APPLICATION OF ULTRAFILTRATION IN CHEESEMAKING

Ultrafiltration and cheese making

Ultrafiltration is a membrane separation process which is carried out under pressure using a semi-permeable membrane made out of a high polymer substance or cellulose acetate. The milk constituents that pass through the membrane are referred to as permeate and the materials that do not pass through the membrane are known as retentate.

Thus in theory, the application of ultrafiltration in the cheese industry resembles the traditional concept of cheese making in which the milk fat and proteins are concentrated by means of whey separation.

The application of ultrafiltration is classified into three categories based on the concentration factor of the fat and the protein in the retentate.

1.Low concentration (up to two fold) so that conventional cheese making techniques can be employed using traditional or existing mechanized equipment.

2. Medium or pre concentration of the milk (three to six fold) and as a result the subsequent cheese making process has to be modified; however, some whey drainage will take place but different equipment is normally used and

3. High concentration (six to eight fold) where the dry matter content of the retentate is the same as in the cheese; this concentrated milk is called as pre-cheese and whey drainage does not occur and the cheese making equipment is entirely of new design.