INVESTIGATION OF THE PROCESSES OF VACUUM DRYING OF COTTAGE CHEESE

The purpose of this work is to study the effect of the initial mass fraction of moisture in cottage cheese on the nature of the vacuum drying process and the quality indicators of dry cottage cheese. This article presents the results of a study of the processes of vacuum drying of cottage cheese. Using mathematical modeling, an equation was obtained that allows determining the drying time depending on the mass fraction of moisture in the raw cottage cheese. It was found that with an increase in the moisture content of the raw cottage cheese, the drying rate and duration of the process increase. The initial mass fraction of moisture in cottage cheese does not affect the quality characteristics of dry cottage cheese. The quality characteristics of dry cottage cheese are affected by the vacuum drying mode. To shorten the vacuum drying process, cottage cheese with a lower initial mass fraction of moisture can be used. With a decrease in the total moisture content of cottage cheese due to surface moisture and wetting moisture, the drying time changes by 3,6 minutes per 1% of the removed moisture. In dry cottage cheese, the mass fractions of moisture and dry matter were controlled. The results of the studies showed that the moisture content of dry cottage cheese, regardless of the initial content, is equal to (4,2–4,4) %.