Edam cheese: Characteristics and its industrial production

 

Edam cheese -also known as ball cheese or manbollen kätzenkopt- has its origin 1,300 years ago in Volendam, a beautiful and picturesque Dutch city on the shores of Lake Markermeer, northeast of Amsterdam. 

 Volendam-Netherlands Its name, however, comes from the city market where it was sold and which is still open and can be visited every Wednesday in the summer months. From the 14th century to the 18th, it was the best-known and most exported cheese worldwide, both for its comfortable dimensions, its way of maturing and its characteristic red-colored wax, which acted as a protector during travel. 

Originally it was made with cow or goat cheese, although today only cow's milk is used. It is a semi-hard cheese, almost always spherical in shape, with a firm texture and a yellowish color with a fat percentage of between 25-27% and 28% protein. With a mild flavor, its aroma is reminiscent of butter, perhaps with hints of nuts. 

 Edam cheese is very popular in the US and Latin America where recipes are made in which it is the main protagonist: marquesitas, stuffed cheese or cheese empanadas as well as desserts and cakes. MOST COMMON FORMATS Pieces of between 840gr and 1 Kg. Square bar of between two and five kilos and rectangular blocks of between 400gr and 1.1Kg. INDUSTRIAL MANUFACTURING OF EDAM CHEESE To obtain 1 kg of Edam cheese, approximately 10 liters of partially skimmed pasteurized cow 's milk are needed . Once the milk is in the curdling vat, the rennet and the culture (Mesophilic) are added, which will be responsible for increasing the acidity of the milk by consuming the lactose, converting it into lactic acid. This step is important since it acts as a bacteria neutralizer and helps to curdle the milk. The culture is also responsible for the flavor and body of the resulting cheese.Double milk curdling vat 0 During the pasteurization process, part of the natural calcium in the milk is destroyed, which prevents or hinders its curdling. The solution involves adding calcium chloride, which will also provide greater consistency to the curd. Next, the milk is heated, keeping it at a temperature of between 30 and 32º for 2 hours. The next step will be to cut the resulting curd up to 5-6mm grain and stir for a while (approx 15 minutes). At this time between 30 and 40% of serum should be removed and instead add warm water (32 to 36º approx). Stir again for approximately 20 minutes. Next, the whey is drained and the pre-pressing and molding is carried out. The pressing should last between 1 and 3 hours depending on the weight of the cheese. The stabilization of the pH should be between 5.3 and 5.6. The next step will be to salt the cheese, between 2 and 5 days in saturated brine or in direct salt to go on to dry, which will take place at 10-12º for 10 days. The maturation time will depend on the type of cheese that you want to obtain and will be between 4 weeks and 12 months approximately at a temperature of 12 to 15º. Young cheese: 4 weeks Semi-ripened: 8 to 10 weeks Matured: 16 to 18 weeks Extra matured: 7 to 8 months Old cheese: 10 to 12 months Very old cheese: 12 months and older When the cheese is young, the texture is soft and elastic and as it matures, it becomes more brittle. Cheeses aged 17 weeks and older are paraffinized in black, while the rest, the young ones -which are the most consumed-, are usually paraffinized in red (preferably), yellow and even orange. At Tecnical we have different equipment for painting and applying paraffin to cheese. For example, the CP-R static spray gun painting carousel -which also has a cheese turning system- is especially suitable for painting ball-type cheeses. All cheese painting equipment is adapted to the productions and formats required by each client. For its part, the Diviform wedge cheese slicers provide a clean and precise cut to be able to market or serve, offering a homogeneous appearance. In addition, they have interchangeable cutting formats to obtain larger or smaller wedges. Diviform wedge cheese slicer If necessary, Tecnical also has shrink-wrapping equipment for cheeses that adapt the product to the bag, avoiding deformations and wrinkles characteristic of packaging. Now all that remains is to taste this delicious and popular cheese, from which nearly 3 million tons are made per year! To learn more about the processes, machinery and complete manufacturing lines for Edam cheese, please visit our website .