Processing applications for semi-hard and hard cheese​

Semi-hard cheese - Gouda, Edam​ and Maasdam

Gouda, Edam and Maasdam are examples of popular semi-hard cheese varieties. Others are Jarlsberg, Herrgårdsost and Tilsiter. What they all have in common is that they are salted in a brine bath, and the salt is allowed to penetrate the cheese via the brine. The flavour of the end product is then varied by the addition of different starter cultures.

Typically, European semi-hard cheese varieties are made into 15 kg blocks of 300 mm x 500 mm x 100 mm - the so-called Euro block. However, in an effort to differentiate their products, some producers make distinctive shapes and sizes, such as the Dutch Gouda wheel, or Swedish Västerbotten cheese (which comes in non-standard sizes). Our equipment allows for shape and size flexibility, and can therefore handle all kinds of formats, traditional and otherwise.  What is more, it produces the required shapes with unrivalled accuracy, thereby significantly reducing product losses and cutting costs.

Hard cheese - Emmental, Parmesan and Gruyère 

Emmental is one example of a hard cheese. That means a cheese with a moisture content below 35%. Parmesan and Gruyère are two other well-known varieties. In the US this is a vast product category, popularised by the Swiss immigrants who took their cheese-making traditions with them to the new world in the 19th and 20th Centuries. It includes semi-hard ​cheeses that are grated to be use as ingredient in cooking.

When most people think of Swiss cheese, they think of Emmental. The holes in Emmental are caused by a special starter culture (used for acidification). It produces carbon dioxide and hence forms the bubbles that give Emmental its distinctive appearance.

The keys to successful and profitable hard cheese production are a uniform process, and weight and moisture accuracy. Our production equipment gives you all this. Our efficient and reliable machines also keep running - giving you long hours of cost-effective production.​​

Key to success in cheese production

The main keys to success in the cheese business are a uniform process and minimum variation in product-composition along with efficient and reliable production equipment to ensure your line keeps running smoothly.

Our sophisticated technologies and cheese application knowledge can help you achieve a product of uniform quality, with consistent weight and moisture levels. Designed for high volume production, our lines also satisfy the need for cost-efficient operation. 
Tetra Pak's experience in semi-hard cheese production is hard to beat. In the 1970s, we invented the Casomatic draining and forming machine. The technology is now in its 7th generation!​