The spontaneous draining phase takes place without any mechanical assistance. The cheeses are left to drain naturally until the following morning, when they will have lost approximately 80% of their volume in the form of whey (milk serum).
During the draining process the moulds are manually turned twice in order to encourage the elimination of the whey.
The drained whey is not lost – it is collected and sent to the methanizer. Through a process of biological fermentation, it produces a gas which is used to fuel the dairy’s boiler unit.
On the third day, the texture of the cheese is sufficiently solid to allow the cheeses to be unmoulded and placed on grills. The cheeses are then sent off to a refrigerated “drying” room where the surface of the cheese is dried. This stage enables the cheeses to lose even more water.