The application of ultrafiltration in the manufacture of cream cheese

In the last two decades, the ultrafiltration (UF) process has proven to be successful in the dairy industry and particularly in cheesemaking. Ultrafiltration allows the concentration, separation and recovery of individual milk components. The application of UF process accounts for about 3% of total world cheese production and it is postulated that this process contributes to higher cheese yield. An accurate assessment of the cheese yield produced by the traditional method as compared to the UF method in cream cheese making is crucial in the evaluation of milk component utilization and cheese production costs.;This research was conducted to manufacture cream cheese by traditional method from skim milk and from ultrafiltered skim milk (retentate) as a source of proteins and butter oil as source of fat. Research was carried out to determine and compare the cheese yields and milk component recovery (fat and proteins) in both methods.;In conclusion, the application of UF in recombined cream cheese making resulted in higher cheese yield by 14.5%. Total nitrogen (TN) and fat recoveries in UF cheese were higher by 12% and 6.5% respectively.