Physical properties and microstructure of cream cheese.

Abstract

Some cream cheeses commercially manufactured from fresh cream, whole milk and skim milk powder were examined for quality characteristics such as general composition, physical properties and microstructure. The results obtained were summarized as follows: (1)Average yield of final products was 40Okg per 1000kg of cheese milk. (2)The mean compositions of al1 21 samples were 0.92, 55.68, 33.32, 8.55 and 1.08% in acidity, moisture, fat, protein and ash, respectively. (3)Elastic modulus and adhesiveness of the cream cheese were estirnated using 11 and 10 samples, respectively. The former averaged 15.46×106dyne/cmcm2, the latter1.21×103dyne/cmcm2, indicating that these physical properties were liable to variation compared with chemical compositions. (4)Scanning electron microscopy for examining the microstructure of these cream cheeses revealed that remarkable structural changes occurred during cheese making: A part of fat globules was contaced with casein micelle aggregates forming amorphous clumps, while residues of fat globule fragments were fused one another and produced large clusters in every place.