Abstract: Cheese curd suitable for conversion into natural hard cheese is prepared by ultrafiltering and diafiltering milk or a milk product to produce a retentate, ripening the retentate by fermenting with a cheese starter culture, coagulating the retentate to produce a coagulum, cutting, cooking and agitating the cut coagulum to produce curd, and separating the curd from whey. The retentate has a concentration Factor of 2-8 and contains 1.0-6.2% w/w lactose. Ripening the retentate produces a pH drop of 0.05-1.5 units. Cutting the a coagulum is at a time between 120% and 220% of coagulation time and cooking is at a temperature of 30.degree.-50.degree. C. Combined cooking and agitating operations take 20-120 minutes. Coagulation may be continuous, and a minor portion of the retentate may be separated, fermented with a cheese starter culture and mixed with the remaining retentate to produce a ripened retentate having a pH of 0.05-1.0 units lower than before ripening.

Abstract: An apparatus suitable for use in the substantially continuous production of cheese from milk retentate (A) in which there is at least one, preferably several, coagulator tubes (I) having an inlet end and an outlet end. The retentate is admitted to the tube (I) from a feed system (E) via the inlet, forms a coagulum inside the tube and is discharged from the outlet whereupon it is cut or sliced into appropriately sized pieces, preferably small cubes by a blade assembly (K, L) mounted at or near the outlet. The feed system (E) comprises a distribution manifold for delivering retentate to the inlet or inlets via a valve (G) located between the manifold and tube(s) and a pump (F) for circulating the retentate in the feed system at such a rate that the feed system is substantially free of coagulum.