Cheese defects and prevention - Essay Example

Cheese Cheese is a dairy product. It is very nutritious and widely used all over the world. It comes in different types as production from one country to another varies. However, just like any other product produced in a factory, it is prone to various defects which affect its texture, taste and appearance. Moreover, these defects can be avoided when the actual causes are known. This is because the root cause of a problem can be used to generate a solution to that problem. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to identify the various if not all defects of cheese, the causes of the defects and the remedial measures (Jones 2003).

The first defect is known as corky. It is a defect that is characterized by being dry and hard. Dryness is as a result of low moisture and hardness may be attributed to low fat content in the cheese. The hardness produces very strong resistance against the tier during penetration. These defects are as a result of various causes. They can arise in the development stage where there is lack of acid. Additionally, the defects can be caused by presence of high salt content in the moisture phase of production and use of excessive calcium chloride which negatively affects the quality of the cheese.

More so, studies have indicated that lack of adequate coagulants in production leads to the defects. On the contrary, the defects can be avoided or eliminated by following the standard procedures in cheese making very accurately. The cheese making process should be thoroughly assessed to ensure that the recommended procedures are followed to latter in order to produce high quality cheese (Britz 2008).Crumbly is another defect found in cheese. It is characterized by the tendency of falling apart when sliced.

It also appears to be dry but not as compared to corky cheese. This defect seems to occur in an aging cheese, for instance when it is ten months old but in this respect is is termed as a friable body cheese. Crumbliness of cheese arises as a result of the level of acid produced exceeds the desired level during the cheese making process. It may also occur as a result of the cheese retaining very low moisture content hence the defect. This defect can be avoided by ensuring that the level of moisture produced is maintained as well as the level of acid development.

Another remedy is to avoid ripening at very high temperatures (Lawrence 1987).Other defects of cheese include curdy, pasty and softness or weak cheese. The curdy defect of cheese is caused by lack of adequate curing in cheese. This defect can be solved by optimizing the ripening temperature and time. On the other hand, pasty cheese is a defect caused retention of very high moisture by the curd. It is also characterized by very high levels of acid development in the production process (Singh 2001).

However, just like the other defects, this defect has a remedy which is ensuring there is control of the acid development while observing time and temperature. Lastly, cheese may be defective when it is very soft and weak. The weakness of cheese is caused by high fat content, high moisture and failure to develop during its preparation and more so availability of low salt in the moisture phase of the cheese making process. Non-defective cheese can be achieved by ensuring that the fat content in the cheese is standard as well as cooking curd to the recommended firmness and above all avoid pilling of curd slabs too high or low when cheddaring curd (Etingoff 2014).

In conclusion, cheese is a dairy product that is prone to defects if the recommend procedures or attributes in the production process are not followed strictly. However the defects have a remedy. The remedy is to follow standard procedures in order to achieve high quality cheese.Work CitedJones, Carol. Cheese. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2003. Print. Etingoff, Kim. Dairy Products. 1st ed. Broomall, Pa.: Mason Crest Publishers, 2014. Print. Britz, T. J, and R. K Robinson. Advanced Dairy Science And Technology.

Oxford, UK: Blackwell Pub., 2008. Print. Lawrence, RC, LK Creamer, and J Gilles. Texture Development During Cheese Ripening. Journal of Dairy Science 70.8 (1987): 1748--1760. Print. Singh, Harjinder, and Algane Waungana. Influence Of Heat Treatment Of Milk On Cheesemaking Properties. International Dairy Journal 11.4 (2001): 543--551. Print.