Seasonal variations in the functional performance of industrial low-moisture part-skim mozzarella over a 1.5-year period

Abstract

Seventy-five blocks of low-moisture part-skim (LMPS) Mozzarella cheese were procured from an industrial cheese plant, and the relationships between the physicochemical and functional properties were evaluated during refrigerated storage. In total, cheeses were obtained from 1 cheese vat on 7 different production dates, at two-to four monthly intervals, over a 1.5 year period; all cheeses were made using a standard recipe. The cheeses were held at 4°C for 0, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 or 32 d and assayed for composition, primary proteolysis, serum distribution, texture profile analysis, heat-induced changes in viscoelastic behavior, cheese extensibility and melt characteristics. The results demonstrated a substantial increase in serum uptake by the calcium-phosphate para-casein matrix between 1 and 16 d of storage with a concomitant improvement in the functional performance of the cheese. Extending the storage time to 32 d resulted in further changes in the functional quality, concurrent with ongoing increases in protein hydration and primary proteolysis.Differences in the measured characteristics between the cheeses obtained on different sampling occasions were evident. Principal component analysis separated the cheeses based on their variance in functional performance, which was found to be correlated mainly with the calcium content of the cheese. The results indicate that the manufacturing process should be tightly controlled to minimize variation in calcium content, and enhance the quality consistency of the cheese.

Variations in the biochemical and functional properties of commercial low-moisture part-skim mozzarella during 3 months of storage at 4 °C

“…2) resulted in decreases in the mean firmness (P < 0.001), springiness (P < 0.05) and cohesiveness (P < 0.001; not shown) of the cheese. This trend differs from that reported by To et al (2020a) for commercial LMPS Mozzarella cheeses, which showed no change in the mean firmness over a 32 d storage period. As the gross compositions of cheeses from both of these studies were similar, the observed inter-study differences in cheese firmness during storage at 4 °C may reflect the longer storage time duration, and consequently the higher level of pH4.6SN in the current study, i.e., ~ 6.7 vs 5.0% total N. It is well known that the firmness of Mozzarella and other cheeses correlates inversely with the degree of primary proteolysis (Creamer, Zoerb, Olson & Richardson, 1982;Feeney et al, 2001;Guinee et al, 2001).…”

“…This trend is analogous to that reported by O'Mahony, McSweeney & Lucey (2006) who found that increasing the insoluble Ca content of 4 month-old Cheddar cheese from 14 to 24 mg g -1 (by immersion of slices in buffers fortified to different concentrations of calcium chloride dehydrate) coincided with increases in firmness and fracture stress and reduction in LTmax on heating from 10 to 90 °C. The relatively minor effect of insoluble Ca on the functionality after the shorter storage periods (i.e., 14 or 56 d) concurs with findings of To et al (2020a) for commercial LMPS Mozzarella cheeses stored for 32 d at 4 °C and suggests that the weighted effects of different biochemical parameters on functionality are likely to vary with storage time.…”

“…The development of the functional properties (e.g., fluidity or extensibility) of the heated cheese during storage at 4 °C is mediated inter alia by increases by protein hydration, Ca solubilization and proteolysis (Guinee et al, 2001;McMahon & Oberg, 2017;McMahon et al, 1999). Previously, we observed significant decreases in COT and EW0 and increases in LTmax and flow of LMPS Mozzarella over a 32 d-storage period at 4 °C (To et al, 2020a). The current results (Fig.…”

“…The variability in cheese compositional parameters throughout the year was notably higher than that reported in a previous study (To et al, 2020a) in which LMPS Mozzarella cheeses were manufactured over a 1.5 year period in the same plant using a similar culture (Streptococcus thermophilus A), coagulant (EC 3.4.23.23) and production conditions to determine the effects of seasonal variation in milk composition.…”

Effects of reducing milk pH to 6.2 by CO2 injection or by addition of lactic acid on the biochemical and functional properties of commercial low-moisture part-skim mozzarella

“…Understanding the relationships between cheese composition and storage-related changes in biochemical parameters facilitates the development of cheese with the desired functional attributes after a given storage period (Smith, Hindmarsh, Carr, Golding & Reid, 2017;To et al, 2020a).…”