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Mozzarella Manufacturing
Traditional mozzarella manufacturing uses standardized and pasteurized milk that is cultured, coagulated, cut and cooked. After whey drainage, the curd is cheddared, or stirred while further acidity develops, and then milled.
It is then subjected to a kneading and plasticizing process in hot water, followed by hot plastic curd being molded into the desired shape and salted in chilled brine. This treatment inactivates most residual milk coagulant and reduces starter populations, decreasing the potential for proteolysis in the cheese during refrigerated storage. It also is responsible for the fibrous structure of mozzarella.
Standardising the milk fat and protein (Casein) ratio increases yield and improves consistency. The use of UF for recovery of protein from whey for addition to the cheese also aids yield.

Pasteurization temperatures

Traditional Starter Culture Process
Milk
Standardize & Pasteurize
Starter Culture addition
Renneting & Cutting
Cooking / Scalding
Whey Draining
Milling
Cooking/Stretching
Matting/Cheddaring
Moluding
Cooling
Salting/Brining
Packaging / shredding

Homogenizing cream
To decrease milkfat particle size, and thereby increase total surface area of fat. This simulates a higher fat content because of the increased surface area, resulting in a cheese with desirable full-fat attributes, such as improved mouthfeel, melt, etc.
The process requires blending skim milk with homogenized cream to a composition that will produce a pre-determined lower-fat mozzarella. Because increased fat globule surface area increases water binding, cheesemaking procedures such as cook temperature usually need to be modified.
At the Northeast Dairy Foods Research Center in Ithaca, NY, researchers use homogenized cream in the manufacture of lower-fat mozzarella not just to improve body and mouthfeel, but also to enhance whiteness. Quantitative data show a relationship between milkfat particle size within the mozzarella cheese structure and cheese whiteness. When milkfat particle size is reduced, cheese whiteness improves. Whiteness influences the consumers point-of-purchase decision for lower-fat mozzarella because of the association of whiteness with mozzarella quality and freshness. Thus, whiteness is a critical success factor in mozzarella manufacture.
In the manufacture of lower-fat mozzarella, skim milk is combined with two-stage (2,000/500 psi) homogenized 20%-fat cream. Research shows homogenized cream, lower-fat mozzarella achieves similar whiteness (i.e., Hunter L-value) to that found in low-moisture, part-skim mozzarella. A major benefit of using homogenized cream in cheese manufacture is that it is considered a process, not another ingredient, and therefore does not require any label declaration.
Furthermore, homogenization of the cream instead of the milk improves cheesemaking performance by reducing the amount of curd shattering and fines, and by reducing the amount of fat lost during the manufacturing process.
Adjusting Cutting Knife Size In the manufacture of lower-fat mozzarella, larger cutting knives, in conjunction with reduced cooking temperature and periodic agitation, result in larger curd particles. Larger curds are preferred in lower-fat mozzarella because they experience less syneresis, thus retaining more moisture in the curd during cooking. However, larger curds are more susceptible to curd shattering. Periodic, rather than continuous, agitation can reduce this problem.
Modifying Cook Temperature
Cooking temperature in the cheese vat influences moisture removal from curd during cheesemaking. Because differences in moisture content have an impact on mozzarella functionality, determining the appropriate cook temperature and maintaining it is critical in manufacturing high-quality, functional mozzarella. A higher cooking temperature produces cheese with a lower moisture content and decreases proteolysis during refrigerated storage. Differences in cooking temperature do not significantly change meltability and free-oil properties; however, apparent viscosity of melted cheese is higher with higher cooking temperature. Increased refrigerated storage time decreases hardness of unmelted cheese, increases meltability, decreases apparent viscosity and increases free-oil formation.
Varying pH
Whey pH has an effect on coagulant inactivation, which ultimately affects unmelted cheese texture. Mozzarella texture is important because of its influence on shredding properties.
As the pH of mozzarella curd and whey decreases prior to draining, more calcium is transferred from the curd into the whey. Generally, this transfer increases the cheeses moisture content, resulting in a softer cheese texture, providing all other factors are equal. Draining pH does not affect protein, fat or salt content. However, texture profile analysis, hardness, springiness and apparent viscosity are lower with lower draining pH throughout storage. Variation in draining pH may have a larger or smaller impact on cheese texture during refrigerated storage, depending on the coagulant used. The amount of coagulant inactivation resulting at different cooking temperatures (in the cheese vat prior to draining) may be different at different draining pH. In general, all coagulants become more resistant to thermal inactivation at lower pH.
An increase in cooking temperature to inactivate the coagulant and achieve a firmer cheese texture during refrigerated storage is less effective when draining pH is low. Selecting the appropriate whey draw pH and continually controlling to that point will produce mozzarella with more consistent functional characteristics. Research has shown that differences in mill pH result in differences in cheese pH that are maintained throughout refrigerated storage. Cheese pH is important because of its influence on proteolytic changes, which are considered to be the most important biochemical event during the ripening of cheese. Differences in mill pH do not significantly affect moisture, fat, protein or salt content of the cheese or the indices of proteolysis and meltability. Differences in milling pH alone do not affect TPA parameters of unmelted mozzarella. Hardness of unmelted mozzarella decreases, apparent viscosity of melted cheese decreases and free-oil formation increases. Proteolysis of casein may be the cause of the significant cheese functionality changes during efrigerated storage. The practical significance of these results is that
mill pH can probably vary over a range of 0.2 pH units without significantly affecting the chemical composition or functional properties of mozzarella cheese. (Target milling pH is 5.25.) However, because cheese pH has some influence on the growth of undesirable non-starter bacteria in cheese, it is best to keep cheese pH low and use other parameters to control the firmness and functional properties of mozzarella.
Matting/Cheddaring
In the manufacture of lower-fat mozzarella, maintaining moisture content is of utmost importance.
Slow acid development during the cheddaring step can assist in this effort. Slower acid development decreases the rate of whey expulsion, thereby retaining moisture in the curd. This can be achieved by less frequent turning during cheddaring, which keeps the curd on top cool, slowing acid development.
Cooking/Stretching
Studies have shown that stretching temperature and residence time profoundly influence aging in mozzarella. The results indicate that a difference in stretching temperature of only a few degrees within the critical range can dramatically affect cheese properties. Control of temperature and mechanical treatment of the cheese during stretching could allow cheesemakers to improve control of the composition and functionality of mozzarella cheese.
Differences in stretching temperature cause differences in the amount of coagulant that remains active in the cheese after stretching. The actual temperature attained in the cheese is a function of curd feed rate, screw speed and volume capacity of the mixer, both screw speed and barrel temperature are effective means of manipulating the process involved in the cooking and extrusion of mozzarella cheese. Low shear stresses in the stretcher-cooker seems to promote the development of a more extensive elastic network in the cheese.
The ratio of energy stored in the melt to energy dissipated as flow depends upon the process conditions used. This understanding can assist in future studies
on controlling the functional properties of mozzarella manufactured under different processing conditions.
Mixer screw speed also affects mozzarella quality and composition
A high screw speed causes tearing of the cheese curd in the screws before the curd temperature increases sufficiently to soften the curd and permit deformation and stretching under the shear force of the screws. High screw speed also produces cheese with a significantly lower moisture content, lower fat-on-a-dry-weight-basis and higher protein content, yielding cheese with a firmer texture. Such compositional changes have important implications for cheese yield.
Proteolysis is not significantly influenced by screw speed, but lower screw speed results in a greater release of free-oil from the cheese initially and throughout refrigerated storage. Differences in free-oil release are probably due to differences in characteristics of the physical dispersion of fat in the cheese.
The viscosity of melted cheese decreases and free-oil formation increases. Proteolysis of casein may be the cause of the significant cheese functionality changes during refrigerated storage.
Mill pH can vary over a range of 0.2 pH units without significantly affecting the chemical composition or functional properties of mozzarella cheese. (Target milling pH is 5.25.) However, because cheese pH has some influence on the growth of undesirable non-starter bacteria in cheese, it is best to keep cheese pH low and use other parameters to control the firmness and functional properties of mozzarella.