Control processing to produce natural cheese
Overview
This standard covers the skills and knowledge needed for you to produce natural cheese in food and drink manufacture and/or supply operations. Knowing how to produce the correct specification of natural cheese is important to the production of a final product that adheres to regulatory food safety and organisational quality and yield specifications.
Performance criteria
You must be able to:
Knowledge and Understanding
You need to know and understand:
1. the food safety aspects of the production of natural cheese products including HACCP, TACCP and VACCP
2. the dairy science underpinning natural cheese production
4. how natural cheese is classified and the key differences between relevant varieties
5. the regulations relating to the composition requirements for different types of natural cheese
6. the key stages in the production of cheese
7. the function of the key ingredients needed to make cheese
8. how changes in a cheese recipe including amounts of ingredients, time/temperature combinations and handling or processing can affect the type of cheese produced
9. what the actions are to address variations in intake milk fat levels and environmental factors including seasonality and temperature
11. the function and role of primary and secondary cultures in the production of cheese
13. why and how the type of starter culture used can affect the ingredients and processing requirements during cheese making
14. how the variety of starter culture used can affect the final cheese product
16. the recipe changes and additions required to produce mould ripened cheese
18. the sources, advantages and disadvantages of animal and vegetarian rennet
19. common colours used in the production of natural cheese
20. how environmental conditions in the cheese vat including time/temperature combinations and pH affect the cheese making process and the final cheese product
21. at what stages are pH and titratable acidity measurements carried out and why they are important to the production of cheese
22. the significance of "slow vats" to cheese making and how they are dealt with
23. why the mechanical techniques of stirring, cutting, scalding, pitching and milling are carried out in cheese making and their effect on the final cheese product
24. the importance of salt addition to cheese taste, preservation and water loss
25. how different time/pressure cheese pressing combinations affect the final product
26. the importance of maturation and ripening to the aroma, flavour and texture of the final cheese product
27. common faults occurring in cheese and how they occur
28. the key differences between equipment and processes in large and small scale craft production environments
32. common sources of contamination during processing, how to avoid these and what might happen if this is not done
33. how to deal with product that can be re-cycled or re-worked
34. the hygienic design of natural cheese plant
35. How the manufacture process and support operations use digital technologies rather than paper based systems to monitor and control production