Cheese Storage: Conditions and Ripening

Proper Storage Conditions

• Maintaining a specific temperature and relative humidity is critical
• Adequate lighting and ventilation are necessary
• Follow rules for commodity neighborhood and assigned locations
• Implement material responsibility for sanitary and hygienic measures to prevent losses
• Shield from direct sunlight

Ripening Cheeses

• Ripening cheeses are transferred to a cheese store for crust formation
• Maintain hard cheeses at 13-15°C with 85-90% relative humidity in the first month
• The temperature goes down to 10-12°C with 80-85% relative humidity after the first month

Sanitary Requirements in Cheese Storage

• Storages must meet precise sanitary needs
• Turn cheeses every 10 days to prevent mold and cheese slime
• To prevent drying and mold formation, paraffinize the cheese after 30-40 days or ripen in polymer films

Cheese Acceptance

• Upon receiving cheese, confirm packaging, appearance, quality, and shelf life
• A constant temperature of 6-8°C and 90% relative humidity are imperative for cheese storage
• Temperature or humidity that is too high or low leads to structural damage or spoilage in cheese

Changes During Storage

• Ongoing changes occur due to microorganisms on the rind and physical factors when cheeses are stored in commercial warehouses
• Cheese flavor can become excessively sharp if stored too long. It may also become rancid

Milk Stone Formation

• Storing Swiss and Soviet cheeses at sub-zero temperatures causes calcium salts to precipitate
• Calcium salt precipitation leads to a gritty texture

Surface Growth

• Mold, yeasts, and bacteria can grow on cheese surfaces during storage
• Formation of pink spots indicates yeast presence
• A dipstick can cause molds to grow in voids and cracks, open to the air
• Crust with white spots indicates putrefactive microflora
• Subcrustal mold and putrefactive microorganisms render cheeses unsuitable for long term use

Controlling Mold Growth

• Mold development is inhibited below 82% relative humidity
• Cheese surface drying prevents microorganism growth

Damage from Freezing

• Freezing reduces cheese quality and leads to deformation
• After freezing, moisture separates resulting in a crumbly texture and weakened flavor

Paraffin Layers

• Careless handling can damage the paraffin layer, which then leads to shrinkage

Foil Corrosion

• Processed cheeses may experience foil corrosion, which can be countered with special varnish coatings
• Tin foil is more resistant to corrosion than aluminum foil

Moisture Content

• Cheese has 40-50% moisture content
• Shrinkage occurs during storage as moisture evaporates, influenced by cheese head size, wax coating quality, rind condition, moisture content, and storage conditions
• Brine cheeses may gain weight due to moisture absorption

Pests

• Barn pests can damage cheeses
• Cheese is stored in wooden crates/drums with nests and stacked by type and variety

Optimal Storage Conditions

• Hard cheeses: Store at -4 to 0°C and 85-90% relative humidity
• Store soft, fresh sour milk cheeses at 0-8°C
• Mushroom cheeses: Maintain soft, moldy cheeses at 0-6°C and 75-85% humidity for 5 days
• Keep slime cheeses less than 10°C for up to 10 days
• The storage temperature for brine cheeses must not exceed 8°C in a 16-18% salty solution
• Processed cheese is best kept between -4 and 0°C with humidity below 90%

Shelf Life

• Cheese slices and sausage have a shelf life up to three months
• Pasty, sweet, and cheese for lunch must be thrown after 30 days.

Cheese Types

• Rennet, sour milk, and processed are available for sale
• Cheese types are determined by moisture, fat, and surface coatings

Changes During Rennet Cheese Storage

• Biochemical and chemical alterations/microorganism growth and physical factors can lead to defects like ripening

Ripening Process

• Rennet cheeses are stored in cellars, developing flavor, aroma, consistency, and pattern
• Enzymes from rennet and pepsin, plus microbial activity, catalyze ripening and produce albumose, peptones, lactic acid, and other substances

Insufficient flavor defects

• Unexpressed flavor, bitter taste, and strap consistency can occur

Trade Storage

• Arrive ripened but continue to evolve in warehouses/stores in favorable conditions
• Proper ripening diminishes existing flaws
• Cheeses may overripen from excessive protein and fat decomposition, this results in a sharp, rancid taste, and deteriorated texture

Overripening Factors

• It depends on cheese variety, storage environment, and ripeness at entry to trade

Stable Cheeses

• Hard rennet cheeses are more stable to store
• The quality of Swiss, Soviet, Altai, and Moscow are maintained the best and mucilaginous crust cheeses (Latvian) spoil faster

Temperature and Biochemical Processes

• Temperatures that are higher cause speed of biochemical processes and faster overripening
• Storing cheese below 8°C slows overripening, and is a preferred storage condition

Freezing Cheese Storage

• The process also decreases rind microbiota and reduces shrinkage
• Keeping cheese at -4°C delays overripening, slows rind microbiota, and lowers shrinkage

Defects

• Milk stone loss occurs in 4-5 months during sub-zero Swiss/Soviet cheese storage
• Unripe cheese defects do not disappear in sub-zero storage. Quality remains unchanged or declines. Positive temperatures aid in the disappearance of flavor defects after 1-2 months

Cheese Flavor Defects

• The development of gas-forming and putrefactive microflora causes impure flavor, and is more common in unpasteurized cheeses

Stale Rotten and Putrid Flavor

• Gas-forming and putrefactive microflora cause these, but they are more extreme than foul taste

Salty Flavors

• Prolonged storage can result in this flavor defect from oily-acid bacteria or fat oxidation

Rancid Flavors

• A flavor formed during the process of prolonged cheese storage from a buildup of broken-down fats

Bitter Flavors

• Under-ripening occurs at lower temperatures where proteolysis by rennet and pepsin outpaces microbial activity that occurs to cause this flavor

Improper Salting

• The cheese has poor flavor as a result of using Epsom salts can create this taste defect

Ammonia Taste/Odor

• Alkaline-forming bacteria causes this defect in hard-crusted cheeses, or more specifically the development of mucilage

Bloating

• Gas-forming bacteria causes bulging, and it triggers cracks and breaks in the rind

Milk Stone Precipitation

• Propionic acid calcium creates white dots that are noticeable in Swiss and Soviet cheeses

Excessive salt

• Calcium causes high amounts of milk curdle when under the action of rennet

Rind Microorganisms

• Different types of species are formed on the rind surface
  • Putrefaction, yeast and moulds

Moulds

• Appear as spots on green, yellow, or grey
• Likelihood increased where it is touched with a dipstick

Pox Mould

• Has capacity to ruin cheese and subcrustal layers

Removing mould and taste

• Must remove any of the mould or bad taste such as cleaning with specific table salt substance

Pink Spots

• The cheese has a pink spot as a result of yeast that had developed
• Development of decay of fats due to the presence of bacteria

Soft Rinds

• More prone to defects than hard cheese
• Paraffin coating well-protected against microorganisms that can thrive
• Prevent microorganisms with dry surroundings

Spoilage Process

• Stagnant air leads to high humidity around the cheese, and facilitates microbial growth
• Circulated, ventilated air to decrease microbial activity and spoiling

Plastic Film

• In cheeses without a crust can facilitate mould and yeast spores
• Damage easily from stress

Paraffin Wax

• Results out of the correct recipe due to stacking and transporation
• High likelihood of growth from microflora/rotting

Bluing

• Indicative of brine cheeses
• Characterised by a surface of grey/black with tainted green/blue hue
• Presence of copper creates the hue

Deformation

• From gravity
• Mostly from improper stacking
• Soft cheeses more likely to have this

Cracks in the Rind

• Soft cheese breaks when humidity is low, or air is drafty
• Not very common for hard cheese

Rust Creep

• Cheese not usually turned

Freezing

• Damage occurs from this and water permeates product with needle like crystals
• Cheese has a loose consistency and can ruin flavour

Thawing

• Methods of thawing don't significantly affect the cheese

Processed Cheese

• Doesn't change remarkably when frozen
• Storage is kept in temperature range of 0-4 Celsius

Foil

• Food varnish will protect cheese from corrosion
• Tin is more resistant

Deterioration

• 35-to 55% moisture in cheese is associated with breakdown of proteins
• Diffusion processes regulates cheese with little moisture

Quality and Packing

• Cheese with more moisture will shrink fast
• Pack with polymer film to retain weight during storage

Limiting Damage

• Store in right conditions with reduced humidity/temperature
• Store rack cheese rather than contained, to limit moisture
• Keep brine cheese soaked to prevent destruction

Pests (Mites)

• Mites damage the cheeses
• Cheeses covered in grey with various substances (mite excrement)

Flies/Eggs

• Flies lay eggs and gnaw into the cheese
• Protect cheese and keep up pest control