Whey draining of goat milk cheese: A model study using frontal filtration

In cheese manufacturing, a compressive stress may be applied to accelerate whey-draining, but this process is mainly empirically mastered. This article describes the draining of goat milk cheese under frontal filtration conditions. An experimental set-up was designed to monitor the volume of whey released through a filter over time at constant stress. At short times, insoluble elements from the curd concentrate nearby the filter surface and form a filtering cake whose thickness progressively increases. At long times, the cake is compressed and its resistance to whey flow may increase dramatically. By studying the draining of a reduced fat content curd, we show that the presence of fat globules slows down the draining process. Homogenization of the full-fat cream results in slower drainage, compared to a non-homogenized cream. These results were rationalized considering observations of the curd structure by confocal microscopy, dry extract measurements along the curd and drainage models.

Automated summary

This article discusses the draining process of goat milk cheese under frontal filtration conditions. The presence of fat globules was found to slow down the draining process. The results were rationalized by considering observations of the curd structure, dry extract measurements, and drainage models.