Improving cheese yield by mastering coagulation and curd cutting

Applications / Solids Recover Rates and Coagulation: A correlation study

Fat recovery rate strongly increases when curd
is cut at lower firmness levels

This study aimed to measure the influence of curd firmness and coagulation speed at the exact time of cutting on fat, protein and solids recovery rates in cheddar manufacturing. This study was performed and validated by Saint-Hyacinthe Research and Development Centre from the Canadian department of agriculture (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada).

The experimental plan consisted in running four (4) productions of three (3) 100 L vats each. Vats and cutting firmness levels were randomized. CoaguSens Connect was used to measure the coagulation kinetics of all 12 vats. The tested cutting firmness levels were 190, 210, 230 and 260 Pa. Milk composition as well as production process were standardized.