The whey is removed and sent to Niro dryers to be made into non-hygroscopic dried whey. To start the cheddaring process, the curd is matted on a six-foot wide belt inside the Cheddarmaster. During the cheddaring process, a chemical change occurs in the casein that causes the curd particles to adhere to each other, giving the curd a stringy consistency. These loose curd chunks are passed through a salting chamber where a thin layer of crystalline salt is dusted over the surface of each curd. The recently salted curd is stirred to assure an even distribution.
Salt crystals dissolve on the surface of the cheese creating a brine that is absorbed by the curd.
When the absorption is complete, the curds are transferred to the Stoelting pressing towers where a vacuum draws off the excess moisture in the cheese. A high vacuum is drawn on this package of cheese and the pouch is then sealed. The block is now contained in an airtight and moisture-proof bag. Grading Before cheese is packaged, it's tasted. Sensory cheese analysts take two core samples from more than 60 blocks of cheese every day.