For customers who manage small artisan cheese factories, one of the first activities we recommend intervening in is surfacing: an essential phase that affects the milk yield and the quality of the finished product.
ere small investments can produce substantial benefits on the percentage of first-choice products and on processing costs. Let's try to understand why.
Manual tapping
In manual tapping, the presence of an expert operator is necessary to inspect the tapped milk and ensure the correct percentage of fat, temperature and hygiene. Not only to respect the strict parameters of the policy but, above all, to guarantee the adequacy of the product during the maturation phase.
The milk, collected in the evening, cooled and stored in the appropriate tanks, undergoes the natural process of surfacing (separation of the fat globules from the lean part due to the difference in specific weight) after 6 hours of rest. However, the manual tapping of milk (that is the slow flow of skimmed milk from the bottom of the tank) usually begins only after 10 hours of milk rest, usually between 5.00 and 6.00 in the morning, causing losses in yield and the risk of working with an excessively lean product.
Automatic process
To automate this delicate procedure all you need is a simple system composed of a pneumatic valve that can manage the flow of tapped product and the necessary tools to check the maintenance of milk’s desired percentage of fat and the set temperature. Only if the force of gravity is not sufficient to bring the milk to its destination is necessary a pump appropriate for milk handling, capable of dosing even a few centiliters per minute.
With a limited investment it is possible to automate operations and start tapping many hours in advance, guaranteeing big benefits:
- Slow and constantly controlled tapping that stops as soon as the fat concentration exceeds a preset level;
- Slow tapping reduces milk mixing in the tank; therefore, sedimentation is better and clearer. The upper part of the fat does not come into contact with the milk on the bottom which remains healthier.
- Seasonal variations have strong repercussions on processed milk, just as external temperatures. As the seasons change, the tapping and waiting time should adapt to guarantee product homogeneity. Only an instrumental measurement is sufficiently precise and constant to always guarantee the same results when numerous conditions change.
The recording of all tapping parameters: temperature, fat, activity and pause times, and alarms in the event of anomalous situations, means that the person in charge can go to the workplace several hours later, make sure of the good result and proceed with production. This brings notable benefits:
- The historical recording of the data allows, even after several months of maturation have passed, to verify how the different parameter’s variation impacts the success of the product.
- There is no need to monitor the tapping from morning to early hours. This reduces processing costs or, increases sleep hours if the owner and dairyman are the same person!