Milk processing

The Food Pavilion of the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CZU) houses a university dairy processing facility that combines traditional milk-processing methods with modern technologies, professional education, and research. The dairy serves not only as a facility for practical student training but also as a space for testing new technological processes and developing and producing its own dairy products. The main raw material is high-quality milk from Jersey cattle raised at the CZU university farm. The facility produces a wide range of dairy products, including fresh pasteurized milk, yogurts, kefir, quark, fresh cheeses, and other products. Production is carried out in small batches, with an emphasis on the quality of the raw materials, proper technological procedures, and the final taste of the products. The dairy processing facility is operated by the staff of the Food Pavilion together with CZU students. During practical classes, professional internships, thesis projects, and other activities, students have the opportunity to experience the individual stages of milk processing firsthand-from pasteurization and fermentation to filling, packaging, and final product quality control. The dairy thus provides a space where university education is closely connected with real-world food production.

How we do it

The Dairy Processing Facility is designed as an educational, laboratory and experimental workplace, enabling students to explore the individual stages of milk processing in connection with real technological processes used in the dairy industry. The primary raw material is Jersey milk from the Požáry Farm of the University Farm of the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, which is characterised by its specific composition and properties suitable for further processing. Students follow the journey of milk from the reception and initial quality control of the raw material through pasteurisation to individual technological operations that modify the properties of milk and result in a wide range of dairy products. They work with various types of dairy cultures, monitor the course of fermentation and learn how the cultures used, temperature, processing time and other technological parameters influence the quality of the final products. An important part of the practical training is the production of curd and cheese. Students explore the process of milk coagulation in detail, as it has a significant influence on the structure, consistency and other properties of the final product. They compare different coagulation methods and their applications in the production of various types of cheeses and curd products. The curd produced is subsequently used to prepare traditional plain curd as well as a range of flavoured varieties. In cheesemaking, students focus primarily on fresh and semi-hard cheeses, through which they learn about differences in processing techniques and ripening. Another important stage of the technological process is milk separation. Students become familiar with the principle of milk fat separation, observe the formation of individual fractions and learn about the subsequent standardisation of milk according to the desired composition. The cream obtained is further processed - after pasteurisation, it can be used as fresh cream or serve as the basis for the production of butter and buttermilk. The facility also focuses on monitoring technological and quality parameters throughout the production process, understanding their interrelationships and assessing their influence on the final properties of dairy products. This enables students to connect their knowledge of chemistry, microbiology, physical processes and food technology directly with practical dairy production. The outcome is not merely a finished dairy product, but above all practical experience in how high-quality milk can be technologically processed, how individual processing steps influence its properties, and how a diverse range of dairy products can be created from a single high-quality raw material.