Study of the Changes in Cheese Making Parameters of Skim Milk with Divalent Cations Addition

The research was done in order to evaluate the effect of divalent cations (Ca²⁺ and Cd²⁺) on the cheese making parameters of skim milk, during the manufacture of a model soft cheese. Four different concentrations of both cations (0.14, 0.35, 0.88 and 2.2 mM) were added to reconstituted skim milk with 9 % (w/v) total solids, to prepare a soft »stretchable« cheese of the Mozzarella type. Both minerals increased the ionic calcium concentration in milk and whey and also influenced most of the measured cheese making parameters (decreased clotting time, increased weight of whey and improved protein recovery) and showed increasing effects at higher ion concentrations. However, the addition of either mineral did not improve the corrected and dry weight yield of the treated samples. The presented cheese making parameters showed that the effects of these chemically similar divalent cations were very similar.