WO1992011754A1

WO1992011754A1 - Apparatus for the production of soft cheese

Info

Publication number: WO1992011754A1
Application number: PCT/FI1991/000411
Authority: WO
Inventors: Oy Juustoportti; Timo Keski-Kasari
Original assignee: Oy Juustoportti
Priority date: 1990-12-28
Filing date: 1991-12-27
Publication date: 1992-07-23
Also published as: FI906432A; FI906432A0

Abstract

This invention relates to an apparatus for the production of soft cheese, comprising a cheese vat (1) from which a mass of cheese is fed into a cheese production tower (5) wherein the mass forms a pillar of cheese from which are severed blocks that are baked in bakers (10, 11). The apparatus can be easily automated if a guillotine (7) is adjusted at the lower end of the cheese production tower (5), the guillotine severing plate-like blocks from the lower end of the cheese in the tower which are then dropped into a mould (8).

Description

Apparatus for the production of soft cheese

The object of this invention is an apparatus for the production of soft cheese, such as cheese bread, comprising a cheese vat for curdling milk, an essential¬ ly vertical cheese production tower into which a mass of cheese is fed from the cheese vat, a guillotine provided at the lower end of the tower for severing blocks from a pillar of cheese formed in the cheese production tower, the severance plane of the guillotine being perpendicular to the centre axis of the tower, closed bottom moulds for receiving cheese blocks severed from the pillar of cheese, means for transferring moulds in the centre axis direction of the cheese production tower, and below the lower end of the cheese produc¬ tion tower a stop face against which the mould can be pressed by mould transfer means.

A process for producing, for example, cheese bread wherein a mass of cheese is taken from a cheese vat and placed in a hoop arranged onto a sheet and func¬ tioning as a mould is previously known. The sheet is taken into a baker wherein the cheese is baked on both sides and finally the baked cheese is cooled to an am¬ bient temperature. This conventional process requires plenty of hand labour and since the sheet loses its planarity in the baker, between the sheet and the hoop form slits through which whey leaks onto the sheet. The whey burnt onto the sheet is difficult to remove and thus takes much time. DE 1,582,929 discloses an apparatus for the production of cheese, comprising a guillotine under the cheese production tower, a support plate under the guillotine, and a hoop-like mould on top of the support plate. The support plate and therefore also the mould can be moved in the vertical direction, whereby the upper edge of the mould can be pressed against the lower surface of the guillotine.

This known apparatus is not suited for the pro¬ duction of very soft cheeses, such as cheese breads, on account of their high liquid content. When the pillar of cheese is being severed, the guillotine performs a swinging motion, wherefore the mould cannot be pressed against the guillotine. The mould is then resting un¬ fixed on the support plate. When a cheese block severed from the pillar of cheese falls into the mould, the mould often becomes separated from the support plate, whereby whey and cheese spread between the lower edge of the mould hoop and the support plate, which leads to an undesired irregular shape of the prepared cheese. For the same reason the apparatus is also very difficult to automate.

The object of this invention is to provide an apparatus for the production of soft cheese which can be automated in a simple manner. It is characteristic of the apparatus according to the invention that under the guillotine is a base functioning as a stop face for the moulds, the base having an opening at the lower end of the cheese production tower, against the edge of which opening the moulds are provided to be pressed. By placing under the guillotine a base provided with an opening against the edges of which a closed bottom mould can be pressed, the advantage is achieved that the apparatus can be easily automated since the position of the mould is defined accurately owing to the opening in the base. The mould can also be kept firmly in place since it is compressed against the base during the entire severance step. Also, whey cannot leak from the mould since the mould stays firmly in h ho izon al position when a cheese block is dropped thereinto. In the following a preferred embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention is described in greater detail with reference to the attached drawing, wherein

Figure 1 illustrates the principle features of an apparatus for the production of cheese,

Figure 2 shows an axonometric view of a cheese production tower and a guillotine connected thereto, and

Figure 3 shows means for bringing a mould below the cheese production tower.

Figure 1 shows a cheese vat 1 with a blender 2 therein. The cheese vat contains heated pasteurized milk, rennet and salt. The mass of curdled cheese and the whey flow along a pipe 3 to a wire conveyor 4, where most of the whey is discharged through the wire. The mass of cheese still containing whey falls from the conveyor 4 into a cheese production tower 5 through the inlet opening thereof, which is also the upper end of the essentially upright tower. In the cheese production tower 5 the mass of cheese is compressed by gravity and whey transfers from the mass of cheese to the outside of the tower through slits 6 in the wall thereof. At the lower end of the cheese production tower is a guillotine

7 by means of which plate-like blocks can be severed from the pillar of cheese formed in the tower, the blocks falling into a round bowl-shaped mould 8 below the cheese production tower. The mould can be placed on an endless conveyor 9 which conveys the moulds under two bakers 10 and 11. The cheese breads are turned between the bakers at a point 12. At the bakers 10, 11 the moulds 8 are conveyed through water basins 13 and 14.

At the discharge end of the conveyor 9 is a shelf unit

15 in which the ready-baked cheese breads still in the moulds are placed to cool. Figure 2 shows the structure of the cheese pro- duction tower 5 in greater detail. The cheese production tower 5 is preferably made of stainless steel and is vertical such that an inlet opening 16 thereof is at the top and a feed end 17 is at the bottom. The feed end is usually closed off by the guillotine 7.

Since the mass of cheese enters the tower at the upper end thereof and is discharged in plates at the lower end, the mass of cheese contained in the tower passes downward in the tower. The tower wall has slits 6 in the peripheral direction, the slits being situated on several transverse levels that are spaced from one another in the centre axis direction of the tower. Each slit 6 extends, in principle, around the tower, but to hold the tower together the slits have material bridges spaced from one another.

The guillotine 7 is situated at the lower end of the tower 5 such that the severance plane thereof is perpendicular to the centre axis of the tower. The guillotine has a plate-like blade that is essentially of the shape of the cross-sectional surface of the tower, yet somewhat larger, as shown in Figure 2. The blade of the guillotine is mounted in bearings to turn about a pivot 18 situated on the outside of the tower 5 and parallel to the centre axis thereof. According to Figure 3 a plate-like base 21 attached to the frame of the apparatus has an opening

23 under the tower 5 and below the tower is a jack 22 moving in the longitudinal direction of the tower, the jack supporting the mould 8 that fits closely into the opening of the base 21 such that the edge of the mould presses against an edge 24 of the opening 23. The edges

24 of the opening slope such that the area of the open¬ ing decreases upward from the lower sur ace of the hasp. 21. The apparatus according to the invention operates in the following manner. A cheese fallen from the wire 4 into the tower 5 is compressed by gravity and moves downward in the tower. Thus each part of the pillar of cheese passes several times a whey removal slit 6 at which whey leaks to the outside of the tower. Thus in the apparatus according to the invention cheese is produced in a continuous process.

Prepared cheese at the lower end of the tower 5 is discharged from the tower in the following manner. The mould 8 is raised with the jack 22 to the opening 23 of the base 21 and compressed thereto against the edge 24 of the opening. After this the blade of the guillotine 7 closing off the lower end of the tower is turned away from the tower, whereby a mass of cheese falls into the mould filling it. After this, when the blade is again pushed below the tower, it severs from the pillar of cheese a plate-like block that remains in the mould 8. When a mass of cheese has been severed, the mould 8 and the cheese disc therein are lowered and placed on the conveyor 9. The cheese in the mould is baked in the baker 10, turned at the point 12 and re- baked in the baker 11. Finally, the cheese bread is cooled in the shelf unit 15 before transportation.

The process according to the invention is quick and easily automatable and leads to cheese bread plates of even quality and thickness. The apparatus according to the invention is particularly suitable for the pro¬ duction of such fresh cheeses where the whey must be removed carefully without allowing the mass of cheese to dry.

The shape of the guillotine and the severing movement may differ from the above embodiments. Thus the severing movement may be e.g. linear.

Claims

1. An apparatus for the production of soft cheese, such as cheese bread, comprising a cheese vat (1) for curdling milk, an essentially vertical cheese production tower (5) into which a mass of cheese is ed from the cheese vat, a guillotine (7) provided at the lower end of the tower for severing blocks from a pillar of cheese formed in the cheese production tower, the severance plane of the guillotine being perpendicular to the centre axis of the tower, closed bottom moulds (8) for receiving cheese blocks severed from the pillar of cheese, means (22) for transferring moulds (8) in the centre axis direction of the cheese production tower (5), and below the lower end of the cheese production tower a stop ace (21) against which the mould can be pressed by mould transfer means (20), c h a r a c ¬ t e r i z e d in that the stop face for the moulds is formed by a base (21) situated under the guillotine (7), the base having an opening (23) at the lower end of the cheese production tower (5), against the edge (24) of which opening the moulds are provided to be pressed.

2. An apparatus according to claim ^ c h a r ¬ a c t e r i z e d in that the edge (24) of the opening in the base (21) slopes such that the area of the open¬ ing (23) decreases upward from the lower surface of the base.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2, c h a r - a c t e r i z e d in that the base (21) is situated immediately under the guillotine (7).