Effect of calcium chloride addition and draining pH on the microstructure and texture of full fat Cheddar cheese during ripening

Kevany Soodam; Lydia Ong; Ian B Powell; Sandra E Kentish; Sally L Gras

doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2015.01.135

Effect of calcium chloride addition and draining pH on the microstructure and texture of full fat Cheddar cheese during ripening

Food Chem. 2015 Aug 15:181:111-8. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2015.01.135. Epub 2015 Feb 13.

Authors

Kevany Soodam¹, Lydia Ong², Ian B Powell³, Sandra E Kentish⁴, Sally L Gras⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia; The Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia.
² Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia; The Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia; ARC Dairy Innovation Hub, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia.
³ Dairy Innovation Australia Limited, 180 Princes Highway, Werribee, Victoria 3030, Australia.
⁴ Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia; ARC Dairy Innovation Hub, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia.
⁵ Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia; The Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia; ARC Dairy Innovation Hub, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 25794728
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2015.01.135

Abstract

Calcium chloride is commonly added to cheese-milk to improve coagulum formation and to increase cheese yield but high concentrations of calcium ions can have adverse effects. In this study, confocal laser scanning microscopy and cryo-scanning electron microscopy were coupled with textural and chemical analyses to observe microstructural and biochemical changes that occur in cheese during ripening when calcium chloride is added or the draining pH altered. For the cheese prepared with no additional calcium at a draining pH of 6.0, the cheese porosity increased with ripening time and the number of protein vertices in the microscopy images declined, indicative of protein solubilisation. As the amount of CaCl2 added was increased, however, these changes became less significant. Our findings show that calcium chloride addition can be used, together with a lower draining pH, to alter the manufacturing process without significantly impacting on the quality of the mature cheese.

Keywords: Calcium chloride addition; Cheddar cheese; Cheese microstructure; Draining pH; Ripening.

Publication types

Evaluation Study
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Calcium Chloride / analysis*
Cattle
Cheese / analysis*
Food Additives / analysis*
Food Handling / methods*
Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
Milk / chemistry*

Substances

Food Additives
Calcium Chloride