Efficacy of Withania coagulans fruit extract as a coagulant for Mozzarella cheese at different coagulation temperatures from curd formation to pizza top

Abstract

Withania coagulans is a shrub that has milk‐clotting activity. Its coagulation efficiency at different concentrations and incubation temperatures was measured for Mozzarella cheese from curd formation to its application on the pizza top. Curd made at higher W. coagulans concentration (1%) has less coagulation time (1272.99 ± 96.68 s), viscosity (148.58 ± 9.25 Pa s), pH (5.89 ± 0.05), and yield (7.87 ± 0.53%) as compared to rest of samples. Increasing temperature (39°C) also decreased coagulation time (1599.19 ± 380.06 s), viscosity (146.56 ± 15.51 Pa s), pH (6.01 ± 0.17), and yield (8.87 ± 0.48%) of curd. W. coagulans at 0.2% concentration showed caseinolytic activity (78.83 ± 1.97%) very close to rennet (84.12 ± 2.3%). High W. coagulans and temperature conditions lead to the grainy texture that results in the loss of proteins, fats, and moisture from the cheese. Highest protein (21.89 ± 0.8%; 23.39 ± 2.15%), fat (17.64 ± 0.62%; 18.50 ± 0.32%), and moisture (43.55 ± 8.01%; 50.00 ± 6.13%) were observed in Mozzarella cheese at 0.2% W. coagulans concentration and 33°C temperature, respectively. This study showed that 0.2% extract of W. coagulans can be used to clot the milk for cheese production at 33°C. Novelty impact statement The interest in plant‐based coagulant consumption has been growing because of the rennet shortage and religious matters of some vegetarian people. A plant‐based coagulant from Withania coagulans has been reported for its milk‐clotting activity, but its behavior for Mozzarella cheese production from curd formation to its application on pizza topping needs detailed study for its use on an industrial scale. In this study, W. coagulans behavior was studied during curd formation. Its caseinolytic and proteolytic activities in comparison to rennet were studied. Mozzarella cheese physicochemical and functional characteristics on pizza topping were also described in this research.

Utilization of Partially Purified Milk Clotting Protease from Ginger Rhizome in the Manufacturing of Fresh Cheese

“…Several researches on milk coagulating ability of plant proteases have been conducted. The examples of such plants include kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa) (Nicosia et al, 2022;Maskey & Karki, 2022), papaya (Carica papaya) (Rana et al, 2017;Maskey & Shrestha, 2020), pineapple (Ananas comosus) (Bahmid, 2013;Kartawiria et al, 2019), sodom apple (Calotropis procera) (Abebe & Emire, 2020;Silva et al, 2020), cardoon (Cynara cardunculus) (Gomes et al, 2019;Folgado et al, 2020), trompillo (Solanum elaeagnifolium) (Gutiérrez-Méndez et al, 2019;Nájera-Domínguez et al, 2022), doda paneer (Withania coagulans) (Khan & Masuq, 2013;Nazish et al, 2022) and anjeer (Ficus carica) (Fguiri et al, 2020;Hachana et al, 2021). In addition to milk coagulation abilities, plant proteases also contain antioxidant properties, and a high concentration of bioactive substances (Gupta et al, 2015).…”