Journal article
Influence of Salt-to-Moisture Ratio on Starter Culture and Calcium Lactate Crystal Formation
Journal of dairy science, Vol.91(8), pp.2967-2980
08/2008
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/110712
PMID: 18650273
Abstract
The occurrence of l(+)-lactate crystals in hard cheeses continues to be an expense to the cheese industry. Salt tolerance of the starter culture and the salt-to-moisture ratio (S:M) in cheese dictate the final pH of cheese, which influences calcium lactate crystal (CLC) formation. This research investigates these interactions on the occurrence of CLC. A commercial starter was selected based on its sensitivity to salt, less than and greater than 4.0% S:M. Cheddar cheese was made by using either whole milk (3.25% protein, 3.85% fat) or whole milk supplemented with cream and ultrafiltered milk (4.50% protein, 5.30% fat). Calculated amounts of salt were added at milling (pH 5.40±0.02) to obtain cheeses with less than 3.6% and greater than 4.5% S:M. Total and soluble calcium, total lactic acid, and pH were measured and the development of CLC was monitored in cheeses. All cheeses were vacuum packaged and gas flushed with nitrogen gas and aged at 7.2°C for 15 wk. Concentration of total lactic acid in high S:M cheeses ranged from 0.73 to 0.80 g/100g of cheese, whereas that in low S:M cheeses ranged from 1.86 to 1.97 g/100g of cheese at the end of 15 wk of aging because of the salt sensitivity of the starter culture. Concentrated milk cheeses with low and high S:M exhibited a 30 to 28% increase in total calcium (1,242 and 1,239mg/100g of cheese, respectively) compared with whole milk cheeses with low and high S:M (954 and 967mg/100g of cheese, respectively) throughout aging. Soluble calcium was 41 to 35% greater in low S:M cheeses (low-salt whole milk cheese and low-salt concentrated milk cheese; 496 and 524mg/100g of cheese, respectively) compared with high S:M cheeses (high-salt whole milk cheese and high-salt concentrated milk cheese; 351 and 387mg/100g of cheese, respectively). Because of the lower pH of the low S:M cheeses, CLC were observed in low S:M cheeses. However, the greatest intensity of CLC was observed in gas-flushed cheeses made with milk containing increased protein concentration because of the increased content of calcium available for CLC formation. These results show that the occurrence of CLC is dependent on cheese milk concentration and pH of the cheese, which can be influenced by S:M and cheese microflora.
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Details
- Title
- Influence of Salt-to-Moisture Ratio on Starter Culture and Calcium Lactate Crystal Formation
- Creators
- S Agarwal - Food Science and Human Nutrition, Washington State University, Pullman 99164J.R Powers - Food Science and Human Nutrition, Washington State University, Pullman 99164B.G Swanson - Food Science and Human Nutrition, Washington State University, Pullman 99164S Chen - Biological Systems Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman 99164S Clark - Food Science and Human Nutrition, Washington State University, Pullman 99164
- Publication Details
- Journal of dairy science, Vol.91(8), pp.2967-2980
- Academic Unit
- Biological Systems Engineering, Department of; Food Science, School of
- Publisher
- Elsevier Inc
- Identifiers
- 99900547102301842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article