Peculiarities of cheese storage in production

foto50890-1 Storing cheese in a warehouse in a store or in production has many features.

It is extremely important that the room maintains the required level of humidity and light, temperature conditions, etc.

These parameters affect not only the safety of the product, but also its taste and aroma.

Content

Conditions
Temperature
Deadlines
Transportation requirements
What changes might occur during the process?
Conclusion

Conditions

In production facilities specializing in milk processing, a separate room is required for storing cheeses. This is necessary in order to avoid the cheese smell permeating other products. Chambers with pipe or air cooling must be installed in the room.

The following must be installed inside:

thermometer;
thermostat;
racks;
refrigeration equipment.

Inside, it is imperative to install electronic equipment designed to maintain humidity and temperature levels. The product requires stable conditions.

It is better to have a separate chamber for each type of cheese. It is especially important to place pickled cheeses separately. In this case, it is necessary to take into account the possibility of brine leakage.

Cheeses produced in the form of heads are usually placed in stacks. A wooden stand is placed under the lower head. Between the heads there are slats. This provides better airflow. In addition, the heads are often placed on racks with mesh shelves. Under such conditions, air circulation is not disrupted.

Some types of cheese must be aged for a certain period of time. until further availability for sale. Each stage of ripening requires its own level of humidity and temperature.Therefore, it is extremely important that the chamber has the ability to adjust the temperature and humidity levels.

Temperature

foto50890-2 Temperature and humidity are critical to maintaining the freshness of cheese. For already matured finished products, the optimal temperature is +7°C…+15°C. In this case, the air humidity should be at least 80%.

It should be noted that individual types of cheese have different requirements for storage conditions.

Hard cheeses, incl. peccorino and parmesan, preferably stored at air humidity of at least 85-95%. In this case, the average temperature should be +5°C…+7°C.

Young soft cheeses should be stored at a humidity of 80-90%. In this case, the recommended temperature is 0 °C…+8°C. Pickled cheeses, incl. suluguni, mozzarella and feta cheese should be stored in a special container, completely covered with brine. The temperature should be within +3°C…+8°C.

Blue cheeses, incl. Roquefort, Camembert, Gorgonzola, Dor Blue and Brie should be stored at a relative humidity of 90%. Such cheeses are stored in tightly closed containers to avoid the spread of mold to nearby products. Recommended temperature +4°C…+8°C.

Processed cheeses should be stored at a relative humidity of 80%. The recommended air temperature is +4°C.

When storing cheeses, do not allow them to freeze. This may negatively affect the structure of the product. The resulting moisture crystals cause the cheese grains to move apart. Because of this, the product becomes less dense and brittle. In addition, freezing often causes a deterioration in the taste and smell of cheese.

Read about storing Parmesan in this article, Suluguni - in this, feta cheese - in this, blue cheese - in this, melted without a refrigerator - in this.

Deadlines

The shelf life of cheese depends on its type. Thus, hard cheeses can be stored for no more than 7-10 days after cutting the head. However, whole heads, coated with wax or other material designed to prevent the product from coming into contact with oxygen, can be stored for up to six months. After cutting, the shelf life is 3-5 days.

It is recommended to store young soft cheese for no more than 5 days.. Brine cheeses have a fairly long shelf life, provided that the product is completely immersed in brine. So, the shelf life of feta cheese is 75 days.

In this case, suluguni is stored for about 25 days, but if it was packaged in airtight packaging, the cheese can remain fresh for up to 45 days.

It is recommended to store blue cheese for no more than 15 days. The shelf life of processed cheese is 10 days. Pasty and sweet products are recommended to be stored for no more than 30 days.

Transportation requirements

foto50890-3 Cheese is a perishable product and therefore requires special conditions. Transportation can be carried out by rail, road or water transport.

For delivery, it is better to use insulated containers, where the temperature will be maintained at +2 °C...+8 °C throughout the entire journey.

Before shipping the product, the vehicle is thoroughly washed and dried. The cheese heads are placed flat in special boxes. It is not recommended to place the heads end to end, because this will increase the chances that they will become deformed or cracked during transit.

What changes might occur during the process?

When storing cheeses that require a long ripening period, after delivery to the point of sale, the product may ripen within several days. This will have a positive effect on taste and aroma.

Throughout the entire storage period, a number of biochemical processes occur in cheese dough. If at first they have a positive effect on the taste and aroma, then in the future they lead to a decrease in the quality of the product.

The development of microflora is observed in the mucus on the surface of the cheese rind. If stored for too long, or if the product has been in a room with too dry air, deep cracks may form on the surface of the cheese.

Besides, in low humidity conditions the cheese will quickly lose weight. At the same time, its hardness will increase significantly.

Conclusion

Peculiarities of cheese storage depend on its type. The temperature and humidity level required for the product should be maintained. Cheese must be stored in a well-ventilated area. In addition, it is important to protect the cheese from other products to avoid it becoming saturated with foreign odors.