Processing of Parmesan cheese

In manufacturing of Parmesan cheese, the milk at least fifty cows is required for one cheese. And as one farmer rarely affords pasture for such as number, it is usual for the farmers to club together. Milk is first standardized to 11.8% fat and pasteurized.

The summer cheese, which is the best, is made of the evening milk, after having been skimmed in the morning and at noon.

The starter, consisting of thermopihilic organisms Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus is added at the 1% level.

After a ripening period of 10 minutes rennet is added at the rate of 190 ml/1000 kg of milk. After several hours the lactic acid causes the milk to ‘set’ to form a smooth curd.

The curd is allowed to settle, pushed to the end of to form a heap, and about half of the whey is drained. The curd is cut and then pressed in either coarse muslin or nylon draining bags or in cheesecloth lined perforated molds to give a fresh unripened cheese.

The pressed curd is salted for about two weeks in brine or dry salted. The cheese is dried and cured in a cool, ventilated room at 10° C for at least 10 months.

The best kind of cheese is kept for three or four years before it is taken to market. To help this very hard cheese ripen satisfactorily over a period of between 10 months and several years the exterior is rubbed with an oily mixture that gradually causes a dark green to black exterior to develop.
Processing of Parmesan cheese