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Alternatives to pilot plant experiments in cheese‐ripening studies
Author(s) -
Fox Patrick F,
McSweeney Paul L H,
Madkor Sabry A,
Farkye Nana Y
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
international journal of dairy technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.061
H-Index - 53
eISSN - 1471-0307
pISSN - 1364-727X
DOI - 10.1046/j.1364-727x.2001.00025.x
Subject(s) - ripening , cheesemaking , cheese ripening , pilot plant , dairy industry , food science , microbiology and biotechnology , environmental science , engineering , biology , waste management
Experimental studies on cheese have several objectives, from assessing the influence of the microflora and enzymes indigenous to milk to evaluating starters and adjuncts. Several studies have been undertaken to evaluate the influence of an individual ripening agent in the complex environment of cheese. Cheesemaking experiments, even on a pilot scale, are expensive and time‐consuming, and when controlled bacteriological conditions are needed, pilot plant experiments are difficult to perform. Cheese curd slurries are simple models that can be prepared under sterile conditions in the laboratory and can be used as an intermediate between test tubes and cheese trials, but probably cannot replace the latter. Miniature model cheeses are similar to pilot plant cheeses and can be manufactured under sterile conditions. Several approaches to assess the role of cheese‐ripening agents are reviewed in this paper.