Shaping the curd into cheese

After the whey is pumped off, the curd goes into forms on its way to becoming cheese. The curd can either be "pressed" or "direct" filled into the forms. When pressing, the cheese is cut into pieces nearly the size of the final pressform. The cheese is kept warm to allow the milk bacteria to grow and start their fermentation of the milk proteins. In the direct fill method, the curd falls into the forms and the forms are turned a number of times throughout the process, thus closing the surface of the cheese.