Cutting Or Breaking Curd

This webpage is divided into the following topics:

General
Rennet Coagulated Cheeses
Acid Coagulated Cheeses

General

After the curd is coagulated and is ready to be cut, the next stage in a cheese making recipe is normally to cut the curd.

When the milk first coagulates, it has a natural tendency to contract and expel whey. This property is called syneresis and it depends on several factors, the largest being surface area of the coagulum or curd. Small surface area versus volume of the coagulum results in slower and less whey expulsion, larger surface area results in faster/more whey expulsion. The purpose of cutting or breaking the curd is to increase it's surface area and thereby increase it's expulsion of whey and reduce the water content in the final cheese.

Rennet Coagulated Cheeses

Rennet coagulum's are normally cut into same size particles, the size and shape varies depending on the type of cheese being made. Smaller cut curds generally result in drier cheese, larger in moister cheese. The cutting patterns have been refined over centuries of cheese making to allow the right amount of whey to be expelled for that type of cheese. Ideally every curd particle is of the same size to:

Create a uniform cheese, large range in cut curd sizes will result in areas of high and low moisture content in the cheese. High moisture can result in sour or fermented areas.
Create uniform temperature among the cut curds, especially if cooking the curds. If different sized curds then different temperatures which will result in differing whey expulsion and acid production.

Method: Cubed Cutting

Cutting of the coagulum into cubes is the most common system and used for making many cheeses. Cut sizes range from 0.25-1 inch / 6-25 mm cubes, for example Cheddar normally requires 3/8"/1 cm cubes. To cut the cubes, commercial cheese makers use rectangular shaped Curd Cutter or Curd Knife with evenly spaced wires. Two of these tools are normally used, the first with horizontal wires to cut the coagulum into horizontal sheets, the second with vertical wires to cut vertically into horizontal square rods and then again vertically but at 90 degrees to create the cubes.

These professional Curd Knives are normally built for larger volumes of curd and are expensive. Home/hobby small scale cheese makers commonly use a large stockpot for the vat. For them, a common workaround is to use a long thin food grade object as a Curd Knife and:

First, slice the curd vertically into parallel sheets.
Second, slice the curd again vertically but perpendicular, at 90 degrees to the first row, resulting in vertical square rods of curd.
Third, slice a third row of cuts but at 45 degrees to the first two rows of vertical cuts and with the curd knife tilted at 45 degrees from vertical to form "diamonds".
Fourth, a row of cuts at 90 degrees to the previous 45 degree row and with knife still tilted at 45 degrees.
Fifth, circle the knife around the edge of vat to detach cut curd from vat.

Common kitchen examples for a stockpot Curd Knife are: Bread Knife, Cake Knife, or Icing Spatula. Note, if the tool is too thick (like a metal cookie cooling rack) then the curd will be torn rather than cut.

Method: Rice Cutting

Drier type cheeses like Swiss normally have the coagulum cut into rice sized pieces using a "Spino" harp shaped tool. Often this is improvised in home/hobby cheese making by using a large metal whisk.

Method: Italian Cutting

An egg shaped device for Italian cheeses. Again, this is often improvised in home/hobby cheese making by using a large metal whisk.

Method: Partial Cutting

Camembert cheese making used only parallel vertical cuts and sometimes 90 degree parallel vertical cuts resulting in long square rods of cut curd. This is normally done with a long single cutting knife or sword. The partially cut curd is then horizontally cut by a tool called a Pelle or with a flat ladle when removing the cut curds from the vat and placing them into hoops.

Acid Coagulated Cheeses

Acid coagulated cheeses employ three different methods to cut or break the coagulum depending on cheese type:

Some cheeses such as Cottage Cheese are cut with wire knives similar to rennet coagulated cheeses.
Some cheeses such as Quark are broken by simply stirring the coagulum.
Some are just ladled directly from the coagulum in the vat into the forms or molds without being cut or stirred.


Home \| Forum \| Types \| Making \| Recipes \| Bits & Bites \| Gallery \| Links \| About
Making Cheese Making Homepage Cheese Making Steps Basic Principles Milk: ◦ Types ◦ Processing ◦ Yield ◦ Products Acidification Starter Cultures: ◦ Function ◦ Manufacturers ◦ Manufactured Products Lipases Colourants: ◦ General ◦ Annatto Acids Coagulation Calcium Chloride Rennets: ◦ Animal ◦ Plant ◦ Microbial ◦ Fermentation Milk Additives Curd: ◦ When to Cut ◦ How to Cut Salt: ◦ Function ◦ Types ◦ Salting Curds ◦ Salting Rinds Pressing Curds Brine: ◦ Making ◦ Using ◦ Maintaining ◦ For Preserving Turning Cheeses Ripening Rinds: ◦ General ◦ Natural ◦ Ash Defects General: ◦ Coagulation ◦ Surface ◦ Body ◦ Aroma ◦ Flavour Specific: ◦ Blue Mould ◦ White Mould Equipment Books Cheese Caves Cheesecloths Hygrometers Mats Miscellaneous pH Meters Scales Vats (Stockpots) Thermometers	Cutting Or Breaking Curd This webpage is divided into the following topics: General Rennet Coagulated Cheeses Method: Cubed Cutting Method: Rice Cutting Method: Italian Cutting Method: Partial Cutting Acid Coagulated Cheeses General After the curd is coagulated and is ready to be cut, the next stage in a cheese making recipe is normally to cut the curd. When the milk first coagulates, it has a natural tendency to contract and expel whey. This property is called syneresis and it depends on several factors, the largest being surface area of the coagulum or curd. Small surface area versus volume of the coagulum results in slower and less whey expulsion, larger surface area results in faster/more whey expulsion. The purpose of cutting or breaking the curd is to increase it's surface area and thereby increase it's expulsion of whey and reduce the water content in the final cheese. Rennet Coagulated Cheeses Rennet coagulum's are normally cut into same size particles, the size and shape varies depending on the type of cheese being made. Smaller cut curds generally result in drier cheese, larger in moister cheese. The cutting patterns have been refined over centuries of cheese making to allow the right amount of whey to be expelled for that type of cheese. Ideally every curd particle is of the same size to: Create a uniform cheese, large range in cut curd sizes will result in areas of high and low moisture content in the cheese. High moisture can result in sour or fermented areas. Create uniform temperature among the cut curds, especially if cooking the curds. If different sized curds then different temperatures which will result in differing whey expulsion and acid production. Method: Cubed Cutting Cutting of the coagulum into cubes is the most common system and used for making many cheeses. Cut sizes range from 0.25-1 inch / 6-25 mm cubes, for example Cheddar normally requires 3/8"/1 cm cubes. To cut the cubes, commercial cheese makers use rectangular shaped Curd Cutter or Curd Knife with evenly spaced wires. Two of these tools are normally used, the first with horizontal wires to cut the coagulum into horizontal sheets, the second with vertical wires to cut vertically into horizontal square rods and then again vertically but at 90 degrees to create the cubes. These professional Curd Knives are normally built for larger volumes of curd and are expensive. Home/hobby small scale cheese makers commonly use a large stockpot for the vat. For them, a common workaround is to use a long thin food grade object as a Curd Knife and: First, slice the curd vertically into parallel sheets. Second, slice the curd again vertically but perpendicular, at 90 degrees to the first row, resulting in vertical square rods of curd. Third, slice a third row of cuts but at 45 degrees to the first two rows of vertical cuts and with the curd knife tilted at 45 degrees from vertical to form "diamonds". Fourth, a row of cuts at 90 degrees to the previous 45 degree row and with knife still tilted at 45 degrees. Fifth, circle the knife around the edge of vat to detach cut curd from vat. Common kitchen examples for a stockpot Curd Knife are: Bread Knife, Cake Knife, or Icing Spatula. Note, if the tool is too thick (like a metal cookie cooling rack) then the curd will be torn rather than cut. Method: Rice Cutting Drier type cheeses like Swiss normally have the coagulum cut into rice sized pieces using a "Spino" harp shaped tool. Often this is improvised in home/hobby cheese making by using a large metal whisk. Method: Italian Cutting An egg shaped device for Italian cheeses. Again, this is often improvised in home/hobby cheese making by using a large metal whisk. Method: Partial Cutting Camembert cheese making used only parallel vertical cuts and sometimes 90 degree parallel vertical cuts resulting in long square rods of cut curd. This is normally done with a long single cutting knife or sword. The partially cut curd is then horizontally cut by a tool called a Pelle or with a flat ladle when removing the cut curds from the vat and placing them into hoops. Acid Coagulated Cheeses Acid coagulated cheeses employ three different methods to cut or break the coagulum depending on cheese type: Some cheeses such as Cottage Cheese are cut with wire knives similar to rennet coagulated cheeses. Some cheeses such as Quark are broken by simply stirring the coagulum. Some are just ladled directly from the coagulum in the vat into the forms or molds without being cut or stirred.
Home \| Forum \| Types \| Making \| Recipes \| Bits & Bites \| Gallery \| Links \| About Global Cheese Forum / Over 1000 Cheeses Listed. Please send additions or corrections to this page to the Webmaster via email. Copyright © 2009 CheeseForum.org, All Rights Reserved.

Making

Cheese Making Steps

Defects

Equipment