Curds and Whey

top curvebottom curve

Curds and Whey

Now that the highest quality milk has been treated, the curds and whey stage begins. After about 30 minutes of heating and stirring, a soft curd made of milk fat and casein (a naturally-occurring protein) forms. The cheesemaking vats cut the curd into small pieces. Then the temperature of the vats is raised, which releases liquid, called whey, from the curds.

This mixture is emptied into the Cheddarmaster, a machine that separates the curds from the whey. The curds are then laid into a six-foot-wide mat. This is the beginning of an age-old process called cheddaring, when curds start to knit together and transform into tasty cheddar.

From there, the curds run through our curd mill, where they’re chopped into three-inch bits. Then the curd is salted and stirred. Stirring dissolves the salt crystals, creating a brine that’s absorbed by the cheddar curds.

In the final stage, the curds are brought to our block forming towers, which draw out excess moisture before pressing the curds into solid cheese. This block of cheese is officially cheddar!  The immature cheddar is only a few hours old and still has quite a bit of growing up to do. But, as we know, age is a good thing when you’re a piece of cheese.

Next comes step 3, Aging to Eating.