Manufacturing Outlines and Applications of Selected Cheese Varieties 277- Reduced - fat mozzarella cheese contains
7.5% to 9.5% FDM and moisture content
of 53% to 55%. Its pH is 5.2 to 5.3 and its
salt level is 0.8% to 1.2%. - Low - fat mozzarella contains 5.5% to 9.5%
fat and 58% moisture. Its pH is 5.3 and its
salt level is 0.6% to 1.0%.
Mozzarella Cheese Process: A fl ow chart
for the process is shown in Figure 11.3. Both
the traditional culture and direct acidifi cation
processes are shown.
The traditional procedure is as follows.
Milk is standardized to a fat content of 1.6%
to 3%, depending on the fat content desired
in mozzarella cheese or its variants. After
pasteurization, milk is pumped into a vat at
31.1 ° C to 33.3 ° C (88 ° F to 92 ° F). The starter,
consisting of mesophilic culture Lactococcus
lactis subsp. lactis/cremoris, is added at the
0.1% to 0.2% level. In addition, thermophilic
culture ( Streptoccus themophilus and
Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus)
may also be used at the 0.1% level. Some
processors use yogurt culture exclusively at
the 0.5% level. When the TA increases by
0.02% in about 30 minutes, rennet
(190 ml/1,000 kg milk, diluted 10 times with
water) is added. The milk sets in about 30
minutes.
The coagulum is cut with 0.95 - cm (3/8 -
inch) or 1.27 - cm (1/2 - inch) knives. The TA of
whey should be around 0.125% at this stage.
The curd is allowed to stand undisturbed for
section discusses mozzarella, provolone, par-
mesan, and Romano cheeses further.
Mozzarella Cheese
Mozzarella and pizza cheese belong to the
pasta fi lata group, in which the curd is char-
acteristically melted, kneaded and stretched,
and molded during its manufacture. This
treatment imparts the desired melting and
stretching attributes. The variants of mozza-
rella cheese in the industry are as follows:
- Mozzarella cheese must contain minimum
milk fat of 45% (fat in dry matter basis,
FDM). The moisture content must be 52%
to 60% by weight. - Low - moisture mozzarella cheese contains
the same fat content as mozzarella cheese
(minimum milk fat content of 45% FDM);
however, the moisture content is lower
than that of mozzarella cheese (45% to
52% by weight). - Part - skim mozzarella cheese contains
lower fat content than mozzarella cheese
(30% to 45% FDM); however, the moisture
content is identical to that of mozzarella
cheese (52% to 60%). - Low - moisture, part - skim mozzarella
cheese contains the same fat content as
part - skim mozzarella cheese (30% to 45%
FDM); however, the moisture content is
identical to that of low - moisture mozza-
rella cheese (45% to 52%).
Table 11.5. Approximate composition of some Italian cheeses.
Cheese pH % Moisture % Fat % Fat in
dry matter% Protein % Salt % LactoseMozzarella, whole milk 5.2 54.1 21.6 45.1 19.4 1.8 2.2
Mozzarella, part skim 5.2 55.0 17.9 40.3 21.6 1.6 2.3
Mozzarella, low
moisture5.2 49.5 23.9 47.5 22.8 1.5 2.2
Mozzarella, part skim,
low moisture5.2 48.5 21.0 37.9 26.3 1.4 2.2
Lite mozzarella 5.2 57 10.5 24.4 15.5 1.4 2.4
Provolone 5.4 42.5 26.6 46.1 25.0 3.0 2.1
Parmesan 5.4 29.2 25.8 36.5 35.7 2.2 3.2
Romano 5.4 30.9 26.9 39.0 31.8 4.8 2.6Adapted from Kindstedt (1993) , Fox et al. (2000a) , Nath (1993)