CHEESE MOULDS

Types of moulds and mould filling equipment

The traditional multi piece iron or tinned steel moulds have been replaced by perforated stainless steel or aluminium alloy and recently plastic moulds have become popular.

In the past cotton cheese cloth was normally used to line some types of cheese mould in order to provide a smoother finish to the pressed cheese and to prevent the cheese from sticking to the mould. Thus the preparation of large number of moulds in a cheese factory was a labour intensive process and washing sterilizing, and drying the mould also increased the cost of production. These problems have been overcome by the introduction of perforated stainless steel moulds which has made it possible to dispense with the cheese cloths. Alternatively, disposable polyethylene liners can be made use of. The general specifications intended for the cheese cloth is

Tear strength	70 – 110 g
Burst strength	127.53 – 156.96 kNm-2
Porosity	40 – 70 s
Gauge	100 – 150 µm.

In the Netherlands, plastic moulds are widely used for semi hard cheese varieties. These moulds are made up of polyethylene and do not require a cheese liner and are suitable for moulding, washing and refilling. Basically the moulds are constructed of two pieces and they are produced in a multitude of shapes.