Cheese lovers are probably familiar with the basic steps of the cheesemaking process. While traditionally it was all done by humans, machines are used to handle much of the backbreaking work today including robots which are used for milking cows, and in the packaging of cheese. What you might not know? Some parts of the actual cheesemaking and aging process are also done by robots. Here’s how robots are being used to make some of the finest specialty and artisan cheeses.
“Most of the European cheese consumers enjoy is matured by robots,” says Mateo Kehler, head cheesemaker at Vermont’s Jasper Hill Farm. “This isn’t some brand new idea.” He explains that at Jasper Hill Farm, robots are used to “take some of the body-breaking labor out of the equation.”
“At any given time, we have 20,000 to 25,000 wheels of cheese, each weighing 22-26 pounds, all handled on a weekly basis,” he says. “We bought a Swiss-made robot several years ago. It picks wheels of cheese off of the shelf, turns them, and brushes them. For a cheese like Whitney, it sprays brine or wine solution on cheese, and then washes them.”