Cheese making is similar in most of the places of the world. Indeed, it is an acidification process of the milk. However, depending on the cheese variety or geographic location some small (and not small) differences appear in the manufacturing. We are interested in the pressing processes used in the manufacturing of the different varieties of cheese. Which are the usual pressures used to get out the whey from the curd before the curing?
We know that every cheese has each own pressing process. For example, Idiazabal cheese (Basque Country) has a 1-2 bar pressure range. We are interested in knowing these pressure ranges for different cheeses in the world... Can you help?
0.5 to 2 bar based on the variety of cheese and the spreader plate used in the equipment.
Dear Heva Ranjith,
Do you know any publication or bibliographic source about this subject?
This is from my experience using various equipment. A simple example would be a pneumatic piston is used for generating pressure. One has a 150 mm diameter pressure plate and another uses 250 mm diameter pressure plate to push moulds. 250 mm plate will require slightly less or lower pressure setting to do the same job.
This is a bit strange for me... Does a cheese with a higher diameter need a lower pressure to get the whey out?
I think we are mixing physical concepts. If we have a constant force of the press, the effective pressure over the cheese depends on the diameter of the mould. If the press applies that constant force and we increase the diameter, the effective pressure over the cheese will reduce.
I can show an example. 150 mm dia. plate exert total area pressure of 28 psi. at 1 psi pressure
250 mm diameter plate exert a pressure of 78 psi at 1 psi pressure
Sorry, but I continue very confused. If we put 1 bar of pressure in a pneumatic press, which is the meaning of this? I understand that the compressed air will have a pressure of 1 bar. Therefore, this air will apply 1 bar pressure to the plate of the piston that is inside the press. However, to equal the forces in the two sides of the piston, the plate that is in contact with the mould (which will have a greater area) will exert a lower pressure. Please, correct me if I am wrong.
My experience is that you can use slightly lower pressure between .5 to 2 bar based on the type of cheese you make. You may not experience this but without realising you may adjust the pressure as required. These can be done only if you experience the moisture retained in the cheese is critical and one allow to keep cheese longer to reduce moisture content and vice versa.
For vacuum press ( 10 to 15 hr)
Block pressing (24 to 36 hr)
Pressure distorts the curd and increases the contact area between curd particles
It is the first time that I heard that vacuum pressing is used to press cheese.
As you pointed, the pressing time is another factor in the pressing process, with the pressure value and the pressure profile (usually the applied pressure has to increase, from a lower value to a greater one).
The lack of written information about cheese pressing process is strange for me… In this work, I have found that Cheddar cheese is usually pressed at 2.7 kPa:
Article Milk and Dairy Products in Human Nutrition: Production, Comp...
I support the statement of 05- 2 bar depending on the variety of the cheese.
Interesting… I have found more information:
“Pressing is applied to extra-hard, hard and semi-hard cheeses, and the pressure varies with the cheese variety; usually ~0.5 bar (1200 kg/wheel) for most hard cheeses and up to 6 bar (2000 kg/wheel) for Emmentaler.”
Chapter An Overview of the Cheesemaking Process: Cheese Quality and ...