Influence of Curd Firmness at Cutting on Yield and Recovery of Milk Constituents

Stirred-curd Cheddar cheese was made from 460-Iiter and 2400-liter lots of milk where curd strength at cutting was varied between two firmnesses. Curd rigidity was measured with a device that subjects the gel to oscillatory deformation. Curd firmnesses were selected to encompass the range in commercial operations. With the larger lots of milk, high curd rigidity at cutting increased yield of cheese per unit of milk fat and increased retention of milk fat and casein in 11 lots of cheese made over 9 mo from milk of normal compositional quality. No effects on cheese yield and milk constituent recovery were significant with the smaller lots of milk processed during May when cheese yields and milk constituent concentration were low. Moisture content of cheese was not affected by curd firmness in either series of experiments.