Effect of milk coagulation properties of herd bulk milks on yield and composition of Emmental cheese

The effect of milk coagulation properties of herd bulk milks on cheese yiel d, and on composition of cheese and cheese whey was estimated using milks t hat were collected from two herd groups each consisting of 4 herds. The her d groups differed from one another in milk coagulation properties. Frequenc ies of alpha(s1)-casein C allele, beta-casein A(1) and B alleles, and kappa -casein B allele; proportion of Finnish Friesian cows in a herd; and concen trations of kappa-casein, alpha-lactalbumin, and beta-lactoglobulin were hi gher for the group with good milk coagulation properties than for that with poor properties. Two Emmental cheeses were made of milk of each group, and about 740 1 of milk was used to produce one cheese. On average 2 kg more c heese was obtained from milk with good coagulation properties than from mil k with poor properties. The dry matter content of the cheeses was higher, a nd the fat and casein contents in the cheese whey were lower for the well-c oagulating than for the poorly coagulating milk. These observations suggest that improvement of coagulation properties of herd bulk milk would improve the efficiency of cheese-making.