Abstract
Kiwifruit is an interesting alternative to chymosin for milk coagulation. Although the clotting properties of actinidin (the proteolytic agent present in kiwi) have been widely investigated, little is known about the nutraceutical and organoleptic effects of kiwifruit on the characteristics of cheese. We investigated kiwifruit pulp, compared to calf rennet, in cheesemaking using sheep and buffalo milk. Although the kiwifruit extract showed a longer coagulation and syneresis time than calf rennet, it could nevertheless be exploited as a plant coagulant due to its positive effect on the nutraceutical properties. In fact, the sheep and buffalo cheese were higher in polyphenols and phytosterols than the cheese obtained using calf rennet. In addition, the nutraceutical properties were enhanced, with just a slight effect on the aroma of the cheese.
Highlights
Enzymatic milk coagulation is a key step in cheese manufacturing and involves the addition of chymosin, an aspartate proteinase that is active in the stomach of non-weaned calves [1], and which hydrolyses the link between amino acids and of the k-casein
The study was carried out on 12 cheeses obtained from fresh and pasteurized milk, according to the following procedure: three buffalo milk cheeses were made with calf rennet (BM-C); three buffalo milk cheeses were made with kiwifruit extract (BM-K); three sheep milk cheeses were made with calf rennet (SM-C); and three sheep milk cheeses were made with kiwifruit extract (SM-K)
The phytosterols we found in cheeses were stigmasterol, campesterol and β-sitosterol, which represent the most abundant sterols in kiwifruit [30]
Summary
Enzymatic milk coagulation is a key step in cheese manufacturing and involves the addition of chymosin (rennet), an aspartate proteinase that is active in the stomach of non-weaned calves [1], and which hydrolyses the link between amino acids (methionine) and (phenylalanine) of the k-casein. Proteolytic enzymes extracted from plants may be an interesting alternative to animal rennet in dairy technology. Milk-clotting enzymes have been identified in various plant species, such as Lactuca sativa [2], Albizia lebbeck, Helianthus annuus [3] and Cynara cardunculus [4]. Lo Piero et al [5] demonstrated that actinidin forms milk clots with the typical conditions used in cheese manufacturing (optimum activity at 40–42 ◦ C, mildly acidic pH values)
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