WHAT IS A BRINE TANK?

Brine Tanks

Most brine tanks are made of plastic, in order to minimize the corrosive effects of the salt. In some instance, the stainless steel racks filled with cheese are supported with nylon netting before immersion in to the brine. The construction of the brine tank has to take in to account the following things.

• Salt dosing equipment i.e. dry form or solution, so that the desired concentration of the brine can be maintained.
• Temperature control mechanism so that the cheese can be brined at two different temperatures, e.g. at 18 - 20°C for the first few hours, followed by 14°C at during the brining of Danbo cheese in the brine tank.
• Provision of some eccentric movements of the racking unit in the brine tank, in order to overcome the problem of cheese buoyancy resting on the same bars during the brining stage.
• In large cheese factories, the brining and handing of cheese is highly automated.

The quality control of the brine is critical because it can influence the quality of the cheese and some important points that have to be taken care include

• Maintaining the right concentration of salt
• Monitoring for microbiological contamination, e.g. total count, coliforms, yeasts and moulds.
• Maintaining the appropriate temperature
• Monitoring the whey content, which leads to the formation of sludge and hence a shift in pH
• Maintaining the calcium content in the region of 0.17 – 0.24% for semi hard cheese, which corresponds to the calcium percentage in the cheese; lower calcium concentrations in the brine can affect the firmness of the rind.