Application of cross-flow microfiltration to semi-hard cheese production from milk retentates

In the cheese industry, the concentration of milk using ultrafiltration for continuous soft and fresh cheese production is standard technology. The object of the work presented here was to produce a semi-hard cheese of quality and composition comparable to that of traditionally made cheese from highly concentrated microfiltered milk retentate. Two different membrane systems were tested for the production of high viscous milk retentate with high dry matter content. For milk containing 3.2% fat and skim milk, a concentration factor of 6.6 and 9.1 respectively was obtained using the MF/UF/UF pilot plant fitted with cassette modules. Milk containing 3.2% fat was concentrated in batches by a factor of 5.7 in the pilot plant using a ceramic membrane. Using minimal curd separation, a semi-hard one day old cheese with a dry matter of 533 g/kg, moisture on a fat-free basis (MFFB) of 626 g/kg and fat on a dry basis (FDB) value of 478 g/kg was made from the milk retentate produced with the ceramic module. The ripened cheese fulfilled the legal requirements of a traditionally produced semi-hard cheese with superb sensory qualities. Using the MF/UF/UF plant, a dry matter of 495 g/kg (MFFB 669 g/kg, FDB 493 g/kg) was achieved in a semi-hard cheese made from skim milk retentate. Our results suggest that by using a larger spacer distance in the last loop of the MF/UF/UF plant, combined with new hybrid technologies, semi-hard cheese production from full concentrate milk will soon become possible.