Effect of Homogenization Treatment of Raw Milk on the Rheological Properties of Gouda Type Cheese during the Ripening Period

Abstract

The effects of homogenization treatment of raw milk on the physical properties of the produced Gouda-type cheeses were determined using rheological techniques. In this study, cheese samples were produced using well-controlled raw milk and production methods with and without the homogenization of raw milk. The fracture strength and frequency dependence of the dynamic modulus of the cheese samples were measured immediately after production until eight weeks of ripening. Both the fracture strength and modulus were lower immediately after production in samples homogenized than in samples with no homogenization. The rheological properties of the cheese samples varied throughout the ripening period, but especially around the 10th day of ripening, they showed irregular changes, suggesting that some changes occurred in the microstructure of the cheese during this period. These results suggests that the homogenization treatment of raw milk caused some changes in the structure of casein micelles and their network structures.