Homogenization, of cheese

Prior to cheesemaking, milk is generally clarified and may or may not be homogenized or pasteurized, depending on the type of cheese. The first step in the actual cheesemaking process is the formation of the... 

The use of homogenized milk for cheesemaking has been reviewed by Peters (1964). The advantages of homogenized milk in the manufacture and ripening of cheese are (1) lower fat losses in whey and therefore a higher yield, (2) reduced fat leakage of cheese at room temperatures, and (3) increased rate of fat hydrolysis and, therefore, desired flavor production in blue cheese. 

A higher yield of cheese is obtained when homogenized milk is used for cheesemaking. This is due to increased fat and moisture retention of the curd. However, the fat in the whey cannot be recovered by centrifugal processes because of the failure of homogenized fat globules to cluster. 

The same derivatization was applied to the HPLC determination of STR and DHS in milk. The comparison of HPLC and ELISA methods was also performed for DIHS. After removal of fat by extracting a milk sample with oxalic acid and centrifuging, proteins were precipitated with TCA. The supernatant was treated by SPE on a Cl8 column. The cartridge was washed with water, and the analytes were eluted with ion-pair in MeCN. The eluate was reconcentrated by evaporating and dissolving in water. Postcolumn reaction took place at 65°C. Recoveries were dependent on the concentration level and the batch of SPE columns used, and independent of the fat content and homogenization. The sample cleanup was not sufficient for the analysis of cheese. The DIHS concentrations of incurred samples determined by ELISA were higher than those obtained by the LC method (107). 

These approaches have been reviewed extensively (Jameson, 1990 Ardo, 1997 Fenelon and Guinee, 1997 Fenelon, 2000). Various recommendations for the manufacture of reduced-fat cheeses with improved sensory and textural properties (Mistry et al., 1996 Johnson et al., 1998), (e.g., half-fat Cheddar prepared by homogenization of cream used to standardize the cheese milk) (Nair et al., 2000) the combined effects of increases in milk pasteurization temperature and pH at curd milling, and the use of selected starters and starter culture adjuncts (Guinee et al., 1999 Fenelon et al., 2002) ... 

Table 11.2. Effect of Homogenization or Microfluidization of Milk, or Cream, on the Composition of Cheese... 

Discrepancies between the above studies vis-a-vis the effects of homogenization on the textural and rheological characteristics of cheese may be due to differences in homogenization conditions, assay conditions, age of cheese, and fat content. 

Metzger, L.E., Mistry, V.V. 1994. A new approach using homogenization of cream in the manufacture of reduced-fat Cheddar cheese. 1. Manufacture, composition and yield. J. Dairy Sci. 77, 3506-3515. 

Figure 3 Time course of protein hydrolysis in the ripening of soft Italian cheese. SDS-PAGE was performed under reducing conditions on defatted, homogenized cheese samples. Age of cheese (days after brine) Is given for each sample lane. M, molecular mass markers (two different sets).

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