Use of high-pressure-treated milk for the production of reduced-fat cheese

Pasteurized (65 degreesC, 30 min), pressurized (400 MPa, 22 degreesC, 15 min) and pasteurized-pressurized milks were used for reduced-fat (approximately 32% of total solids) cheese production. Pressurization of milk increased the yield of reduced-fat cheese through an enhanced beta -lactoglobulin and moisture retention. In addition, pressurisation of pasteurized skim milk improved its coagulation properties. The cheeses made from pasteurized-pressurized and pressurized milks showed a faster rate of protein breakdown than the cheese made from pasteurized milk, that might be mainly attributed to a higher level of residual rennet. Hardness of the experimental cheeses, as determined by both the sensory panel and instrumental analyses, decreased as the moisture content and proteolytic degradation of the cheese increased (pasteurized > pressurized > pasteurized-pressurized). In general terms, pressurization of reduced-fat milk prior to cheese-making improved cheese texture and thus accounted for a higher overall acceptability, except for the cheeses made from pasteurized-pressurized milk at 60 d of ripening, whose acceptability score was adversely affected by bitterness. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.