Cheese Production Equipment: Curd, Pressing, Washing & Storage Machinery
Cheese-making equipment is divided into machines for producing cheese grain, equipment for moulding and pressing the cheese mass, and the equipment used in cheese storage facilities.
Machines for producing cheese grain can be either continuous or batch operation. Continuous machines are generally used at large cheese-making plants where high throughput is required. Batch machines consist of one or two dedicated vessels in which the cheese mass is processed in separate loads.
What modern equipment is used to make cheese grain?
Modern equipment for producing cheese grain includes cheese makers and cheese-making vats. The moulding of natural cheeses is carried out by pouring, by filling, and from a layer. The layer method is the most widespread and versatile, as it allows most hard and semi-hard cheeses to be moulded. The layer can be formed either in the cheese-making vat or in a dedicated moulding apparatus.
How is the cheese mass moulded and pressed?
Cheese moulding is performed with apparatus such as the Ya5-OFN and the Ya5-OFIN-1, with cheese-mass capacities of 500 kg and 1000 kg respectively. Presses are used to press the cheese mass into shape. These two stages — moulding to form the head of cheese and pressing to expel remaining whey and compact the curd — prepare the product for the storage and ripening phase.
What equipment is installed in cheese storage facilities?
The equipment installed in cheese storage facilities includes containers, brine basins, cheese-washing machines, and parariners (paraffining machines). Each piece supports a specific step in ripening, salting, cleaning, or protecting the cheese.
- Containers are designed to hold the cheeses during the ripening and storage period.
- Cheese-washing machines — drum, carousel, and tunnel types — are used to wash cheeses during ripening and storage.
- Brine basins hold the cheese for salting; the cheese is placed in them in containers similar to those used for ripening and storage.
- Parariners are used to coat the head of cheese with a paraffin alloy that protects the surface.
Containers serve to arrange the cheeses for the ripening and storage period, keeping them organised and accessible. For washing cheeses during ripening and storage, drum, carousel, and tunnel cheese-washing machines are used depending on the scale and layout of the facility. In the brine basins the cheese is placed in containers that are analogous to the containers used for ripening and storing cheese. Parariners apply a coating of paraffin alloy over the head of cheese to seal and protect it.


