The cheese vat is where milk becomes cheese. This is the heart of the Gouda process, and the step where the cheese maker’s skill shows most.
Adding cultures and rennet
The pasteurised milk goes into the vat at about 30–32 °C. A mesophilic starter culture is added, typically a mixed culture of Lactococcus and Leuconostoc strains. These bacteria produce lactic acid and a little carbon dioxide, which forms the few small eyes that are typical of Gouda. Calcium chloride is often added to improve coagulation, and annatto may be added for the familiar yellow colour.
Then rennet is stirred in. The milk is left to set, and after about 30–40 minutes it has become a firm gel.
Cutting and stirring
Knives in the vat cut the gel into small cubes of curd, roughly the size of a pea or a grain of maize. As the curd is stirred, the cubes shrink and release whey. The cutting speed and the final curd size determine how much moisture stays in the cheese.
Washing the curd
This is the step that makes Gouda Gouda. About a third of the whey is drained off and replaced with warm water. This raises the temperature of the curd to about 33–37 °C, depending on the recipe, and dilutes the lactose. Less lactose means less acid, which gives Gouda its sweet, mild taste and its smooth, elastic texture.
Open or closed vat?
Farmhouse cheese makers and smaller dairies usually work with an open vat, where they can see and feel the curd and adjust by hand. Larger dairies use a closed vat in which heating, cutting, stirring, whey drainage and the addition of wash water run automatically according to a set recipe, for the same curd quality in every batch.
Riet Dairy equipment for this step
- Open round cheese vat, 32 to 660 Gallons (120 to 2,500 litres), triple-walled stainless steel, pasteurisation possible, mobile
- Open double-O cheese vat
- Open rectangular cheese vat
- Closed cheese vat, 790 to 3,170 Gallons (3,000 to 12,000 litres), automatic whey drainage and wash-water dosing, touchscreen recipe control, built-in cleaning
Looking for a cheese vat?
Tell us about your milk volume, cheese formats and plans. We will come back to you with a proposal for the equipment that fits your dairy.
