Soft cheese is a product made by souring “cheese milk” of various fat levels which is suitable for eating in the “fresh”, i.e. unmatured state immediately following production. This is the protein in the cheese milk which is mainly precipitated under acid clotting and concentrated by separators. Depending on the product, shelf-life can be between 21 and 90 days at a storage temperature of 4 to 6 °C.

 

A variety of products are considered soft cheese, including

• Quark
• Cream cheese
• Double cream cheese

These products are now among the trend products of health-conscious eating.

 

To benefit from this in a particularly economical manner, manufacturers are making increasing use of turnkey process lines from GEA Westfalia Separator. Their benefit is not only the complete range of all components, but also the very high degree of automation of the lines.

 

GEA Westfalia Separator undertook key pioneering work in both designing the machines and in developing processes further. GEA Westfalia Separator‘s technical leadership is now based on more than just the potential performance of new generations of separator. A key customer benefit is the option of ordering complete turnkey lines from a single source.

 

Complete lines from GEA Westfalia Separator include all the components required for the production of soft cheese products:

• Separators
• Storage tanks
• Milk and cream pasteurization units
• Homogenizers
• Mixing units
• Culture stations
• Cooling systems
• Packing machines
• Cleaning equipment

The advantages which result from a single-source solution of this kind are obvious:

• ideal compatibility of all elements,
• a reliable overall process and not least,
• first-class product quality.

 

The processes are fully automated so that fewer staff are required and process faults can be largely ruled out. What is more, the harmonized process ensures higher product yield as energy consumption drops.