RHEOLOGICAL AND TEXTURAL BEHAVIOR OF DOUBLE CREAM CHEESE .1. EFFECT OF CURD HOMOGENIZATION

Double cream cheese was made by classical cheesemaking and different p roducts were obtained by varying the curd homogenization pressure (0, 5, 10, 20, 30 and 50 MPa). Rheological and textural behaviour of chees es were estimated by determining flow curves, viscoelastic parameters G' and G'' (dynamic testing) and extrusion shear stress (capillary ext rusion). Flow curve results were not reliable because the majority of cheeses were 'brittle' and product destructuration was observed during sampling. Extrusion shear stress increased with the homogenization pr essure, and a pressure of around 20 MPa seems to be a value which dete rmines the borderline between two cheese structures. Storage modulus ( G) increased and loss modulus (G'') decreased with the pressure. This, with extrusion results, indicates that fat re-emulsification leads to a product better organized and thus more elastic because of more inte ractions between particles. Emphasis was placed on the importance of t he upstream steps in the manufacturing process, especially on the fat phase destabilization.