Functionality of low fat Mozzarella cheese

Low fat Mozzarella cheese was made from milks containing casein to fat ratios of 3.0, 5.0, 7.0, and 8.0. Prior to addition of rennet, milk was pasteurized at 79 degrees C for 28 s and then acidified to pH 6.0 with lactic acid. Three replicates of each cheese were made in 7-L vats and stored at 4 degrees C. Functional properties as pizza cheese were evaluated. Cheese moisture and fat contents were evaluated at 1 d. Apparent viscosity and extent of flow of melted cheese, cook color, and proteolysis were evaluated at 1, 7, 14, and 28 d. Moisture content measured by a rapid microwave oven method underestimated the moisture content of low fat cheeses; probable moisture was calculated by component analysis. The part-skim Mozzarella control with 19% fat had a moisture content of 51%; the moisture contents of the low fat cheeses containing 2 to 5% fat were 63%. Low fat cheeses did not melt as well as did the part-skim Mozzarella cheese, although the differences between the cheeses with 2 and 5% fat were insignificant. Storage for 28 d only marginally increased the meltability of low fat cheese. Lower fat content also increased cook color. The amount of intact alpha(s)-CN decreased by at least 48% in all cheeses as a result of proteolysis during 28 d of storage.