The transformation of milk into yogurt and cheese is an ancestral process established to make milk durable that has become popular with a variety of cheese and yogurts invented every year. Current global demand is constantly increasing, requiring the development of new product types and keeping quality at a high level. Product development is under pressure to provide new recipes in a short time. Food scientists and cheesemakers use numerous additives, such as starters, rennets, and proteins, which have a significant impact on the final product properties. In addition, as a natural product, the quality of milk may change with feeding, storage, and origin conditions.
The transformation of milk into yogurt and cheese is an ancestral process established to make milk durable that has become popular with a variety of cheese and yogurts invented every year. Current global demand is constantly increasing, requiring the development of new product types and keeping quality at a high level. Product development is under pressure to provide new recipes in a short time. Food scientists and cheesemakers use numerous additives, such as starters, rennets, and proteins, which have a significant impact on the final product properties. In addition, as a natural product, the quality of milk may change with feeding, storage, and origin conditions.
For the validation of a new recipe, many tests must be performed. Specific parameters, such as gelation time, gel strength, and flocculation time help to improve the quality and yield of the product. Thus, the need for innovative and straightforward methods to characterize milk gel formation is high. Formulaction, a leading company in non-destructive optical characterization, proposes a new and innovative method to study in real time the formation of yogurt and cheese.
In the frame of a virtual workshop on March 1st, 2022, four presentations by dairy specialists, will provide detailed information about dairy product manufacturing and characterization.
Roland Ramsch (Product Specialist, Formulaction, France) – Introduction to Formulaction and its solution for dairy product characterization. A focus on set-type yogurts analysis using a correlation of RHEOLASER MASTR results and sensorial panel tests.
Hélène Tormo (Professor, INP Purpan, France) – Prof. Tormo is working in a research group based on dairy products and associated food systems. The focus of her work is on the characterization of dairy products and evaluating the impact of milk components, such as peptides and proteins. The characterization of the new starter and rennet types helps to develop new innovative dairy products.
Rodolphe Leroux (New dairy protein and structure specialist, Ingredia, France) – On top of their high nutritional value, milk proteins provide a wide range of texturizing solutions to the food industry. Since 2015, the INGREDIA RD team is operating and conducting studies by using the RHEOLASER MASTER. This equipment allows us to measure the gelling properties of our proteins. We will share through this WORKSHOP, our experience in using the RHEOLASER MASTER to perform our scientific experiment protocols, the tests conducted, and its results.
Per Nyegaard Anderson (Senior Research Technician, Arla, Denmark) – The work related to “Characterization of coagulation properties of milk” was done in a collaboration with Aarhus University, Food Technology, and Arla Foods Amba. The goal was to find a successor to the existing multi-channel instrument ReoRox G2. To validate the RHEOLASER MASTER it was benchmarked toward fundamental rheology measurements.
Rheolaser Master uses a highly sensitive technique to monitor in real-time the formation of the milk gelation process. It is based on multiple light scattering technology, called MultiSpeckle Diffusing Wave Spectroscopy (MS-DWS). Learn more about the Technology.
Contrary to practical tests, which are time-consuming and need big volumes of milk, Rheolaser Master can analyze up to 6 different recipes at the same time, using only 20 mL. Various important parameters, such as flocculation time, gelation time, and gel strength are precisely and automatically determined. It is suitable to study milk coagulation of fresh and stored milk, to avoid problems during fabrication. Moreover, it gives valuable information on different cheese recipes (soft cheese, hard cheese, or semi-hard cheese) prepared with any milk type, such as cow, sheep, and goat milk.
Rheolaser Master is a versatile instrument, not only to study accurately flocculation and coagulation times but also to optimize reactor occupation time, cheese yield, and cheese quality. Moreover, it can be used in yogurt applications, mainly in the screening of new recipes to reduce time-to-market.
