Further Considerations in Formulas for Predicting Cheese Yield from the Composition of Milk

Abstract

A simpler general formula (type G) was described for predicting cheese yield from the composition of milk: yield = fat in cheese + complex of para-casein, Ca, and phosphate in cheese + salt in cheese + moisture in cheese + whey solids in cheese. The latter three were expressed as levels in cheese and multiplied by the unknown yield. Iterations of yield calculations resulted in the predicted yield, starting with an estimate of the yield.Further modifications of the general formula (types H and J) did not need iterations. Type H used moisture. Type J used moisture in the fat-free cheese. Types H and J are likely to be the preferred formulas.Yield estimates with the types G and H formulas were identical to estimates with type A and B formulas described in an earlier paper (J. Dairy Sci. 73:1365), all of which formulas used moisture. The similarity of the type A and B formulas corrects an error in the earlier paper in calculations that had shown a small difference between them. However, yield estimates from milks of varying composition remained different from those estimates with the types C and J formulas, which used moisture in the fat-free cheese.A revised method of estimating the yield coefficient for casein started with iterative calculations from the Ca and P contents of cheese and milk. This method resulted in small differences in Kc (the conversion factor of casein in milk to para-casein CaH2PO4 in cheese) and estimated yield from those in the earlier paper.