Cottage cheese: production technology, ingredients, cooking methods and types

The relevance of adhering to the technology for the preparation of cottage cheese in production is determined by the necessity and importance of this food product for humans. Cottage cheese is called such a traditional product, the manufacturing process of which allows you to maintain maximum protein saturation. These are fermented milk products, which are characterized by dietary properties, medicinal qualities and increased nutritional value. Most modern treatment menus developed by specialists include cottage cheese as one of the basic elements of nutrition. However, as nutritionists pay attention, even completely healthy people should not neglect this product - it is important and useful for everyone.

What is this about

Before considering briefly the technology for the production of cottage cheese, we formulate what is at stake. Cottage cheese is a concentrate of protein structures of milk and additional components present in this natural nutrient fluid. The importance of proteins for the human body cannot be overestimated. They provide the body with material for cell construction. Proteins are needed to create enzyme compounds and immune bodies, due to which a person can protect himself from various diseases.

The human body receives protein structures with food, breaks them down, turning them into amino acids. It is these blocks that are used to form new protein molecules specific to a particular organism. For the process to proceed fully, the body must have two dozen unique amino acids. It is most difficult to get tryptophan, methionine, with food. Both of these compounds are necessary for the full activity of the nervous system, provide the ability to work blood-forming organs and the digestive tract.

curd technology in a traditional way

Production: from the start

There are several known technologies for the production of cottage cheese in enterprises, but they all begin with work on the preparation of the product. Milk intake involves not only monitoring the amount of incoming fluid, but also checking its quality. The task of the company is to control the parameters of the products and sort the resulting raw materials. After mixing, you can identify organoleptic parameters, namely, the taste of milk and its shade, aroma and purity. Milk experts evaluate the structure, level of acidity and density, the presence and content of the fat fraction. If in the production environment there is a need to store milk for a long time, the product is cooled. Storage conditions for the liquid - warming up not higher than 10 degrees, duration - no more than six hours.

Known technology for the preparation of cottage cheese with the use of milk powder. It must first be restored. To do this, you need water heated to a level of 35-45 degrees (Celsius). The product is then cooled and allowed to swell for an average of four hours. It is allowed to dilute in an environment heated to 12 degrees, with the provision of the subsequent sufficient time for swelling. This is practiced if it is not possible to cool the product. The swelling process is not considered mandatory, but it allows you to increase the yield by an average of a tenth. During the period of swelling, vegetable fiber and specialized mixtures can be added to the container. Products should be processed in a dispersant or mixed regularly.

Preparation: continued

The technology for the preparation of cottage cheese involves providing products with the ability to normalize after swelling. The process includes stabilization by fat fractions with cream. An alternative is melted fat. For this, a dispersant is used. The substance is heated to 55 degrees, the milk is heated to the same level and the ingredients are mixed. Having completed the normalization procedure, the composition is supplemented with special components. Cold water is used for their preparation. The purified liquid is needed in an amount on average ten times the volume of milk. The ingredients are mixed by tank or dispersant.

acid curd rennet technology

About temperature

The production technology of sour cream, cottage cheese and curd products involves the use of specialized equipment. For pasteurization of products, plants are used in which the ingredients are influenced by temperatures up to 95 degrees for a third of a minute. This ensures maximum efficiency of the protein coagulation process. As a result, the yield of the product increases.

The next step is cooling the mixture to a temperature close to 30 degrees. Deviation up and down by a couple of divisions is allowed. The process involves the use of mesophilic components. If it is necessary to use thermophilic ingredients or multicomponent products, heating is necessary up to 35 degrees. The mixture is transferred to the curd bath. Without fermentation, the products are not stored due to additional seeding, which can lead to a yeast aftertaste of cottage cheese, high acidity.

Clot preparation

The technology for the production of cottage cheese involves the addition of leaven, followed by mixing lasting a quarter of an hour. The product is supplemented with calcium chloride, special enzymes, stirred for another 10 minutes and allowed to infuse until the necessary clot appears. If the acidity is too low, cutting will lead to a specific consistency - the finished product resembles rubber.

The duration of milk fermentation with the use of special bacteria is not more than 15 hours, but not less than six. To determine if a clot is ready, it is necessary to titrate the density and acidity of the medium. The prepared clot is cut into cubes and allowed to infuse for half an hour or an hour, until serum is released. It is allowed to heat the substance to 40 degrees, which reduces the exposure time to 40 minutes. To warm the clot evenly, it is mixed. Manipulations must be done carefully. At this stage, there is a danger of boiling the clot. It is necessary to prevent such an error, while treating the clot so that the serum is released quite actively. It is important to softly change the temperature regime without a sharp jump, otherwise the grain structure of the cottage cheese will be violated.

cottage cheese cooking technology

Work with a clot

The technology for the production of cottage cheese involves the use of special settings. The raw materials are placed in mice, filled in three quarters, laid in a press and cooled from an hour to four until the product reaches the required moisture level. Next, the clot is subjected to pressing (including independent). Self-press lasts an hour or more. To speed up the process, you need to shake the container regularly. In bags, pressing is carried out in the refrigerator in limbo or on a table. The medium warms up no higher than 8 degrees. Duration of the procedure - until the cottage cheese reaches the desired consistency.

For a fat-free product, the optimal moisture level is 80%, for a fat content of 5% it decreases to 75%, another two percent lower for cottage cheese with a fat content of 9%. The use of a stabilizer to preserve moisture can increase the rate by one and a half percent in excess of the specified standard, while the storage day allows the raw materials to reach a stable state. Stabilization gives the final result only after cooling the product.

The technology for the production of cottage cheese allows the standardization of humidity through a special press built into the refrigeration units. Carts are loaded with bags filled with the product, stacking them one on top of the other, and the press is fastened. When the process ends, the cottage cheese is taken out of their bags, mixed, packaged and sent for storage and sale.

How it all began

Cottage cheese is one of the oldest products made from milk. It is believed that people using stomachs to store milk accidentally discovered a rennet fermentation process. Compared to the spontaneous course, the processing was faster, and the finished product tasted good. The Slavs called cheese cottage cheese earlier; cheese pancakes were made from it. Philologists and linguists still argue about the origin of the name. Even the prevalence of rennet cheese products has not changed the relevance of the word "syrniki".

Cottage cheese in our lands was one of the most common products consumed almost every day. It was prepared from yogurt, which was placed in a container in a heated oven for several hours. The contents of the pot were transferred to a bag, the liquid was drained and left under pressure. Such a natural product was stored for a short time, but a method for preserving it was invented - the previously described procedure with the oven and press was repeated twice, then the product was put into a container and covered with ghee. In a cool room, cottage cheese prepared in this way was stored for months.

cottage cheese production technology

Technical features

The technology for the production of cottage cheese using the acid-rennet method has been used for many centuries. The enzyme for the process was pieces of calf, lamb stomachs, previously thoroughly dried. Enzyme preparations were first invented about a century ago. It was then that the French industrialists began the manufacture of sourdough in liquid form, which soon received considerable demand in the market. At the end of the 19th century, the enzyme was first made dry. Since 1888, lactic acid bacterial pure cultures were used.

In our country, it is customary to highlight several steps in the development of industry related to cottage cheese. The first stage began when the first plants appeared, and lasted until about the middle of the last century. At that time, the technology for the production of cottage cheese in an acidic manner was relevant. The clot was cooked in an open container or processed in an oven. For decades, industry remained at a low level of technical support. This was largely due to the duration and complexity of ripening and the stage of work with the press. Mostly manual labor was used. Already in the twenties they began to prepare cottage cheese from varieties of milk that differed in fat content. They sold a fresh product, stored salty. By the middle of the last century, three varieties of fatty and fat-free cottage cheese were on sale.

Manufacturing nuances

The cottage cheese production technology used in those years involved the use of two-wall bathtubs or oak tubs to ferment the original liquid. The procedure required up to 12 hours. Product readiness was determined visually. The clot was moved to a tub with a special bucket, then it was cooked on a boiler, mixing, so that the substance warmed up evenly. As soon as he was ready, he was cut with crosses with knives from a tree, the tubs were removed from the liquid and left to be freed from serum. Cooling, the cottage cheese was pressed independently. In order to qualitatively lower the temperature, we used a room with curd heating not higher than 8 degrees for storing cottage cheese.

The technology for the production of cottage cheese in the traditional way took into account the fact that independent pressing allowed the product to free only part of the whey. To remove the residues, it was necessary to continue pressing in the container. To do this, they used directly the one into which the product was then packaged. More often used tubs made of wood in the form of an inverse cone. The capacity was filled to a third or half, covered with a cloth and put the load. After keeping the product for some time, the liquid was drained, a new layer of cottage cheese was laid and the procedure was repeated. When the tub was completely filled, it was covered with a lid and stored in a cool place for up to two months. If storage was required up to nine months, the cottage cheese was frozen, aged, and only after that it was sent to the buyer.

acid curd technology

Process development

Over time, the technology for the production of cottage cheese in the traditional way was transformed, and this became especially noticeable in the middle of the last century. It is believed that it was then that the second stage of the development of the curd industry began, which lasted until about the beginning of the 70s. The plants carried out voluminous work on mechanization. The workflow was designed with equipment. At that time, the workers became available baths for milk fermentation and clot production, trolleys for removing whey and pressing plants, in which the cottage cheese was previously cooled. Such aggregates made it possible to combine fermentation with the manufacture and division of a clot, the removal of whey and pressing.

After the middle of the last century, as can be learned from the reports made by engineers at that time, the technology for the production of cottage cheese without heating and with it became available to a large number of enterprises, while it was possible to reduce labor costs and time intervals for processes. Workers gained access to cottage cheese separators. Developed by manufacturers of cottage cheese, operating continuously, as well as coolers with one and two cylinders. They created mixers for working simultaneously with cream and cottage cheese, screw lifting units, milling machines and grinding equipment. Kneading units made it possible to work with cottage cheese and additives to it - nuts, raisins and other products.

Progress does not stand still

In the middle of the last century, the technology for the production of cottage cheese was invented in a separate way and a special production production line was developed for its implementation. Almost all technological stages of the manufacture of an indispensable product for a person were mechanized to a high degree. The volume of cottage cheese produced has grown significantly. The Union Institute of Nutrition has issued recommendations for providing people with different nutrients during the day. The volumes of cottage cheese produced due to mechanization finally became such as to ensure the implementation of these standards.

In the same period, engineers invented automatic and semi-automatic filling and packaging machines. They allowed to work not only with cottage cheese, but also with a curd mass. It became possible to quickly pack products in small containers, designed for the end customer.

separate production technology

Last period

It is believed that the third stage began in the 70s and continues to this day. The technology for the production of cottage cheese by ultrafiltration and other promising methods has developed. The technique is being actively improved. New schemes of continuous production processes have been created. The possibility of protein coagulation. Improved stations for self-pressing, improved separators, created schemes for automating work. Modern man has access to a wide variety of tastes and types of cottage cheese products, including those decorated with glaze. Over the past decades, equipment has improved significantly, which allows packing, transporting and storing products. Organized production lines of an unconventional type. The modern buyer has access to cottage cheese from whey, buttermilk, milk powder. A technology has been developed for the production of granular cottage cheese, including cream supplemented, as well as diet products. Dry cottage cheese is on sale.

The experience gained over many centuries, modern production processes and research in this direction allows us to conclude with confidence: production will continue to improve and change. Surely the range will expand. This is largely due to the increase in population and the enlargement of cities, which is likely to affect industry. It is assumed that in the near future the number of plants will increase, non-dairy raw materials will be more actively used. It is assumed that the technology for the production of cottage cheese by ultrafiltration, reverse osmotic method, ion exchange will spread more widely. Surely, electrodialysis technology will get more interest and practical application. This is due to the effectiveness of membrane technology. An equally relevant prospect is the use of biological polymers that make the concentration process more effective and increase the efficiency of fractionation.

Yesterday Today Tomorrow

New technologies in the production of cottage cheese in Russia, according to experts, will include updating the hardware of the continuous manufacturing process. It is likely that soon soon technologists will have access to effective computerized management systems, thanks to which control over the work will be simpler and clearer.

. . , . , .

According to analysts studying the features of the development of technologies for the production of grain cottage cheese, soybean, skim and other types, production equipment will be improved in the direction of a continuous working process. Probably, streaming protein coagulation is the most promising development option. Moreover, the equipment (regardless of the level of productivity) will be automated and computerized, managed through a single center.

technology for the production of grain curd

About the subtleties

Quite curious are the features of the manufacture of various dairy products, and not just the technology for the production of cottage cheese. In a reservoir way, for example, kefir is produced. This dairy product is no less important for humans than the one discussed above. It is believed that it was invented in the North Caucasus territories, where it was traditionally proclaimed a heavenly gift and a drink that bestows strength and vigor. Kefir is recommended for a number of diseases and can improve the quality of human life. It is made by milk fermentation using microscopic life forms (yeast). At the moment, it was not possible to determine exactly the microbiological nature of the fungi needed for souring. Industrial production of kefir is possible not only by the reservoir method, but also by thermostatic.

A feature of the reservoir methodology is the use of one container for starter culture, starter culture, and aging of the product. First, the milk is normalized by fat content, heated in a pasteurizer and the impurities are removed by means of a separator. The next step is pasteurization and processing in a homogenizer. Then the product is kept and cooled, fermented and transferred to a fermentation tank, where a clot appears. The system is equipped with mixing and cooling elements. Ripening reaches 12 hours. The completion of the process is determined by the characteristics of the product structure and the mechanical qualities of kefir. After readiness, the product is poured into containers and cooled to a temperature of not more than 8 degrees.

For all ages

The relevance of developing the latest technologies for the production of baby cottage cheese is due to the aggressive conditions of human life. Ecology is constantly deteriorating, so each of us is faced with dangerous trace elements, and especially harmful to children's organisms. Many experience a lack of beneficial compounds, and you can fill the deficit with food. Children need a fairly large amount of calcium for normal development. To enrich the diet, you need to eat milk and products made from it, including cottage cheese. Modern enterprises produce cottage cheese suitable for children by a separate method or by the method of acid rennet fermentation. Both options are technically challenging. The technological cycle is long, there is a high risk of re-seeding with microorganisms harmful to humans.

A feature of the children's cottage cheese produced at present is a relatively high level of acidity. Not always the child's body has the resources to compensate for this quality. Thermal calcium is a relatively recent method for the manufacture of a low acid product. The manufacturing process takes a short time. The technology is based on the research of Professor Dyachenko.


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