A GUIDE

TO MAKING
COTTAGE
CHEESE
How to make high quality cheeses profitably.
INTRODUCTION
Cheese factories around the world seem to be facing more
or less the same challenges: how to make cheese production
profitable when the competition, when it comes to basic
cheeses, is tight, and prices are low. It is therefore not sur-
prising that many cheese factories have begun exploring
different expansion possibilities, hoping to improve their
profitability. And when talking about expansion possibilities
for cheese factories, the production of cottage cheese is
frequently mentioned.

COTTAGE CHEESE IS A PROFITABLE

PRODUCT
Cottage cheese is the most profitable end
product of milk processing. The profitabili-
ty of the production of semi-hard and hard
cheeses is low, due to volume production,
but the return on the production of cotta-
ge cheese is still fairly good. It is therefore
obvious that the production of cottage
cheese is an almost perfect addition to
the production range of many cheese
factories.
The production of cottage cheese is fast
and its production process relatively easily
managed. The production of cottage chee-
se does, however, have its own defined
process and stumbling blocks, which
should be taken into account. In this guide,
we provide useful information for cheese
factories that plan to implement production
of cottage cheese. In the guide, we explain
the various steps of the production of cotta-
ge cheese, from the curdling of the milk to
the packaging of the finished cheese.
Table of contents

1 Raw material quality

5 Rinsing and cooling of the cheese

2 Curdling of milk
6 Flavoring of the cottage cheese

3 Cutting the cheese

7 Packaging of the finished product

4 Stirring and heating of the cheese

8 General information about the
cottage cheese line
 1
RAW MATERIAL
QUALITY
Skim milk is the raw material used for cottage cheese. The fat is
separated from the raw milk for other uses, and at the same time
the skim milk is pasteurized for the production of cottage cheese.
It is possible that a cheese factory cooperates with, for example,
a butter factory, which provides pre-separated skim milk.

Cottage cheese
– what is it exactly?
The cottage cheese is a soft cheese,
which belongs to fresh cheeses, ready
Learn more

to be eaten without separate maturati-

on. The cottage cheese contains only
little fat and little calcium. The taste is
pure, fresh and slightly acidic. The basic
cheese flavor is mild, but it can easily
be flavored. Cottage cheese is versatile
and suitable for cooking. Each chee-
se factory determines the size of the
granules and the amount of sauce in the
final product, but cottage cheese also
has its own a.
The production of cottage cheese – why?

1 Excellent profit.
2 A fast and straight-
forward production
3 The production line
won’t take much
Cottage cheese is currently one process. space.

of the most profitable products
in the further processing of milk.
Due to volume production, the
profitability of semi and hard
cheese production is currently
low, but the profit for cottage
cheese production is good.
Factors that influence the better
profitability of cottage cheese
include the favorable competitive
situation for special cheeses and
better opportunities for the modi-
fication and branding of cheeses.
Unlike the lengthy produc-
tion and maturing processes
of basic cheeses, the pro-
duction process of cottage
cheese is short and the
cheese is packed straight
into consumer packages wi-
thout maturing. The produc-
tion of cottage cheese is fast
and the production process
easier to manage.
Learn more
A cottage cheese produc-
tion line can often be placed
within the existing premises
of the cheese factory. This
makes a cottage cheese
production line a good ex-
pansion option for existing
cheese factories.

PAY ATTENTION:
The milk quality. As in the making of other cheeses,
also in the case of cottage cheese, the composition
and quality of milk plays a major role both what
comes to cheese characteristics and the overall
cost-effectiveness of the production. In the
case of cottage cheese, the casein content
of milk should be high. It both reduces
potential waste of milk directly and indi-
rectly through better curdling.

The cheese factory’s ability to in-

fluence the composition of the milk
is generally limited. By long-term
cooperation with milk producers,
it is however possible to breed
dairy cows to suit the production
of the desired type of milk. We
are, nevertheless, talking about
decades of work.
2
CURDLING OF MILK
Once the milk is processed and ready, it is transferred to the
cheese vat, where acid is added, and often some rennet. The acid
is extremely important in the production of cottage cheese, as it
produces the right kind of curd.

In short, the function of the acid is to produce the right amount of lactic acid in the milk,
within the desired time frame. If the curd turns out weak, it is impossible to slice and sub-
sequently stir, without causing the formation of fine-grained material (cheese dust) which is
later lost together with the whey.

PAY ATTENTION:
Creating acidity
Knowing how to ensure acidity is creat-
ed is a good idea for the cottage cheese
producer. The cheese factory may choose
to grow its acidosis itself or acquire a rea-
dy-made acid which can be added directly
to the milk.
Utilizing automation
With regard to acidification and curdling,
it is important to note that cheese produc-
tion is a living process and the curds will
never be identical. This is why automation
is great. Automation constantly collects
data from different processes and adapts to
fluctuations in the milk quality and curdling
and ensures that the cheese produced is of
consistent quality.
3
CUTTING THE
CHEESE
Producing the curd takes a couple of hours. Once the desired curd
has been obtained, the cutting step is initiated. In the cutting step,
the curd is cut into evenly sized granules and this produces the
curd.

With a high-quality cheese cutter, the end result of the cutting is precise; making the chee-
se granules as smooth as possible and the amount of poorly cut curd and cheese dust
remains minimal. Evenly sized granules have a significant impact not only on the homoge-
neity of the cheese batch produced but also on the yield.

PAY ATTENTION:
Cutter blades
The amount of cheese dust is greatly affected
by the cutter in use. As an example: the
one-time cutting cutter blades used by MKT
produce much less dust than the commonly
used and possibly multiple times cutting wire
cutters.

Cutting the entire curd

If the gap between the cutter blades and the
vat wall is large, a large proportion of the curd
will be left uncut and cheese will be wasted.
This uncut curd is different from the other
part of the cheese and does therefore not
represent the desired product.
4
STIRRING AND
HEATING OF
THE CHEESE
When in the cutting step the curd has been cut into evenly sized granules,
the stirring and heating of the whey-granule blend is initiated. The curd is
heated to approximately 55 ° C during constant stirring. Stirring, in addition
to heating, advances the separation of whey from the cheese granules,
with the granules bumping into each other as well as the blending tools.

PAY ATTENTION:
Constant and gentle Even and efficient heating
stirring Heating should be as even as possible, but at the
same time effective enough to reach the target
While stirring, measures should be taken in order
temperature quickly. Additionally, the temperatu-
for the curd to be kept in constant motion and thus
re difference between the curd and the vat (ΔT)
heat up evenly. On the other hand, stirring should
should be taken into account, as it should be small
be performed gently to prevent the granules from
enough to prevent the curd from burning onto
breaking. Often, a bit of waiting is required after
walls of the vat.
cutting, before stirring can begin. This helps to
solidify the granule to make it more durable.
5
RINSING AND COOLING
OF THE CHEESE
Once the desired temperature of the curd has been reached, rinsing and
cooling are initiated. At this point the finished cottage cheese granules are
removed from the vat, through whey separation, to a tank where the cheese
is rinsed with cold water. By rinsing, sugar and lactic acid are removed from
the cheese. The extent to which granules are washed depends largely on the
aim of the result. In addition to rinsing, the cheese is also at this point cooled.

PAY ATTENTION:
Even rinsing
During the rinsing step, it is important to
ensure that the entire cheese granule mass
is rinsed evenly. Uneven rinsing will inevitably
affect the homogeneity of the final product.

Use of whey and wash

water
The manufacturing process produces roughly
the amount of milk used towards acid whey
and granule wash water. The whey and wash
water can be combined, concentrated and uti-
lized in cheese making, for example in protein
stabilization.
6
FLAVORING OF
THE CHEESE
When, after rinsing, a clean and cooled cottage cheese is obtained,
it is usually transferred to a separate creamer (mixer), where a
sauce is mixed with the cottage cheese. The wash water is sep-
arated by either a water separator or a creamer. In the separately
prepared sauce, cream is generally used as the main raw material.
In addition, at this stage, a variety of spices and, for example, a
preservative that inhibits the growth of mold may be added to the
cheese.
7
PACKAGING OF THE
FINISHED PRODUCT
When the cottage cheese is flavored and ready to be delivered to a
store shelf, it is packed in the desired packaging.

PAY ATTENTION:
Accuracy in packaging
The more accurate the packaging machine is, the less need there will be of adding extra cheese
“to be on the safe side” and achieve the weight-average required by the trade. Especially in the
long term, an accurate packaging machine equals a good return on investment.
 8
GENERAL
INFORMATION
ABOUT THE COTTAGE
CHEESE LINE
As mentioned in this guide, the production of cottage cheese
contains several steps. In order for the production to proceed
smoothly through the various steps, a reliable and functional cot-
tage cheese line is required. Producing cottage cheese with the
appropriate equipment is as easy as it gets.

Interested in cottage cheese production?

1 Turnkey delivery
2 High yield
percentage
3 Reliable quality
Learn more

We supply the entire cottage Our cottage cheese equip-

cheese production line inclu-
ding the Cottage Cheese Vat,
Cooling/Washing Tank, Integrat-
ed Whey Drainer and Cotta-
ge Cheese Creamer. We also
supply quality packing machines
through our network. This allows
you to get all equipment effort-
lessly from one place.
The yield of our fully au-
tomatized and efficiently
washing cottage cheese
production line is top of the
market. Our equipment allo-
ws the efficient utilization of
available milk, which enables
good profitability.
ment is used by the largest
dairies producing cottage
cheese all over Europe, in-
cluding Valio Oy, Arla Foods
Ab and TINE SA.
 PAY ATTENTION:

Vat
The vat is the most important part of the equipment, and the heart of the entire cottage
cheese line. The curdling of the milk, the cutting, stirring and heating all take place in
the vat. In practice, the vat is where the cheese is created, everything else is more or
less further processing. The vat also has a high impact on the yield and thus the profi-
tability of the cheese production. In addition, the vat must withstand exceptional wear
and tear and temperature changes.

Reliability
Reliability should be a given throughout the entire line, i.e. the equipment must work
continuously without malfunction or production shutdowns. The cottage cheese does
maintain its qualities quite well during production shutdowns, for example in cold
water for a longer period of time, but timetables still have to be kept, in order for the
production to run as planned.

Hygiene
Especially in the production of cottage cheese, high levels of hygiene are of utmost
importance. If the acid comes into contact with, for example, phages, the entire pro-
duction batch is very quickly ruined. As a rule of thumb, the cottage cheese equipment
should be hard to soil and as easy to clean as possible.

Check the video how MKT’s

cottage cheese vat works:
https://youtu.be/HOtC2Fexqdk

You can also download our MKT Cottage cheese

 production line presentation app for Android.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=fi.premode.mkt
 THE HIGHEST
STANDARD OF
CHEESE MAKING
EQUIPMENT
Our ambition is to offer each and every customer the
system that is the most functional and which will offer
high productivity at optimal investment. We are the
market leader in cottage cheese vats in North Europe
and we have worldwide deliveries to over 20 countries.

DO YOU NEED TO UPDATE

YOUR CHEESE PLANT?
Profitable cheese making needs high hygiene, reliable
mechanical construction design and the yield. Challenge
our systems and let us look time it takes to return your
investment.

Contact us
Henri Granberg
+358 40 573 96 46
henri.granberg@mkt-dairy.fi

L I N J AT I E 3 , 0 1 2 6 0 VA N TA A , F I N L A N D TEL: +358 44 360 0030 W W W . M K T- D A I R Y. C O M