282 Chapter 11
two or all of these. It grates readily, and has
a granular texture and may have a hard and
brittle rind. It contains not more than 34% of
moisture, and its solids contain not less than
38% of milk fat.
Romano Cheese Process: Milk is stan-
dardized to a P/F ratio of 1.5, pasteurized,
and tempered to 32 ° C (89.6 ° F) in the cheese
vat. The starter, consisting of equal propor-
tions of Streptococcus thermophilus and
Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus,
is added at the 1.5% level. After 15 minutes,
lipase preparation is added according to the
manufacturer ’ s instructions, followed by
addition of rennet at the rate of 190 ml
rennet/1,000 kg of milk. As usual, rennet is
diluted 10 times. After the curd is set, it is
continuously cut with 0.62 - cm (1/4 - inch)
knives until the curd is of the size of rice
grains. Cooking is started to raise the tem-
perature to 46 ° C (114.8 ° F) in a span of 50
minutes. When the pH drops to 6.1 to 6.2, the
curd is pushed away from the exit gate and
leveled below the whey surface. Next, the
whey is drained and the curd is fi lled into
hoops. After 20 minutes, the hoops are
stacked double for another 20 minutes. They
are reversed and kept for 20 minutes, fol-
lowed by pressing for 60 minutes. The hoops
are removed from the press and stored over-
night at room temperature. The cheese blocks
are retrieved from the hoops and are placed
in brine for two to three days, followed by
drying at 10 ° C (50 ° F) for two days. The
cheese is packaged in barrier - properties fi lm
and ripened at 10 ° C to 15 ° C (50 ° F to 60 ° F)
for fi ve to six months.Soft - Ripened Cheese Group
Table 11.6 shows the chemical composition
of soft - ripened cheeses.Feta Cheese
Feta cheese is traditionally made from sheep
milk and is naturally white in appearance.Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus,
is added at the 1% level. Sometimes meso-
philic culture is also used. After a ripening
period of 10 minutes, rennet is added at the
rate of 190 ml/1,000 kg of milk. Prior to its
addition, the rennet is diluted 10 times with
water. The milk coagulates in about 20
minutes. The relatively soft coagulated mass
is cut two times with 0.62 - cm (1/4 - inch)
knives and agitated to create curd pieces no
larger than wheat kernels. The TA of whey
should be 0.11% to 0.115% and its fat content
should be 0.4% to 0.6%.
To prevent excessive fat loss, the curd par-
ticles are left undisturbed for 10 minutes. The
curd is then heated, with slow agitation at the
beginning. The temperature of the vat should
reach 42.2 ° C (108 ° F) in 15 minutes. This
temperature should be maintained for 15
minutes with vigorous agitation. Stirring is
continued until the temperature reaches
between 51.7 ° C and 54.4 ° C (125 ° F to 130 ° F).
The TA of whey at this stage should be
0.125% to 0.13%. The curd is allowed to
settle, pushed to the end to form a heap, and
about half of the whey is drained. The acidity
should continue to build to 0.17% to 0.19%.
Then, all of the whey is removed.
The curd is cut and transferred to Daisy
hoops. The cylindrical hoops are turned and
pressed for 10 minutes, followed by turning
and pressing again for 45 minutes. Cheese
blocks are then removed from the hoops and
placed on the draining surface. They are
turned every hour, three times, and allowed
to cool to 21 ° C to 25 ° C (70 ° F to 76 ° F) over-
night. The pressed curd is salted for about
two weeks in brine or dry - salted. The cheese
is dried and cured in a cool, ventilated room
at 10 ° C (50 ° F) for at least 10 months. In
older plants, the rind of the cheese may be
coated with vegetable oil or colored.
Romano Cheese
Romano cheese is prepared from cow ’ s milk,
sheep ’ s milk, or goat ’ s milk, or mixtures of