INFLUENCE OF MOLECULAR MODIFICATIONS ON THE RIPENING OF FAT-SUBSTITUTED CACIOTTA CHEESE

The ripening of Caciotta cheese made from whole milk and from skim mil ls. with or without the addition of Simplesse(R) was studied. Proteoly sis, monitored electrophoretically, and protein surface hydrophobicity , monitored by a ligand-binding technique were investigated. Increased proteolysis was observed for fat-substituted cheese, and was highest in the case of partial substitution. Protein surface hydrophobicity wa s found to be connected to the presence of a fat/protein interface, an d thus was lower in the fat-substituted cheese.