COMPARATIVE APPRAISAL OF THE QUALITY OF MOZZARELLA CHEESE AS AFFECTED BY THE SALTING METHODS
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Date
2016
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
AAU, Anand
Abstract
Salting is an essential step in the manufacture of Mozzarella cheese. The mode
of salting method adopted and the final salt content in Mozzarella cheese exerts
significant influence on the quality characteristics of Mozzarella cheese made by
direct acidification technique. Each method of salting of cheese has its own
advantages and disadvantages. The effect of four different methods of salting, with
varying salting conditions, on the per cent yield, composition, textural characteristics,
baking characteristics, sensory quality of unmelted cheese and the suitability of
resultant Mozzarella cheeses (Pizza category) as a topping on pizza pie were studied.
The study was undertaken in five different phases to assess the influence of
salting methods on the quality characteristics of Mozzarella cheese. The phase wise
research work was as follows: Phase–I: Influence of dry salting (pre-plasticizing) at
levels of 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0 per cent w/w of cheese curd, Phase-II: Influence of dry
salting (post-plasticizing) at levels of 0.75, 1.00 and 1.25 per cent w/w of cheese curd,
Phase-III: Influence of hot (85±2°C) brine salting with strengths of 3.0, 3.5 and 4.0
per cent w/v of moulding water, Phase-IV: Influence of cold (7oC) brining (20.0 per
cent NaCl brine containing 0.05 per cent CaCl2, pH adjusted to 5.1) with a dipping
period of 1.15, 1.45 and 2.15 hours, and Phase-V: Comparison of cheeses made using
four salting methods with optimized conditions as arrived at in each Phase (I to IV) of
study.
The findings of Phase-I revealed that dry salting (pre-plasticizing) of cheese
at three levels (i.e. 2.0, 2.5, 3.0 per cent) had a significant influence on the chemical
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composition of cheese. The cheese made using 2.0 per cent dry salt could only
conform to the FSSA requirement for moisture. All the three cheeses satisfied the
requirement for Fat on dry matter (FDM) prescribed by FSSA. Use of dry salting
using 2.0 per cent NaCl was found to be advantageous in terms of hardness as well as
baking qualities. All the textural parameters for cheeses made using 2.0 and 2.5 per
cent salt were at par with each other. The cheese made using 2.0 per cent salt had
superior shredability and had values of melting time, fat leakage and stretch which
were superior to those of cheese made using 3.0 per cent salt. The latter three
parameters were similar for cheeses made using 2.0 and 2.5 per cent dry salt. As a
topping on pizza, the cheese made using dry salting @ 2.0 per cent led to sensory
scores for appearance, melting and chewiness that was comparable to cheese made
using 2.5 per cent salt. Hence, dry salting under optimized condition (i.e. 2.0 per cent
NaCl w/w of cheese curd at pre-plasticizing stage) yielded cheese having 0.59 per
cent salt content and conformed to FSSA requirements. Such optimized salting
condition was selected for Mozzarella cheese making in Phase-V for comparison with
cheeses made using other salting methods.
The results of Phase-II revealed that cheese made using 0.75per cent dry salt
(post-plasticizing) had the maximum value of ash and least value of moisture and pH.
All the cheeses conformed to FSSA requirements for moisture and FDM. The cheese
salted using 0.75 per cent salt showed significantly higher value of hardness,
springiness and chewiness as compared to cheeses made using 1.00 and 1.25 per cent
levels. The cheese prepared using 0.75 per cent salt possessed ‘good’ shredability and
had moderate meltability. The cheese salted using 0.75 per cent salt had the maximum
flavour score judged as pizza topping. Hence, dry salting under optimized condition
(i.e. 0.75 per cent NaCl w/w of cheese curd, added at post-plasticizing stage) yielded
cheese having 0.56 per cent salt content and conformed to FSSA requirements. Such
optimized salting condition was selected for Mozzarella cheese making in Phase-V.
The findings of Phase-III indicated superiority in cheese yield obtained using
hot brine salting using 3.5 and 4.0 per cent NaCl, w/v of moulding water as compared
to use of 3.0 per cent strength. Cheese prepared using 3.5 per cent strength was
associated with maximum fat content. The cheese prepared using 3.5 per cent strength
was associated with the highest value of hardness, gumminess and chewiness and
least value of adhesiveness. Cheeses made using hot brine, irrespective of the brine
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strength, exhibited ‘fair’ shredability. The cheese prepared using 3.5 per cent strength
had maximum meltability and moderate stretch, but exhibited higher fat leakage as
compared to cheese made using 3.0 per cent strength. The cheese prepared using 3.5
per cent brine, judged as pizza topping, was ranked superior with regard to melting
score, but had flavour score similar to that of cheese made using 3.0 per cent brine.
Hence, hot brine salting under optimized condition (i.e. 3.5 per cent NaCl w/v of
moulding water at 85±2ºC) yielded cheese having 0.59 per cent salt content and
conformed to FSSA requirements. Such optimized salting condition was selected for
Mozzarella cheese making in Phase-V.
The cold brine salting adopted in Phase-IV resulted in cheeses having
composition that satisfied FSSA requirements. The values of textural characteristics
associated with cheese made using contact period of 1.45 h with cold brine were
intermediate as compared to brining period of 1.15 and 2.15 h. All the cheeses
prepared using cold brining had ‘excellent’ shredability. The cheese brined for 1.45 h
had superior meltability (objectively assessed) and superior score for each sensory
attribute, when judged as pizza topping, except for stringiness. Hence, cold brining
under optimized condition (i.e. dipping time of 1.45 h in cold (7ºC) 20.0 per cent
NaCl brine added with 0.05 per cent CaCl2, adjusted to pH of 5.1) yielded cheese
having 0.60 per cent salt content and conformed to FSSA requirements. Such
optimized salting condition was selected for Mozzarella cheese making in Phase-V.
In Phase-V, the optimized conditions of salting arrived at (dry salting @ 2.0
per cent pre-plasticizing; dry salting @ 0.75 per cent post-plasticizing; hot brine of 3.5
per cent strength; cold brine (20.0 per cent) dipped for 1.45 h) based on the findings
of four phases of study were used to prepare Mozzarella cheese, which were
subsequently compared with each other for their quality characteristics. The cheese
made using cold brining had significantly lower cheese yield as compared to cheeses
made using other three salting techniques. Cheese made by all the salting methods
conformed to the FSSA requirement for moisture and FDM. The cheese salted using
dry salting (pre-plasticizing) and cold brining showed maximum value for moisture
and fat content respectively. The cheeses salted using dry salting (post-plasticizing)
and cold brining techniques exhibited greater values for hardness, springiness,
gumminess and chewiness as compared to other methods. The cheese salted using
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cold brining and dry salting (pre-plasticizing) showed ‘excellent’ and ‘very good’
shredability respectively. Hot brine salting method for Mozzarella cheese is not
suitable for baking applications due to its poor shredability. The cheese made using
dry salting (post-plasticizing) showed maximum meltability and least fat leakage. The
cold brined cheese exhibited highest stretchability. The cheeses salted using dry
salting (post-plasticizing) and cold brining had superior scores for appearance,
stringiness and total sensory when judged as pizza topping. The dry salted (postplasticizing)
cheese had intermediate value for melting property. The cheeses made
using ‘cold brining’ and ‘dry salting’ methods had shelf life of 28 and 25 days
respectively when stored under refrigerated condition; such shelf life was marginally
superior to that of cheese prepared using hot brine method. Based on the findings of
this phase, use of either ‘Dry salting (post-plasticizing)’ or ‘Cold brining’ could be
adopted by the cheese industry to obtain cheese having desired baking functionalities.
Cheese made using cold brining is associated with excellent shredding quality, but
suffers from lower cheese yield. On the other hand, cheese made using dry salting
(post-plasticizing) had superior yield and melting property. The microbiological
aspects of cheeses salted using any of the above techniques were of acceptable
quality, conforming to FSSA requirements.
Acceptable quality lightly-salted Mozzarella cheese, suitable as an ingredient
for topping on pizza pie, can be obtained by adopting either of ‘Dry salting (postplasticizing)’
or ‘Cold brining’ technique. The optimized condition of salting involves
use of 0.75 per cent of salt (NaCl) added to the plasticized cheese mass in case of
‘Dry salting’ and use of brining period of 1.45 h in 20.0 per cent cold (7°C) brine
added with 0.05 per cent CaCl2 and pH adjusted to 5.1.
Description
Keywords
dairy science, dairy technology, COMPARATIVE APPRAISAL