Some aspects of new technology of Sombor cheese

Somborski sir predstavlja originalni jugoslovenski sir. Tradicionalno u seljačkoj proizvodnji izrađuje se iz ovčjeg ili miješanog ovčjeg i kravljeg mlijeka, a rjeđe samo iz kravljeg mlijeka. Kao takav, ovaj sir se odavno afirmirao na jugoslovenskom tržištu. Razvojem mljekarske industrije ovaj sir se počeo proizvoditi u mljekarama uglavnom iz kravljeg mlijeka uz izvjesnu i neophodnu adaptaciju zanatskog načina izrade. Pri tome je nastojano da se sačuvaju i dobiju dobre osobine sira po kojima je bio poznat odavno na tržištu.The traditional making procedure of Sombor cheese includes several special operations which are in many ways unique: 1. Water is added to milk up to 30% before renneting; 2. Fresh curd pieces are immediately after whey drainage immersed into water for 10-60 minutes; 3. The curd pieces are sliced and put into wooden container and by using a ring outside it. About 1/3 to 1/2 of cheese is outside the container wherein ripening takes place as well. These operations have many disadvantages from the point of view of industrial production. Therefore, the traditional procedure had to be modified. The adding water to milk, curd immersion into water and cheese ripening in wooden containers have been successfully substituted by standard procedures common for other soft-type cheeses. New processing method makes it possible to use standard equipment for full mechanization at large scale production