A continuous process for preparing low moisture filata cheese directly from cheese curd includes the following steps: (a) providing a jacketed kneading chamber with a hollow interior, with the chamber having inlet and outlet openings and a pair of hollow auger members rotatably mounted therein between the inlet and outlet openings (b) passing a heated fluid through the jacket of the kneading chamber and through the hollow auger members (c) supplying cheese curd with no additional liquid to the hollow interior of the jacketed kneading chamber via the inlet opening therein (d) rotating the pair of hollow auger members to knead and melt the cheese curd, thereby producing a low moisture filata cheese while transporting the low moisture filata cheese from the inlet opening to the outlet opening of the jacketed kneading chamber (e) removing the low moisture filata cheese from the jacketed kneading chamber via the outlet opening.
