Effect of milk preacidification on low fat Mozzarella cheese: II. Chemicaland functional properties during storage

The effect of milk preacidification on cheese manufacturing, chemical prope rties, and functional properties of low fat Mozzarella cheese was determine d. Four vats of cheese were made in 1 d using no preacidification (control) , preacidification to pH 6.0 and pH 5.8 with acetic acid, and preacidificat ion to pH 5.8 with citric acid. This process was replicated four times. Mod ifications in the typical Mozzarella manufacturing procedures were necessar y to accommodate milk preacidification. The chemical composition of the che eses was similar among the treatments, except the calcium content and calci um as a percentage of protein were lower in the preacidified treatments. Du ring refrigerated storage, the chemical and functional properties of low fa t Mozzarella were affected the most by milk preacidification to pH 5.8 with citric acid. The amount of expressible serum, unmelted cheese whiteness, i nitial unmelted hardness, and initial apparent viscosity were lower with pr eacidification. The reduction in initial unmelted cheese hardness and initi al apparent viscosity in the pH 5.8 citric treatments represents an improve ment in the quality of low fat Mozzarella cheese that allows the cheese to have better pizza bake characteristics with shorter time of refrigerated st orage.