Tvorog production: technology and equipment

In brief. Industrially, tvorog (quark) is made by fermenting standardized or skim milk — using either the traditional or the separation method. In the traditional process, milk is received, cooled, separated and standardized, pasteurized and fermented in a curd vat; the coagulum is then pressed and cooled. The heart of the line is the VT curd vat of 300–3,000 L and the UPT curd pressing and cooling unit, which brings the tvorog down to +14 °C in 1–3 hours without manual handling of bags. Milberg turnkey lines are designed for 300–600 and 1,250–3,000 L of milk per shift.

Traditional and separation methods

There are two methods of producing tvorog:

• traditional (conventional) — milk is fermented in batch or continuous equipment, and the coagulum is then pressed;
• separation method — skim milk is fermented in tanks to form a coagulum, and the whey is removed by separation.

Below is the equipment for the traditional method, which most curd workshops and dairy plants choose.

Process stages and equipment for each

Milk is transferred between tanks with milk pumps.

Curd vat: how to choose

In the VT curd vat, standardized milk is heated to the starter-culture inoculation temperature and fermented, and the coagulum is then heated and cooled through a two-circuit jacket: after fermentation the hot water is drained and cold water is fed in. The finished coagulum is discharged through a butterfly valve into bags for self-pressing, press trolleys or a UPT unit.

• Capacity. Standard models are VT-300, 600, 1250, 2000, 2500 and 3000 L; on request — up to 6,000 L and to your dimensions.
• Heating. Steam or electric heating elements, depending on the energy source available. For example, the VT-600 consumes up to 70 kg of steam per hour; the electrically heated version draws 24 kW.
• Options. Lids with gas struts, manual curd harps, an automatic agitator, multi-section vats with partitions and a press.

Curd vat prices start from €4,900.

Pressing: UPT, press trolley or bags

The UPT curd pressing unit (Mitrofanov drum) presses and cools the tvorog at the same time: bags of curd mass are loaded into a tubular drum that rotates slowly, the whey drains off, and ice water (+1…+3 °C) cools the tvorog from +25…+30 to +14 °C in 1–3 hours. Standard models are UPT-300, UPT-400 and UPT-600 for 300, 400 and 600 kg of curd mass. Price — from €5,400.

A press trolley is simpler: bags are laid on removable grids, the whey drains through an outlet valve, and the tvorog is wheeled on the trolley into the cold room. It suits small batches, while on an industrial line pressing and cooling are done in the UPT — with no manual handling of bags.

Lines by production volume

• Curd workshop for 300–600 L of milk per shift: VDP-350 or VDP-630, VT-300 or VT-600 curd vat and UPT-300. Full scope on the page "Curd workshop for 300–600 L".
• Industrial line for 1,250–3,000 L: VDP-1000 or a tubular pasteurizer, VT-1250…3000 vats, UPT-400 or UPT-600 units, an MTV screw mixer and pumps. Full scope on the page "Tvorog production line for 1,250–3,000 L".

Vats and pressing units are often bought for an operating plant: they can be integrated into an existing line. We supply equipment for installation in your premises or in a modular sandwich-panel workshop. Complete set price — from €11,200.

Where the equipment is already in operation

• UPT-800 unit — a dairy plant in the Moscow Region, 2023.
• UPT-400 — a dairy plant on Sakhalin, 2022.
• VT-2000 curd vat — a production facility in the Ulyanovsk Region.
• VT-1500 — Primorsky Krai, 2021; VT-1250 — Khabarovsk Krai, 2020.
• VT-600 vat and UPT-300 — the curd section of a family farm in the Samara Region.

Tell us how much milk per shift you plan to process into tvorog and which products you want to make — our dairy process engineer will specify the line, and we will send a quotation within one business day. All equipment for this area is in the section "Equipment for tvorog and cultured dairy products".