Boxes with washed cheese were stacked in basement and relocated once in two days; the so called “sliding separation” was used for the stuck cheese. The boxes were crosswise placed on each other and size of the left gap determined the rate of ripening. The top grates were relocated to the bottom and vice versa in order to reach uniform ripening. After the third relocation the curd cheese already had the characteristic yellowish colour. After the last movement the curd cheese was placed side by side in the boxes (five pieces usually) – either horizontally (rollers) or vertically (blocks). The boxes were again placed crosswise one after another and air access controlled the final ripening. The top box was covered with a lid. The cheese was controlled continuously to avoid it going off; every second or third day the blocks had to be rearranged so that the central curd cheese may be placed to the edged where it may ripen faster.

Box layout for ripening

Curd cheese stacking