Yield and Aging of Cheddar Cheeses Manufactured from Milks with Different Milk Serum Protein Contents

Abstract

Whey proteins in general and specifically β-lactoglobulin, α-lactalbumin, and immunoglobulins have been thought to decrease proteolysis in cheeses manufactured from concentrated retentates from ultrafiltration. The proteins found in whey are called whey proteins and are called milk serum proteins (SP) when they are in milk. The experiment included 3 treatments; low milk SP (0.18%), control (0.52%), and high milk SP (0.63%), and was replicated 3 times. The standardized milk for cheese making of the low milk SP treatment contained more casein as a percentage of true protein and more calcium as a percentage of crude protein, whereas the nonprotein nitrogen and total calcium content was not different from the control and high SP treatments. The nonprotein nitrogen and total calcium content of the milks did not differ because of the process used to remove the milk SP from skim milk. The low milk SP milk contained less free fatty acids (FFA) than the control and high milk SP treatment; however, no differences in FFA content of the cheeses was detected. Approximately 40 to 45% of the FFA found in the milk before cheese making was lost into the whey during cheese making. Decreasing the milk SP content of milk by 65% and increasing the content by 21% did not significantly influence general Cheddar cheese composition. Higher fat recovery and cheese yield were detected in the low milk SP treatment cheeses. There was more proteolysis in the low milk SP cheese and this may be due to the lower concentration of undenatured β-lactoglobulin, α-lactalbumin, and other high molecular weight SP retained in the cheeses made from milk with low milk SP content.