Impact of various final ph values on the calcium equilibriium and sliceability of fresh Turkish white cheese

Cheese crumbs that occurs during cutting/portioning of white cheese causes economical losses. In this study our goals were to investigate the colloidal calcium (CC) content and the sliceability of white cheeses that were manufactured at various final (packing) pH (5,3, 5,0, 4,7) values. For this purpose, we manufactured 4 batches of cheese at different times from high heat treated milk (78°C, 8min) and monitored the chemical and textural properties at 1, 2, 4, and 8 wk. Cheeses that were packed at pH 4,7 were harder (p < 0,05) compared to cheeses that were packed at pH 5,3 ve 5,0. No correlation was observed cheese pH values and the size of the crumbs; however, there were a significant (p < 0,05) negative correlation (r = 0,63) between cheese pH and higher crumb weight (i.e. decrease in cheee pH increased the crumb weight). Cheeses packed at pH 5,3 and 5,0 exhibited increasing adhesiveness over cutting during storage. All cheese samples exhibited similar CC content and water soluble nitrogen values during storage. This study showed that increase in the packing pH of white cheese reduced the weight of crumbs occured during cutting. Also this is the first study in the literature that the CC content of Turkish white cheese was monitored.