Cow milk coagulation: process description, variation factors and evaluation methodologies. A review

Abstract

Introduction.For dairy producers who want to transform their milk, the ability of milk to coagulate is an important parameter. It makes it possible to transform milk into cheese. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the coagulation process and the techniques to measure it in order to achieve the best transformation performance. The objective of this review is to describe the milk coagulation process, the factors influencing it and the methods for measuring the coagulation of milk at lab level. Literature. The processing of milk into cheese involves three steps: coagulation, dewatering and refining. Coagulation is a key step which involves the use of rennet and depends on several parameters (pH, calcium content, temperature, etc.). Some milks never coagulate. To measure the coagulation ability of milk and identify different parameters in milk coagulation properties, the Formagraph, the computerized renneting meter and the Optigraph have been developed (reference methods). Equations have been developed using infrared spectrometry to predict the parameters obtained by the reference methods. Conclusions. The milk coagulation mechanism is known. However, the issue of non-coagulating milk persists and represents a real challenge in terms of yield. The use of infrared is a faster alternative to reference methods that measure the coagulation properties of milk, but still requires an improvement in prediction equations.

Optimization of caseinolytic and coagulating activities of Solanum tuberosum rennets for cheese making

“…This result can be explained by the frequency of collisions between casein micelles and rennet previously described by Janhøj 36 . Previous studies also reported these three factors as significant in milk‐clotting activity 2,37 . Milk‐clotting activity and caseinolytic activity are closely related to each other 38 .…”

“…36 Previous studies also reported these three factors as significant in milk-clotting activity. 2,37 Milk-clotting activity and caseinolytic activity are closely related to each other. 38 The contributions of the three independent variables were relevant to explaining the responses obtained but the effects of pH and T were the main factors that influenced CA and MCA at the EC values assessed.…”

“…The transformation of milk into cheese involves three main steps: coagulation, dewatering, and refining. Milk coagulation, the first step, can be carried out either by acidification of the milk (acid coagulation) or by the action of an enzyme (enzymatic coagulation) 2 . The enzymatic coagulation process of milk involves the hydrolysis of the κ ‐casein subunit and leads to the destabilization of the casein micelles 3 …”

“…Milk coagulation, the first step, can be carried out either by acidification of the milk (acid coagulation) or by the action of an enzyme (enzymatic coagulation). 2 The enzymatic coagulation process of milk involves the hydrolysis of the κ-casein subunit and leads to the destabilization of the casein micelles. 3 The most common enzyme used for milk coagulation is calf chymosin (EC 3.4.23.4).…”

Cheese Whey Milk Adulteration Determination Using Casein Glycomacropeptide as an Indicator by HPLC

“…The curd obtained is highly mineralized, compact, flexible, contractile, elastic, and waterproof. Other available coagulants from animal, plant, or microbial sources are used less frequently, due to changes in the manufacturing method, costs, and finished product [ 7 ]. In Colombia, the dairy industry mainly uses enzymatic coagulation (chymosin).…”