that is, a certain mass fraction of fat must be established in the milk mixture for making cheese.

Normalization of milk is carried out in a stream using a separator-normalizer.

After filling the cheese bath in milk, the mass fraction of fat is checked again and finally adjusted by adding pasteurized skimmed milk or cream.

Preparing milk for curdling. Addition of calcium chloride to milk. During pasteurization of milk, part of the calcium salts passes from a soluble to an insoluble state. This is accompanied by a deterioration in the rennet coagulation of milk and the production of a more flabby, fragile clot.

To eliminate these shortcomings, a solution of calcium chloride is added to milk at the rate of 5 to 25 g of anhydrous salt per 100 kg of milk.

To prepare a solution of calcium chloride, water with a temperature of 85 ± 51 ° C is used at the rate of 1.5 m3 per 1 kg of salt. Before use, the solution is allowed to settle, after which it should be transparent and colorless.

It is forbidden to use calcium chloride in the form of dry salt or freshly prepared unsettled solution.

Store the finished solution in a closed glass, ceramic or stainless steel container. Dry salt of calcium chloride, due to its high moisture absorption capacity, is stored at the factory in hermetically sealed containers.

Adding potassium or sodium nitrate to milk. To suppress the development of harmful gas-forming microflora (bacteria of the group of Escherichia coli and butyric acid bacteria), if necessary, it is allowed to add a solution of potassium or sodium nitrate to milk at the rate of (10 ± 5) g of salt per 100 kg of milk.

To prepare a solution of potassium or sodium nitrate, water with a temperature of 85 ± 5 ° C is used at the rate of 1 dm per 150 ± 50 g of salt.

It is allowed to add potassium or sodium nitrate to milk in the form of dry salt. To do this, the required amount of salt is placed in a two-three-layer gauze bag, which is tied to a mixer or to a pipe under a stream of supplied milk.

The use of bacterial starters. An essential element in the production of cheeses are lactic acid bacteria, introduced into milk for cheese production in the form of specially selected and prepared combinations.

Lactic acid bacteria perform the following functions in cheese:

• - convert the main components of milk (lactose, fat) into compounds that determine the taste and aroma of cheese, its nutritional and biological value;
• - activate the action of milk-clotting enzymes and stimulate the syneresis of the rennet clot;
• - take part in the formation of the pattern of cheese and its consistency;
• - create unfavorable conditions for the development of foreign microflora.

For the production of Rossiysky cheese with a low temperature of the second heating, ready-made bacterial starter cultures of direct introduction are used, the microflora of which includes mesophilic lactic acid bacteria of the genus Lactococcus group N, Leuconostoc, as well as thermophilic lactic streptococcus St. Thermophilus. The milk mixture before curdling must have a titratable acidity of 19 to 22°T. Bacterial starter cultures are stored in the refrigerator until use (in the freezer or under the freezer), avoiding sudden changes in temperature. The shelf life of dry starter cultures at a temperature not exceeding 5 ° C is from 3 to 4 months.

Curdling of milk. The amount of a milk-clotting preparation necessary for milk clotting should be minimal, but provide a clot at a given time (30-35 minutes).

If the readings of the device for the rennet milk test indicate a reduced ability of milk to coagulate, then it is necessary to increase the dose of calcium chloride and bacterial starter within acceptable limits, increase the coagulation temperature, and it is not recommended to increase the dose of the milk-clotting drug.

The milk-clotting preparation is introduced into milk in the form of a solution prepared 25 minutes before use. The required amount of the enzyme preparation is dissolved in pasteurized and cooled to a temperature of 34°C water at the rate of 2.5 g of the preparation per 100 ml of water. The mixture is prepared to coagulate 100 liters of natural milk.

After adding the milk-clotting preparation, the milk is thoroughly mixed for 6 minutes. and then left alone until a clot forms.

The duration of milk clotting in the production of hard rennet cheeses should be 30 minutes.

The readiness of the clot is determined by the conventional method for a break. It should give sufficiently sharp edges at the break with the release of a transparent serum of a greenish-yellow color.

A rhyme that is tender or too dense is equally undesirable for cutting. In both cases, it is difficult to set a grain that is uniform in size, and a lot of cheese dust (very small particles of a clot) is formed, which reduces the yield of cheese and negatively affects its quality.

Cutting the clot and setting the grain. The purpose of rennet clot processing (cutting, crushing, second heating, drying) is to remove excess whey from the cheese mass, to achieve optimal moisture content and its optimal active acidity.

The finished clot is cut using special mechanical agitators. The titratable acidity of whey after cutting should be in the range from 13°T to 14°T. Cutting the clot and setting the grain is carried out for 15-20 minutes.

The clot is cut and the grain is placed slowly and carefully, avoiding the formation of small protein particles, such as starting cheese dust. After setting the grain, 20-30% of the whey is removed and kneading is started (15 minutes).

The second heating and drying of the curd. The second heating of the cheese grain is carried out to 42 ± 1? C for 20-30 minutes. with constant stirring. Constant stirring is carried out so that the cheese grain does not stick together. In this case, it is further dried, activation of bacterial processes and an increase in acidity.

To prevent excessive development of the lactic acid process in cheese, at the beginning of the second heating, 3-15% of drinking water is added to the mixture of grain with whey.

In the process of processing, the second heating and drying of the grain, the acidity of the whey is determined 2-3 times, which should increase by 1-2.5 ° T during this time.

Partial salting in the grain is carried out during the second heating or immediately after the end of the second heating, for which purpose table salt"Extra" at the rate of 300-400 g per 100 kg of milk.

At the end of the second heating, the grain continues to be kneaded until cooked, which is determined by its elasticity and stickiness.

Cheese molding. Cheese molding is a set of technological operations aimed at separating cheese grain from whey and forming monolithic individual cheese heads or blocks from it with the required shape, size and weight.

After 20 min. extracts with salt grain pump (from cheese baths) served on a vibrating sieve (tray) to remove whey.

From the vibrator bunker, the grain enters directly into the cheese molds installed on the transport, previously lined with a damp, clean sickle or calico. In the forms, the grain is compacted, the sickle is straightened, stretched, its ends are carefully placed on the surface of the cheese. Forms with compacted grain are moved to the presses.

The vibrating sieve should be located in the press room near the presses, and the cheese grain is fed to them by a pump. The use of pumps and a vibrator ensures the flow of production. This will accelerate the separation of whey from the sloe without lowering its temperature and without delaying the development of the lactic acid process.

Bulk molding of cheese grains contributes to the formation of a hollow, uneven, angular and slit-like pattern characteristic of this type of cheese. The voids remaining between the grains, after removing the whey, are filled with air, and later with gas, which causes the formation of eyes of various sizes and shapes.

Cheese pressing. After formation, cheeses are usually pressed, or they self-press under the weight of the overlying layers. Pressing and self-pressing is necessary to further fix the shape of the cheese, tightly connect the grains into a solid monolith, remove mechanically trapped whey and create a dense closed surface.

Forms filled with grain are left for 2.5-3.5 hours for self-pressing of the mass. After this time, the cheese is put under pressure. The pressure during the first hour of pressing should be 10 kPa. After an hour, the cheese is repressed, squeezing out the sickle, and marked with casein numbers, placing them in the center of the upper sheet of cheese (production date), then a metal disk is placed in the mold and put under the press again. Since the pressure acts mainly on the lower layers, the upper layers remain slightly compacted. Therefore, cheeses must be repressed and turned over.

The duration of cheese pressing is from 2 to 7 hours with a gradual increase in pressure from 10 kPa to 35 kPa.

The duration of the process of self-pressing and pressing of cheese is determined, first of all, by the achievement of active acidity in the cheese after pressing in the range from 5.2-5.3 pH. The pressed cheese must have a well-closed surface. The optimal mass fraction of moisture in cheese after pressing is 44-45%.

Cheese salt. The purpose of salting cheese is to give it an appropriate taste and to preserve the product from rapid over-ripening and spoilage. Salt is to some extent a regulator of the development of lactic acid, propionic and other bacteria involved in the maturation of cheeses. Partial salting of the cheese mass during the second heating increases the hydrophilicity of the grain and the moisture content in the cheese mass by 2-3%, which is retained at subsequent stages of processing.

Salting cheese in saturated brine leads to moisture loss in cheeses with a low temperature of the second heating and shrinkage is up to 4-5% of the original cheese weight.

Salt influences the development of bacteria in the cheese mass and can affect the ripening process of the cheese.

Salting cheese "Rossiysky" in the grain achieves a salt content in the cheese after pressing no more than 0.8-1.0%, so the pressed cheese is placed in a brine with a concentration of 18 to 24% and added within (2-3) days, so that the content salt in mature cheese was 1.5±0.5%. Brine temperature (8-12)°С.

Additional salting in brine favorably affects the compaction of the surface layer and contributes to the rapid formation of the cheese crust, and also reduces the temperature of the cheese mass, which protects the cheese from deformation during its further aging in the cheese storage for maturation. Cheese is placed in pools on special shelves. In the process of salting cheese and further care for them in the cheese storage, damage to the rind of cheeses should not be allowed, since even minor cracks and other damages cause subcrustal mold to develop, and consequently, a decrease in the quality of the cheese.

Cheese drying. After salting, the cheese is transferred to the cheese storage section with a temperature of 8-12°C, relative air humidity of 90-95%, where it is dried from two days to three days. At this time, they carefully monitor that there are no drafts or enhanced ventilation in the room in order to prevent excessive drying of the surface layer of cheese and the appearance of small cracks on its crust, leading to the development of subcrustal mold in the future.

In the cheese drying chambers, contamination with mold spores should not be allowed, which leads to the development of mold on the surface of the cheese and in the subcrustal layer. The premises must have a four-fold air exchange with mechanical and biological filtration, which prevents the development of mold. Their temperature must be maintained only by supplying pre-dried air to the chambers with the help of air conditioners. Cooling of cheese storage facilities with batteries is not desirable, because this increases the humidity of the air, which negatively affects the quality of the cheese.

Cheese packaging. After 2-3 days, the cheese is packed in a polymer film. The cheese to be packaged must have a dry, clean surface free of mold and slime and without any damage. To prevent moisture condensation on the surface of cheeses, the temperature in the packaging room should not exceed the temperature in the cheese ripening chambers. If the packaging is carried out at room temperature, then the cheeses are preliminarily kept in the packaging room for 2 ± 0.5 hours.

Cheese is packaged in plastic film bags using special vacuum packaging machines. When packing cheese under vacuum, air must be completely removed from the bag and its sealing must be ensured by clamping it with a metal clip. After the cheese is packaged, the film is heat-treated - the packaged cheese is immersed in hot water at a temperature of 80-85°C. Under the influence of high temperature, the film shrinks and adheres tightly to the surface of the cheese.

The packaging is considered satisfactory if the film tightly fits the cheese, no visible air space is formed between it and the surface of the cheese, and with light pressure at an angle of 30? the film does not move to the surface of the cheese. It is not allowed to check the quality of the package by pulling the film away from the surface of the cheese in order to avoid rupture of the package.

Cheese maturation. Cheese packed in a polymer film ripens in a chamber with a temperature of 10-15 ° C and a relative humidity of 85-90% within 60 days from the date of production.

During the ripening of packaged cheeses, care is taken to detect in time a violation of the sealing of the packages, which is accompanied by the development of surface microflora on the cheeses. Such cheeses must immediately be washed, cooked and, after drying, they are repackaged in film.

Cheese storage. Cheeses are stored at a temperature of -4 to 0°C and a relative air humidity of 85-90% or at a temperature of 0-8°C and a relative air humidity of 80-85%. The quality of cheese is checked at least once every 30 days. Based on the results of these checks, a decision is made on the possibility of further storage of cheeses without reducing their score.

Cheeses should be stored on racks or packed in containers stacked on rails. A passage 0.5 m wide is left between the stacked stacks, and the ends of the container with markings on them must face the passage.

The shelf life and shelf life of cheese should be counted from the date of issue of the quality certificate. Cheese is stored for three months at a temperature of 0-8°C and for four and a half months at a temperature of -4-0°C.

Sorting cheese. Cheeses that have reached standard maturity (the ripening period is calculated from the date of production), before being sent from the factory, are pre-sorted by production dates, brew numbers and evaluated for quality. Ripe cheese is sorted according to appearance, according to the results of tapping and organoleptic evaluation of a cheese sample taken with a probe.

Sorting, inspection and quality assessment of cheese is carried out by the technologist of the company that sends the cheese. The organoleptic evaluation of cheese is carried out at a product temperature of 18 ° C in accordance with the requirements of regulatory documentation for this species cheese.

Marking. On each head of cheese must be indicated: the date of production (day, month), the number of cheese cooking (the numbers are located in the center of the upper web of the head or the block of cheese) by pressing casein or plastic numbers into the cheese dough or an imprint of metal numbers approved for use by the State Sanitary and Epidemiological Supervision of the Russian Federation .

On the film in which the cheese is packaged, a label is glued or applied by continuous printing (at the film manufacturer), a sample of which is developed and approved by the manufacturer in accordance with GOST R51074, containing the following information: the name of the cheese; name of the manufacturer, its legal address, including the country; trademark of the manufacturer; composition of cheese, mass fraction of fat in dry matter in percent; food and energy value product storage conditions; expiration date; certification information; designations of these specifications.

On one of the end sides of the container with cheese with indelible paint, using a stencil or by sticking a label, a marking is applied with the following symbols: the name of the cheese, the name of the manufacturer, the composition of the cheese; mass fraction of fat in dry matter in percent; brew numbers and production dates; net weight; gross weight; the number of packaging units in the box; storage conditions; expiration date; certification information; designation of these technical conditions, food and energy value of the product; handling sign "Keep away from heat".

Cheese transportation. Cheese is shipped from the manufacturer in a packaged form. Mature cheeses should be packed in wooden boxes. For the sale of cheese within the region, territory or republic of the Russian Federation in which they are produced, and for out-of-town transportation, it is allowed to pack cheeses in cardboard boxes that meet the requirements of regulatory documentation. The internal dimensions of the boxes (in mm) for the packaging of Rossiyskiy cheese should be 760x374x174.

Cheeses selected for packaging are weighed, the tare weight, net weight, gross weight and the number of cheeses are recorded in the accompanying documentation. Before packing the cheese in a wooden container, it is wrapped in wrapping paper, parchment or parchment.

Cheeses of the same name, variety, one production date and one cooking number are placed in each box. It is allowed to pack cheeses of different dates of production in one box marked "combined". Containers for packaging cheeses must be clean, free from foreign odors that affect the quality of the product. The moisture content of the wood should be no more than 20%, mold on planks and planks is not allowed. Extraneous wormholes and resin pockets are only permitted on the outside of the packaging.

Thus, the observance of the whole order technological process leads to quality products.

To date, entrepreneurs are not often found who, in order to increase their capital, settled on such a direction as cheese production at home. And all because in order to implement such an idea, in addition to desire, you will need to purchase special equipment and raw materials, which cost a lot of money, and also spend time. Due to the fact that the quality of mass-produced cheese leaves much to be desired, such a business idea as creating a mini workshop for the manufacture of this dairy product at home has a chance to develop, as cheese lovers will prefer a quality product anyway.

Today in stores on the shelves you can see a large number of different varieties of cheese from processed to hard varieties. Such a variety allows the buyer to choose the most suitable product both in terms of taste and pricing policy. At any time, the demand for cheeses remained high, so the competition in this market segment is strong. However, even allowing for this factor, a business based on cheese making will profitable investment funds.

To implement the idea, it doesn’t matter at all whether the entrepreneur has work experience or is just starting his career, in any case, you need to start implementing the idea from drawing up a business plan. Cheese production will be an effective and profitable investment, provided that a competent business plan is drawn up. It will help to assess not only the demand for the product, but also the competition in this market segment, the volume of financial injections and the payback period of this business idea. In addition, proper planning will help to make optimal forecasts for the bulk of the difficulties during the production of cheese and will not allow serious mistakes to be made during the implementation of the idea.

For the preparation of such a fermented milk product as cheese, sour milk is used as a raw material, which, according to a certain technology, is kept from one to thirty days. At the initial stage of the development of the enterprise, you should not take on the production of expensive elite cheese. It is recommended to find a recipe for a variety of this fermented milk product that is generally loved by customers and, adhering to the technology exactly, try to cook it. Each subsequent batch will surpass the last in taste characteristics, and by constantly tasting cheeses, you can develop an idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe true taste of a good cheese that will appeal to customers and provide a permanent clientele.

Room for a cheese factory

A mini-workshop of small volumes, processing up to a hundred kilograms of milk per day, can be freely located on an area of ​​​​two dozen "squares". The equipment is not voluminous, so it will not be difficult to place it in a small area.

The main thing is that the room meets the following parameters:

free access to hot and cold water;

good ventilation of the room;

carried out sewerage;

heating.

Also, the room should have access to daylight. In addition, only metal or plastic furniture is used in food production. It is desirable that the walls are tiled, and the remaining places are painted with paint that does not contain harmful substances in its composition that can adversely affect the quality of the products. In no case do not use the basement for a cheese factory.

Preparation of documents for business registration

Before starting to implement your business idea and start production, you will need to collect a number of documents in order to register your mini-workshop at the legislative level.

This can be done in two ways:

You can choose any of the two substantive forms of activity. If we talk about our case, which involves the production of cheese as a business mini-workshop and the subsequent sale of small batches of the product, then it is better to use the IP system. Only in the case of mass production and sale of large batches of cheeses is it recommended to register your business using the second method.

Even the creation of a mini-workshop for cheese making requires a quality certificate. Such a requirement is put forward to any food production.

Any cheeses belong to a number of food products, therefore, before starting production, you will need to obtain permission, for which you need to provide: an application, a contract, constituent documentation, a sanitary certificate, provide a layout of the future product label and a veterinary certificate. In addition, the release of any food product requires a permit from the sanitary and epidemiological service. It is possible that other documents will be required during registration, so it is better to entrust this process to a legally savvy person who understands all the intricacies of this issue.

Compliance with the technology of cheese making

We have already mentioned a large number of varieties of cheese, which are divided into hard and soft. Cheese production as a business at home implies the ability to produce any kind of cheese. And the technology will depend on the chosen variety. If we talk about hard cheeses, then they will need curd mass, from which whey is separated at a certain stage. Then the resulting dehydrated mixture is laid out in special molds under oppression. The time spent under the press is determined by the technology of preparation of the cheese variety, which should be the result. The process can take over a month.

Soft varieties of cheeses do not require so much time, but they can be stored at a certain temperature for no more than 7 days. Therefore, for mass production, such cheeses are not profitable due to the high probability of spoilage of the product. But hard varieties in any country are in great demand among buyers.

However, it is the quality of raw materials that most influences the taste characteristics of the final product. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that the purchase of milk is carried out only from trusted suppliers who guarantee that it is received only from healthy animals. Check milk samples for the presence of antibiotics, which can significantly impair the quality of the cheese, and for acidity, which should not fall below the 6.8 mark. The optimal fat content is 3.5%.

If you work with certain suppliers of raw materials, then it is advisable to write each of these points in more detail in a cooperation agreement, which should indicate the volume of supply, price and method of delivery of raw materials to the enterprise.

Now let's talk in more detail about the equipment that will be required for cheese making in home mini-workshops.

Purchase of special equipment

When deciding to start making cheese, you need to take into account that you will not only have to find a place for the workshop and purchase raw materials, you will need to purchase special basic and auxiliary equipment, which you can’t do without. The main one includes a vat made of stainless steel with a volume of at least 50 liters. According to the technology, a vat with cheese mass is heated using an electric heating element or a gas burner. Cooling is carried out in the process of circulating a stream of cold water around the perimeter of the vat.

Additional equipment includes: presses, filters, salt pools, molds for future cheese, racks and shelves, ripening chambers. The guarantee of quality is the equipment offered by Italian manufacturers. They can offer a service such as arranging a turnkey mini-workshop. The equipment is suitable for processing any kind of milk (goat, sheep or cow).

Today, cheese production in Russia is developing and many entrepreneurs install domestic equipment in their mini-workshops, which is no worse than Italian in quality, but its pricing policy is more acceptable. It is worth remembering that not only the taste characteristics of the final product depend on the equipment, it is also important to monitor the quality of the raw materials that are purchased for production. Do not save on this and buy milk only from trusted suppliers who care about the health of livestock.

Subtleties of cheese making

It doesn’t matter what kind of cheese you decide to make. There are several stages in the preparation of raw materials that every technologist needs to know.

Initially received milk must undergo a sterilization process.

Next is the preparation of raw materials. It is divided into two equal parts. The first part is pasteurized in a cheese maker at a temperature of +68˚С, after which it is sharply cooled to a temperature of + 38˚С. The second part is immediately cooled in special equipment (cooler) to +4˚С.

Cooking. In the second (chilled part of the raw material), you need to add rennet, which is extracted from the stomachs of dairy calves. This enzyme helps in the curdling process and the formation of curds. It is sold in powder form and should be handled with care. For 100 liters of milk, no more than a gram of such a powder will be required. At the end of the coagulation process, the enzyme remains in the curd. The next process is to pour the milk into the cheese maker to mature and complete the curdling process. Here the temperature will already depend on the type of cheese chosen. Hard cheeses are cooked at a high temperature, but not for long. Temperature regime should not go beyond 28-36˚ C, which prevents the cheese mass from quickly compacting and accumulating lactic acid microflora within 2-4 hours.

Cheese shaping. After the milk is completely curdled, the cheese mass is separated from the liquid and you can begin to divide it into parts according to fractions. And here, too, there are differences depending on the type of cheese. For maturing semi hard cheese it does not take a lot of time, so cheese grains the size of a walnut are deposited for it, while for hard varieties it will be necessary to grind the mass to the size of a peanut. Elite hard cheeses are made from grain no larger than a pea. After preparation, the mass is laid out in a mold and sent to the press tables. During the pressing process, it is recommended to turn the cheese heads from time to time in accordance with the technology. After compacting the cheese, it is laid out in a salt pool, after soaking in brine, the heads are transferred to the rack, where they undergo their final maturation. The ripening room should be equipped with a good exhaust and ventilation system, while the temperature in the room for optimal cheese ripening should not go beyond +4 - +12 ˚ С.

Serum use. It is not recommended to pour out this useful product after making cheese. Send fresh whey back to the dairy. Dilute it with milk, add apple cider vinegar and bring the mixture to a temperature of +92 ˚ C. As a result, you can get juicy and soft cottage cheese, which is already ready for sale.

Profitability of the cheese production workshop

If we compare the financial injections and the profit received, then if we adhere to all the technological nuances, the production will not only be profitable, but also promising. After acquiring the necessary equipment and hiring qualified employees, you can open your own mini-production.

The main financial expenses for launching production include:

sole proprietorship and business registration;

Purchase of main and auxiliary equipment;

purchase of quality raw materials.

The profit will depend on two factors: the volume of sales and the price of the product. It goes without saying that the price should be directly proportional to the quality of the fermented milk product. Therefore, in order to increase revenue over time, it is recommended to transfer production to the production of elite (expensive) varieties of cheese.

Before setting a price for your product, it is worth monitoring competitor companies and their products. Only in this case it is possible to draw the right conclusions and set an adequate price. Naturally, good cheese cannot be cheap, but you should not overestimate the price either. Otherwise, only a small number of people who do not mind spending a tidy sum for a piece of cheese will be able to purchase your products. It is advisable to find something in between cheap products made from substitutes and preservatives and expensive products that are made only from natural ingredients.

Product promotion

For cheese production, the business plan is just as important as product advertising. Due to the fact that there is a lot of competition among fermented milk products, the product must not only be of high quality, but also cost accordingly. Only the right balance of quality and price will ensure massive sales and regular customers.

Sales of goods

Even before the release of products, distribution channels for products should be established. To do this, through the conclusion of contracts, you can sell cheese to several places (shops) at once. Look out for nearby supermarkets and other big grocery stores which guarantee a large flow of buyers. Another good marketing ploy would be the opening of a branded cheese shop near the place of production. You can also establish cooperation with wholesale dealers or restaurants, cafeterias and other places. Catering that require a constant supply of fresh cheese.

You can find additional points of sale after a careful study of the specifics of trade enterprises located near your mini-workshop.

Now we can say with confidence that the production of cheese at home is a real opportunity to make good profits with minimal funding. To do this, you just need to conscientiously fulfill your tasks, adhere to the accuracy of the technological process, and arrange your mini-workshop in accordance with all standards. And by opening a small company store, right next to the cheese factory, you can get a number of regular customers who will help the development of the family business by buying your products!

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Cheese is a food product made from milk. A product made at home tastes much nicer, tastier and cheaper than bought in a store. It contains no preservatives at all. To make cheese at home, you need a lot of milk, at least 12 liters. If you need a large amount of cheese, you will have to collect milk for a week. You can store it in the refrigerator.

• How to start a cheese making business at home?
• Milk
• Leaven
• Rennet extract
• How much profit does a mini-factory for the production of homemade cheese bring?
• The size start-up capital to open a mini-factory for the production of cheese
• Which cheese making equipment to choose?
• Documents for opening a company
• Tax regime
• Technology for the production of hard cheeses at home

How to start a cheese making business at home?

Types of cheeses produced at home are of three types. Which ones and their difference from each other can be seen in the provided table.

Solid	They produce hard cheeses based on cottage cheese, which is kept for at least a month under pressure. The longer the exposure, the better the taste will be. The density of the structure depends on the weight of the cargo. It should be as heavy as possible. This cheese is made from whole milk.
Soft	The production technology is almost the same as that of the solid one. It differs only in the exposure time. Also, soft cheese is not covered with paraffin. The product is ready for use within a week. Made from both whole and skimmed milk.
Home	Produced from cottage cheese with a high water content. The shelf life is very short. It is made from skimmed milk, but can also be made from whole milk. Compared to the above types of cheese, it is simple in the manufacturing procedure.

To make cheese, you will need the following:

1. sourdough or rennet;
2. equipment.

Milk

Milk for production can be goat or cow. Also, it is desirable that it be whole, then the cheese will turn out to be more fatty. But you can use for cooking and partially skimmed milk. The main thing is that it be of high quality, and it depends on the health of the animal. When buying, it is worth clarifying whether antibiotics were given to the animal in the next three days. If yes, then it is better not to buy milk for the reason that the oxidation process in the cheese will be suppressed.

Boiled or raw milk is taken out of the refrigerator before cooking and left in a warm place until it turns sour. You can determine the degree of oxidation by tasting it. The longer the milk is stored, the more the amount of acid increases.

If you need to mix your morning and evening milk, it's best to do it this way:

• cool morning milk in the refrigerator to 12-15 degrees;
• mix it with evening.

This method will help to avoid a large formation of acid.

To mix the milk of one milking, you need to cool it to 18 degrees four hours after milking. Know that from 10 liters of milk you get:

1. 1 kilogram of hard cheese;
2. 1.5 soft;
3. 2 kg home.

Experts note that today cheese is one of the most sought-after products. Demand for it is steadily growing, and there are not so many small farms on the market. Therefore, a cheese mini-factory can turn out to be a highly profitable enterprise.

First step

Starting any business, cheese-making in particular, must be done with a clear definition of a development strategy. To do this, you need to compose detailed business plan cheese production. This will help you avoid unnecessary expenses in the future.

Your business plan should cover the following questions:

• Registration and other documentation.
• Determining the range and market needs.
• Equipment selection.
• Selection of suppliers of raw materials.
• Personnel selection.
• Formation of financial calculations.
• Sales and advertising.

Registration and other documentation

First of all, you need to officially register your company. Since the production is small, you can register as an individual entrepreneur. But anyway manufacturing enterprises more often they stop at the organizational form of an LLC, since with legal entities more willing to cooperate, more trust. For taxation, they take a simplified system when 6% of revenue or 15% of net income is paid.

To open a mini-workshop, you will have to draw up a number of permits. Therefore, it is better to leave this issue in the hands of a competent lawyer.

Market research

While everyone is getting ready Required documents, it is necessary to study the market, its needs, its potential customers. Analyze the work of competitors, the range of their products, what is the average price in the market. Determine the level of solvency of the population of the sales region. This will help you form your pricing policy and product range.

The most popular are hard cheeses, but the technology of their preparation requires considerable time. Unlike cream and tea cheeses, the production of hard cheeses requires their pre-aging. At the same time, the production of hard cheeses of the premium segment will require at least a year for maturation. This level of cheese dairy is usually opened by experienced producers.

It is also important to decide on the assortment because the equipment for cheese production also depends on the type of cheese.

Cheeses are of the following varieties:

• rennet;
• solid;
• soft;
• brine;
• fermented milk;
• whey;
• smoked
• with Penicillium mold.

room

A mini-workshop for the production of cheese for about 100 kg per day should be located in a room of 20 sq. m. For rent, you need to find about 30-50 thousand rubles. But as a rule, any farm can allocate such an area on its territory. Cheese making equipment is quite compact, about 70 cm in diameter and 90 cm in height.

It is important that the room has cold and hot water supply, sewerage, ventilation, heating. In general, a cheese factory should meet the typical requirements for production facilities food products. These include:

• daylight;
• metal or plastic furniture;
• the walls are tiled;
• fire safety equipment.

Cheese production equipment

During the preparation of cheeses, the equipment allows you to automate the coagulation of milk, the formation of cheese grains, mass molding, its pressing and salting. Cooling chambers are purchased separately for storage and maturation.

It is necessary to determine in advance what the production technology will be, because any changes in it require changes in manufacturing process and may require the purchase of new equipment in the workshop.

The main and auxiliary equipment is purchased for the cheese factory. The main one includes a capacity of 50 liters. from stainless steel. Auxiliary:

• racks;
• milk filters;
• coolers;
• ripening chambers;
• press tables;
• cheese molds;
• several brine pools, etc.

Usually a ready-made production line of various capacities is offered. For example, in a mini-workshop of a small farm, you can put a 120-liter line that will process 500 liters of milk per day.

The choice of equipment must be approached carefully and not save on it, because the quality depends on it, and, accordingly, the demand for your product and the success of your business. Most often, cheese dairies are equipped with Italian equipment. They have not only an optimal price-quality ratio, but also versatility, use high technology. Such a line will cost about 50 thousand euros. In any case, it is important that the equipment supplier provides further maintenance.

The domestic line will cost less - from 150 thousand rubles. with a capacity of 70-1000 liters of milk per day. On it at least you can make:

• 5 kg of sour cream (fat content 20%);
• 13 kg of soft cheese;
• 7 kg of hard cheese;
• 100 liters of drinking products.

Choosing raw materials

The technology of making cheeses allows the use of cow, goat, sheep and other types of milk. You can get it in several ways:

• purchase in private farms;
• purchase in farms;
• keeping your own herd.

The first option is the most risky, since it is difficult to trace the quality of milk delivered. But this is the cheapest way. Villagers will be happy to take advantage of the opportunity to earn extra money on milk, especially if you organize its transportation.

It is more reliable to buy milk for the cheese factory in farms that are forced to sell its surplus to factories for low prices. But best option is its own herd. Then the milk is obtained at cost, and you yourself can monitor its quality.

The technology of making cheeses is special in that it does not have production waste. Everything can be used for sale. You can sell not only hard, soft, rennet cheese, but also the whey that remains after cooking.

Cooking technology

For manufacturing, a typical technology for the production of hard and soft cheeses is used. It includes the following processes:

• preparation of milk for curdling by adding special substances and heating;
• formation and maturation of cheese;
• packaging and sales.

Manufacturing technology implies that the mini-workshop will be divided into production zones, warehouse and shipping space.

Suluguni cooking

For example, let's talk about a simplified technology for the production of Suluguni cheese. This is one of the most popular pickled Georgian cheese varieties. Classic suluguni is made from cow's milk or buffalo's milk. A combination of two types of milk in various proportions is also acceptable.

For the preparation of suluguni, fermentation enzymes and several rennets are added to the raw materials. At the same time, the dishes should not be enamelled, otherwise you will not succeed in suluguni. Then, at a temperature of 30-35 about C for half an hour, the mixture is boiled. Every 10 minutes, it must be gently and very slowly stirred until a clot forms. Suluguni is cooked in one boil. In the process of cooking, the clot is periodically gently turned over so that it boils well on all sides. At the end of cooking, the whey is pumped out, and the suluguni is pressed so that part of the whey remains in it. Under pressure, the cheese ripens for 2-5 hours, while it must be periodically turned over. The ripened suluguni is cut into pieces and sent for scraping. This process takes place in brine baths. The salting time of suluguni depends on the size of the pieces.

Processed cheese preparation

An integral part of the production is processed cheese, which is prepared from the remnants of raw materials. To do this, the raw material is cleaned, filtered, ground and mixed in the tank. In the same place, with constant stirring under the influence of high temperature, melting occurs with the addition of melting salts. Such cheese is packed hot, and then put into cooling chambers.

Making soft cheeses

The easiest way to prepare soft cheeses. In this case, it is important to curdle the milk, drain and compress the cheese into portions for sale. The main advantage of soft varieties is a short production time. Such cheeses are prepared without aging in a couple of days, within a week, or using a long-term ripening technology (up to 45 days). They must be completed within two weeks. At the same time, the best taste qualities appear in the first week.

Production of elite varieties

As a rule, it requires a long time for the aging of the product. For example, for the manufacture of Brie cheese, after fermentation, the raw materials are kept for 18 hours, and after the addition of mold, they are kept for about two more months. Mozzarella belongs to the elite varieties, but it is prepared relatively quickly and without the use of various additives. It takes no more than two days to make it. She keeps everything beneficial features rich in calcium content.

Elite varieties also include goat cheese, Feta cheese, as well as semi-hard cheeses. The latter are prepared according to the technology of hard cheese. But they are formed independently, without the use of a mechanical press.

Staff

The mini-cheese factory will need a little staff. The line will require 1-3 people for maintenance, depending on its performance. It is also difficult to open a mini-production without the help of a technologist. He knows all the intricacies of making the product and will help develop his own varieties of cheese.

The work will require the services of a manager for the supply of raw materials and sales finished products. These functions can be taken over by the owner of a mini-production. In general, the success of a business largely depends on the staff. Not surprisingly, in Italy, the Mecca of cheese making, most of these businesses are small family farms. They have a herd of 100 heads, a workshop for making cheeses and a small shop selling them.

Sales options

It doesn't matter what kind of cheese you decide to specialize in: soft, hard or rennet, first of all, you need to decide on the distribution channels. Ideally, if there is a more or less large city nearby. Then the product can be implemented in several ways:

• delivery to catering establishments;
• to small retail chains within the city;
• wholesale deliveries to retail stores;
• sales to wholesale dealers;
• trade from a car shop on the road;
• sales in the markets;
• sale through a branded small store.

Through your store, you can sell not only suluguni, hard, rennet and soft cheeses, but also excess milk, whey. This will increase the profitability of your production. It’s a good idea to arrange supplies to various eco-product stores. In restaurants and cafes, you can sell elite varieties of cheese or even cook it to order.

The only thing that needs to be clearly understood is that cheese production will not give a quick result. The production line alone costs a lot of money, which will not pay off in one year. Not to mention that the production cycle of some types of cheese takes more than one month.

Production calculations

The opening of production will require the following capital expenditures (thousand rubles):

• production line with delivery and installation - 300;
• repair of the premises - 200;
• employee training - 30;
• registration and other expenses - 100.

In total, approximately 630 thousand rubles will be required.

In addition to these funds, each month the following will be spent on production (thousand rubles):

• advertising - 20;
• utility costs - 30;
• salary for 4 people - 80;
• rent - 30;
• other expenses - 50.

In total, you will need to lay out about 210 thousand rubles every month.

In a month with 22 days of work and a productivity of 100 kg of product per day, 2200 kg of hard and soft cheeses can be produced. On average, their selling price will be about 200 rubles / kg. If we subtract the cost of raw materials, then the monthly revenue will be 286 thousand rubles. From this amount it is necessary to subtract fixed costs, the amount of tax, and then the profit will be about 64 thousand rubles. per month. This means that if you sell completely all prepared products, you can reach a payback in 10 months.

You can download a detailed business plan for opening a cheese factory at