RHEOLOGICAL BEHAVIOR OF FROZEN AND THAWED LOW-MOISTURE, PART-SKIM MOZZARELLA CHEESE

Stress relaxation and dynamic profiles of low-moisture, part-skim (LMPS) Mozzarella cheese cylinders refrigerated 14 days (control), frozen and thawed, and stored frozen and refrigerated up to 90 days were compared. Samples were frozen at - 30-degrees-C and stored at - 20-degrees-C. Thawing and refrigerated storage were at 5-degrees-C. Stress relaxation tests were conducted at 20-degrees-C and dynamic spectrometry at 20-degrees-C and 60-degrees-C. The frozen and thawed Mozzarella cheese tested at 20-degrees-C became harder and more elastic with storage time, while refrigerated stored samples became Softer and more elasticoviscous with time. Upon melting, both 90-day-frozen and 90-day-refrigerated cheeses were less elastic and less viscous than 14-day-refrigerated samples.