Development of a Continuous Process for the Production of Ricotta Cheese

Abstract

A process was developed for the continuous production of Ricotta cheese. The process consists of multistep heating to 92°C, whey protein denaturation in a 10-min holding tube, acid injection to induce coagulation (2.5% citric acid), curd formation in a clear plastic holding tube (10min), followed by separation of curd from deproteinated whey on a nylon conveyer belt. The process resulted in 98.1% removal of the recoverable solids. Recoveries of protein and fat were 99.5 and 99.6%, respectively.Cheese, prepared from a blend of 80% sweet whey and 20% whole milk, contained 33.5% total solids, 16.30% protein, and 11.6% milk fat. Italian Ricotta, prepared from whey ultrafiltered 4.5 to 1, contained 19.8% total solids, 15.9% protein, and 2.4% fat. The pH of Ricotta prepared from the whey and milk blend (80:20) ranged from 5.6 to 5.8, whereas pH of Ricotta prepared from only ultrafiltered whey (4.5 to 1) was 5.7 to 5.9.The process has advantages over other conventional mechanized cheese processes in terms of reduced capital and operating costs. The process is suitable for cheese factories that may wish to produce Ricotta as a protein base for other food products, such as cream cheese, processed cheese, snack food dips, and quiches.