Process for the production of cheese curd

Cheese curd is produced by coagulating a milk product during its passage through a long coagulator tube under renneting conditions giving a relatively slow coagulation course. The milk product is renneted in-line and the renneted mixture is fed periodically to the inlet end of the coagulator tube during feeding periods with intermediate stand still periods, the length of a feeding period being selected so that no essential coagulation occurs in the mixture from its introduction into the coagulator tube up to the successive stand still period, and the length of a stand still period being selected so that the mixture after having been subjected to one stand still period in the coagulator tube forms a sufficiently firm coagulum to be transported by feeding new mixture during the successive feeding period towards the outlet end of the coagulator tube as a continuous plug. The speed of feeding mixture into the coagulator tube and the length of the coagulator tube are adjusted so that the residence time in the coagulator tube comprises at least one feeding period and one stand still period.