Cheese Yield Performance of Fermentation-Produced Chymosin and Other Milk Coagulants

Abstract

Fat recovery, protein recovery, and cheese yield performance of a fermentation-produced chymosin was compared with other commonly used milk coagulants. In trial 1, performance of fermentation-produced chymosin was compared with proteases from Mucor miehei and Mucor pusillus. In trial 2, fermentation-produced chymosin was compared with calf rennet and adult bovine pepsin. In each trial, three vats of Cheddar cheese were made simultaneously from the same milk, using the same starter culture, with the three different coagulants. This was replicated 12 times in trial 1 and 9 times in trial 2. Generally, higher fat and protein losses in the whey were observed for proteases from Mucor miehei and Mucor pusillus than for fermentation-produced chymosin or calf rennet. Adult bovine pepsin had higher fat losses in the whey, but not higher protein losses in the whey, than fermentation-produced chymosin or calf rennet. In trial 1, fermentation-produced chymosin had a higher cheese yield efficiency than proteases from Mucor miehei and Mucor pusillus (.54 and .74%, respectively) with a protected least significant difference of .34%. In trial 2, fermentation-produced chymosin (100% chymosin) and calf rennet (94% chymosin) had virtually identical cheese yield efficiencies, but adult bovine pepsin had a lower (.39%) cheese yield efficiency with a protected least significant difference of .27%.