Studies in the use of recombined milk for the manufacture of ras cheese

Abstract

Whey was employed as a reconstituting medium for dried milk used for cheese making. Ras cheese was made from fresh milk; whey was collected and dried skim milk was used to prepare a reconstituted milk with 20% total solids. Ras cheese was made from it and this process was repeated a further three times. The addition of whey was beneficial in reducing, by 50%, the time necessary to raise the acidity of milk to make it suitable for rennet action. The time necessary to make it suitable for whey removal was also reduced by 50%. Consequently, the time required for pressing was only 8 h, instead of 16 h. Generally, the use of whey is considered to be a better process for Ras cheese making. In addition to the utilisation of whey, it produced a good and acceptable cheese. The cheese was manufactured within a shorter time than cheese made with fresh milk.