The milk from the morning milking is mixed with the naturally skimmed milk from the evening milking (in a large shallow container to allow the cream to separate ). This creates a partially skimmed mixture.
This mixture is placed in a copper-lined vat where the milk is heated evenly and copper ions penetrate the mixture. Starter whey (the liquid left over from the curdled and strained milk), which contains a mixture of certain thermophilic lactic acid bacteria, is also added and the temperature is raised to 33-35 °C (91,4 - 95 °F). Calf rennet is then added.
The mixture is allowed to curdle for 10-12 minutes, after which the curd is mechanically broken into rice-sized pieces and the temperature is raised to 55 °C (131 °F).
