| Popis: |
While early attempts at determining an optimum state of milk coagulum for cutting into curd grains focused on the measurement of curd strength, the application of precision rheometry has shown that the milk coagulum has viscoelastic properties. With the advent of temperature-controlled rheometers, it has become possible to carry out rheological measurements on the milk coagulum during renneting. Research on cheesemaking commonly uses small-amplitude oscillation rheometry to measure coagulum firmness without breaking the gel, enabling the viscoelastic properties of a gel to be monitored continuously and allowing an optimum gel cutting point to be determined. Research on the measurement of coagulum firmness has proceeded in a number of directions, including the development of (1) systems for monitoring multiple samples simultaneously at laboratory level, (2) online systems for cheese vats, and (3) systems that can be integrated in a process analytical technology scheme. |
