Bread & Cheese

Kitchen # 7

Isabella Lawrence - Introduction, Materials and Methods

Quinn Cotter and Faith Lew - Results and Discussion
Kenzie Siller - Conclusion
Introduction

Milk is made up of two main proteins, casein and whey. According to the dairy
processing handbook, casein comprises about 80% of the protein in the milk while other
materials such as whey, fat and lactose make up the other 20%. Casein can be made from two
general methods, precipitation by rennet (mozzarella in this experiment) or coagulation by acid
(paneer in this experiment). In processing, precipitation by rennet is performed at 72ᐤ C for 15 to
20 seconds and coagulation by acid is performed at a pH between 4.0 to 4.8. Also in processing
the formation of casein is done with skim milk, but any combination of milk can be utilized to
make cheese with differing properties (Casein,Dairy Processing Handbook, 2018).
By using different types of milk with varying amount of fat and proteins, products with
different characteristics will be produced. According to Texture Basics, having extra fat in the
mixture for cheese will soften the product overall since it will get in the way of casein creating a
spongy texture for the product. However, having extra acid in the product will help to firm up the
cheese producing a product with a higher melting point (Texture Basics, 2018). The amount of
fat and protein in the product will also have an effect on the yield. Products with greater amounts
of fat and proteins will produce a greater yield since less water will be present.
The objective of this experiment is to observe the coagulation of cheese using two
different methods: coagulation with rennet and coagulation with acid, with varying types of milk:
goat’s milk, whole cow’s milk, and nonfat cow’s milk.

Materials and Methods

Table 1. Paneer with whole milk formula

Ingredient Percentage

Whole milk 96.72%

Fresh Lemon Juice 3.02%

Kosher Salt 0.17%

Curry Powder 0.17%

The gallon of milk was poured into a large pot and put over a burner on high heat until
the milk just began to boil. While the milk was on the heat it was stirred constantly with a rubber
spatula to prevent fouling. Once the milk was moderately boiling it was removed from the heat.
The lemon juice was poured into the pot immediately after it was removed from the heat. Next,
the mixture was stirred until the clumps of curd began to come together. Since the mixture was
still too milky it was put back over medium heat for about seven minutes. Once the curds came
together the pot was taken off the heat and it sat for ten minutes. A colander was lined with a
double layer of cheesecloth so the mixture could be poured into it. A bowl was put underneath
the colander to collect the whey and the casein was collected in the cheesecloth. As the curds
were being collected the curry powder and salt were sprinkled on top. Then the bag was twisted
to expel more of the whey. A rolling pin was placed over the top of a pot and the cloth was tied
onto the rolling pin to sit for two hours. Finally, the whey and casein were weighed and the
weights were recorded.

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Results

Table 2. Mozzarella Percent Yields

Group # Type of Cheese Milk Initial Cheese Curd Whey Percent Yield
Weight Weight Weight

1 Mozzarella Goat Milk 8.5 lbs 0.91 lbs 7.6 lbs 10.71%

2 Mozzarella Whole Milk 8.6 lbs 0.78 lbs 7.5 lbs 9.07%

4 Mozzarella ½ Whole Milk 4.2 lbs 0.87 lbs 4.2 lbs 10.36%
½ Skim Milk 4.2 lbs

6 Mozzarella Skim Milk 8.6 lbs 0.50 lbs 7.9 lbs 5.81%

Table 3. Paneer Percent Yields

Group # Type of Cheese Milk Initial Cheese Curd Whey Percent Yield
Weight Weight Weight

3 Paneer Skim Milk 8.6 lbs 0.69 lbs 7.95 lbs 8.02%

5 Paneer Whole Milk 8.6 lbs 1.4 lbs 7 lbs 16.30%

7 Paneer ½ Whole Milk 8.5 lbs 1.30 lbs 6.9 lbs 15.2%
½ Skim Milk

Table 4. Amount Fat and Protein per 1 Cup

Type of Milk Fat Content Protein Content

Goat Milk 10 g 9g

Cows Whole Milk 7.9 g 7.7 g

Cows Skim Milk 0.2 g 8.3 g

Discussion

In this experiment it was confirmed that the type of milk used influenced the yield of
cheese curd. As seen in table 3 the panneer made with whole milk as well as ½ whole ½ skim
milk yielded the most cheese curds compared to that of only skim milk. Looking at the percent
yields of all three paneer cheeses, the whole milk -- the richest in fat content -- had a 16.3% yield
of cheese curds. This is double the percent yield of the skim milk, which had the lowest fat
content. When milk is curdled with the addition of acid or a coagulant, casein micelles begin to
aggregate forming a network that entraps some of the water and most of the milk fat. Fat
globules are held within that protein network. Regardless of fat content, each milk type has a
similar amount of protein. However, the increased fat interacts with protein in the milk causing

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more aggregation with more fat molecules. That is why the highest fat milk yielded the highest
amount of cheese curds in both the paneer and mozzarella cheeses therefor, there is a positive
correlation between the yield of cheese and fat content of the milk.

The mozzarella had similar results to the goat’s milk which produced the largest amount
of cheese curds and had the highest fat content at 10 grams per one cup. It looks as though there
was an experimental error in the whole milk and partial whole milk/skim milk cheeses. The data
shows that the whole milk cheese produced approximately 1% less weighted cheese curds than
the half and half cheese. In theory, the whole milk with a fat content of 7.9 grams per one cup of
milk would produce more curds than the mixed fat content cheese. But, due to human errors,
there was variation in the execution of the cheese.

When looking at the different mozzarella cheeses we noticed that the type of milk used
altered the consistency of the cheese. The mozzarella cheese that was made with goat’s milk
tended to fall apart very easily, unable to stretch and form a ball-like shape. This could be due to
the higher fat content in the goat’s milk which influences moisture retention in the curds as well
as giving curds the ability to carry soluble content like whey proteins. Concluding that the higher
fat content led to a higher moisture content which made the curds unable to stick together.
Unlike the goat’s milk the mozzarella made with skim milk was very firm due to a much lower
fat content thus a decrease in the level of moisture. Overall the mozzarella cheese made with
whole milk turned out the best due to it having an optimum protein to fat ratio.

As for the paneer cheese we found similar results. The paneer made with whole milk was
soft and crumbly due to its optimum protein to fat ratio, while the paneer made with skim milk
was more firm. Once again, this is due to the low amount of fat present in the milk in which
decreased the amount of moisture held in the protein complex.

Conclusion

Overall, this lab demonstrated that higher fat milk produces a greater cheese yield and
better texture. Skim milks had the lowest percent yield of cheese curds in both paneer and
mozzarella type cheeses, while the fattiest milks, goat and whole, produced the greatest amount
of curds. This lab also demonstrated how different types of coagulating agents, rennet versus
lemon juice, result in very different cheese styles. Rennet produced a chewy, stretchy, and
cohesive balls mozzarella while lemon juice produced a crumbly paneer.

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References

2018. Casein, Dairy Processing Handbook Chapter 20. Tetrapack. Retrieved from

http://dairyprocessinghandbook.com/chapter/casein.

2014. Publishing Series in Food Science, Technology and Nutrition. Retrieved from

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9781845690601500089

2018. Texture Basics. Cheese Science Toolkit. Retrieved from

https://www.cheesescience.org/cheesetexturebasics.html.