Automatic cheese production line

Detailed explanation of the entire process of fully industrialized cheese production line
The entire natural cheese production line is divided into raw material pretreatment section → curd fermentation section → differentiated curd processing section → molding and pressing → salting → ripening → post-processing and deep processing → finished product packaging cleaning CIP cleaning system. Different categories (mozzarella/cheddar/Gundam/fresh soft cheese) have the greatest differences in the process equipment in the later stage.

1、 Section 1: Raw material reception and milk pretreatment
Goal: Standardize milk components, sterilize, and ensure consistent batch quality
1. Milk collection and testing
Milk tanker unloading → filtering receiving tank; Online detection of fat, protein, acidity, somatic cells, and microorganisms, and rejection of unqualified raw materials.
Core equipment: milk unloading pump, dual filter, milk receiving and storage tank (304/316L jacket refrigeration 4 ℃ storage), online dairy analyzer
2. Standardization of Milk Separation
Centrifuge to separate cream and skim milk, adjust the fat/casein ratio according to the target cheese ratio; Calcium chloride can be added to improve the texture of the curd.
3. Pasteurization (HTST high-temperature short-term)
Plate sterilization at 72-75 ℃/15-30s, rapidly cooled to fermentation temperature (30-38 ℃), kills pathogenic bacteria while retaining milk protein activity.
Equipment: Plate pasteurization unit, insulation pipe section, cold and hot exchange to recover waste heat
4. Buffer storage tank: After sterilization, keep the milk warm and let it stand, waiting to be poured into the coagulation tank.

2、 Section 2: Inoculation fermentation+coagulation of curd (the most critical process of the entire production line)
1. Automatic addition of bacterial strains
Accurate dosing of thermophilic/thermophilic lactic acid bacteria fermentation agent by metering pump; Constant temperature insulation acidification, milk slowly produces acid.
2. Addition of coagulation enzyme
Add milk clotting enzyme quantitatively, keep it warm for 25 ‑ 40min, and the milk will form a complete gel like curd (like milk jelly); Online sensors monitor solidification hardness and automatically trigger cutting signals.
Core equipment: Fully automatic horizontal/vertical cheese curd tank (with variable frequency stirring, lifting cutting blade group, PID precise temperature control ± 0.3 ℃, CIP cleaning), precise enzyme liquid metering system

3、 Section 3: curd cutting, heating and stirring, and whey discharge
1. curd cutting
The lifting stainless steel mesh knife slowly cuts into the whole curd and cuts it into uniform cubic particles (1-15mm adjustable); Hard cheese has smaller particles, while soft cheese has larger particles. The particle size directly determines the moisture content and softness of the finished product.
2. Heating cooked granules+low-speed stirring
Slowly raise the temperature to 38-45 ℃, gently stir, shrink and dehydrate the curd particles, and precipitate whey; Temperature, heating rate, and stirring speed are strictly controlled to prevent particle breakage and loss of fat.
3. Preliminary discharge of whey
Separate sweet whey (a byproduct that can be recycled into whey powder) and retain the curd particles.
>Starting from this process, different types of cheese move towards completely different specialized equipment:


Branch A: Stretching cheese (mozzarella pizza brushed cheese)
The curd is acidified to pH 5.1-5.2 and then transported to a hot boiling and stretching machine (70-85 ℃ hot water) for spiral mechanical kneading and stretching, forming a brushed fiber structure; Afterwards, pre cooling, pressing/direct online slicing, and quick freezing.

Branch B: Cheddar Cheese
Cheddaring process: The curd particles are stacked and compacted, self weight acidified and fused into large curd layers, repeatedly cut and flipped; After crushing, mix dry salt with salt and drain the whey. Equipment: Continuous closed heap fermentation acidification machine

Branch C: Gundam/Parmesan Hard Cheese
The curd is directly transported to the mold for filling, without strong stretching; Long term pressing followed by prolonged low-temperature maturation.

Branch D: Fresh Soft Cheese (Cream Cheese)
Mild dehydration, without long-term aging, directly filled and packaged.

4、 Section 4: Filling into molds, automatic pressing and dehydration
1. Transport and fill food grade cheese molds with curd granules in a quantitative manner;
2. Fully automatic hydraulic pressing system, segmented gradient pressure (0.2-2.5MPa), lasting for several hours, squeezes out residual whey inside, allowing the curd particles to tightly fuse into a whole cheese block;
3. Automatic demolding, high-pressure spray cleaning and cyclic use of molds.
Equipment: Quantitative filling machine, vertical static pressure pressing unit, mold cleaning workstation

5、 Section 5: Salt addition process (3 industrial methods)
1. Saltwater soaking method (mainstream hard cheese): The cheese is soaked in a constant temperature salt bath for several hours to several days; Salt seeps into the interior for seasoning, antibacterial properties, and control of maturation speed (up to and including amanta)
2. Dry salt mixing method (Cheddar): directly mix salt when crushing curd particles
3. Surface salt rubbing: small handmade/special cheese
Equipment: Continuous salt immersion tank, saltwater circulation filtration and sterilization system, automatic salt spreader

6、 Section 6: Ripening (Mature Ripening)
Salted cheese is sent to a constant temperature and humidity curing warehouse/curing rack truck
-Hard cheese: 2-12 ℃, humidity 85-95%, maturation period of several weeks to 2 years (Parmesan can take up to 24 months)
-Fresh mozzarella cheese: short-term ripening or direct freezing without long-term ripening
The environment automatically controls temperature, humidity, and CO ₂, and microorganisms and enzymes slowly decompose protein and fat to form a unique flavor of cheese.

7、 Section 7: Post processing deep processing (optional module)
Select according to product requirements:
1. Edge trimming, plastic surgery, and removal of irregular skin
2. Waxing/film coating to prevent water loss (hard wheel shaped cheese)
3. Slicing, shredding, and diced equipment (pizza mozzarella brushed)
4. IQF frozen tunnel (frozen brushed cheese)
5. Melt, boil, and fill cheese (cheese slices, cheese sauce)

8、 Section 8: Finished product packaging and warehousing
Vacuum packaging/modified atmosphere preservation packaging machine → spray code printing production date → finished product cold storage preservation; The entire production line is equipped with a complete CIP in-situ cleaning system, and the equipment does not need to be disassembled for automatic cleaning and sterilization, which meets food hygiene standards.

Capacity reference specifications
1. Small experimental line: 500-2000L of milk per day; Suitable for research and development, small batch cultural and creative cheese
2. Medium sized industrial line: 5-20 tons of raw milk per day; Suitable for flexible switching of multiple categories in dairy factories
3. Large scale fully automated production line: capable of producing over 50 tons per day, with pizza mozzarella and cheddar cheese as raw materials