Handbook of Food Science and Technology 3

Figure 1.18.
 Steps of cheese production
The preparation of milk (standardization) for a given cheese relies on 
physicochemical and microbiological “standards”. Transformation from the 
liquid state to the gel state (coagulation) differs depending on whether 
coagulation is induced by acidification and/or enzymatic (rennet) action. After 
phase separation (draining), the curd may undergo a ripening process specific 
to each type of cheese. 
A wide variety of cheeses can be produced using traditional technologies 
depending on the type of milk used (cow’s, goat’s or sheep’s milk – alone or 
mixed), the pH of coagulation and the relative kinetics of acidification and 
whey removal (draining) from the curd. 

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From Milk to Dairy Products 41 
1.3.4.1.
 Physicochemical and biological standardization of milk 
The quality of milk for cheese production can be defined by its suitability 
to form a coagulum resulting, after draining and eventually ripening, in a 
cheese with defined physicochemical properties and a satisfactory yield. Milk 
has a varied composition depending on the animal species, breed, individual, 
lactation stage and number, method and time of milking, season, climate, diet 
and so forth. Not all milk has the same suitability for cheese production since 
it differs in some characteristics such as casein content and composition, salt 
balance, lactose content, hygienic quality, pH and so on. These characteristics 
affect their ability to coagulate, which is necessary to pass from the liquid to 
the solid state, as well as the properties of the coagulum. 
In order to avoid variations in the protein content of milk and improve 
coagulation properties, which affect cheese yield and quality, manufacturers 
are able to adjust the milk protein level to between about 30 and 42 g L
-1
using 
various techniques: removal of water by evaporation or reverse osmosis, 
concentration by nanofiltration, ultrafiltration (most common), microfiltration 
or the addition of caseinates.
In order to adjust the “fat/dry matter” ratio that is specific to each type of 
cheese, manufacturers standardize the milk fat while taking into account the 
milk protein composition. Using a weight of standardized milk (w
SM
) in terms 
of fat (F
SM
) and protein (P
SM
), and knowing the cheese yield and recovery 
coefficients of these constituents in the cheese (see section 1.3.5.3), it is 
possible to obtain a weight of cheese w
C 
with the desired characteristics
(fat content F
C
, protein content P
C
; Figure 1.19).