Probably the most consumed cheese in the world, Cheddar cheese originated in the village of Cheddar in the Somerset region of England. Nowadays, countries all over the world manufacture Cheddar, produced with a unique processing technique known as Cheddaring.
Cheddar is a compact and crumbly cheese made from cow's milk. It ranges in flavour from mild to sharp, and in colour from natural white to pumpkin orange.
It’s normally made with starter cultures containing bacteria that don’t produce gas – resulting in a closed texture without open-eyed holes. The specific processing technique may, however, result in formation of cavities called mechanical holes.
When making cheddar, the whey is removed from the curd using a whey screen and a draining belt in a process called draining. The curd bed is then moved along in a solid mass allowing for acidification i.e. cheddaring and mellowing. The salted and milled curd grains are then formed into blocks of cheese.
Curd making is at the heart of cheese production. It is where the final composition of your cheese – its moisture, pH, and physical characteristics. Read more
Tetra Pak offers a completely unique processing system for cheddar and pasta filata cheeses - the world’s only continuous production system for such products. Read more
Block forming is done by putting the salted curd chips into a curd distribution tank (CDT) then transferring it by means of vacuum, through pipes. Read more
The Dairy Processing Handbook is a concentrate of the vast know-how of Tetra Pak Processing. The handbook is also available online Read more