Research Projects - Structured Matter
Curd and Dairy Microstructure and Texture Quality Control Tools
Staff: Lydia Ong, Sandra Kentish, Ray Dagastine, Sally Gras
Research Centre: Particulate Fluids Processing Centre
Collaborators: Murray Goulburn Cooperative Co. Ltd., Dairy Farmers, Warrnambool Cheese and Butter Factory Company Holdings Limited, Burra Foods Australia
Sponsors: Australian Research Council, Dairy Innovation Australia
Email contact: Lydia Ong
The microstructure of cheese is one of the major controlling factors that determine cheese texture and functional properties. Changes in the process conditions or the choice of ingredients can alter the microstructure of the curd and cheese considerably and thus the functional properties. Our research focuses on the use of advanced microscopy such as Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy and the Cryo Scanning Electron Microscope to study the microstructure of curd and cheese as shown in Fig. 1. Our research also looks at the influence of varying the process and ingredient parameters on the development of the viscoelastic and textural properties of the milk gel using rheological methods and textural analysis.
To date, we have developed methods to characterise cheese and curd microstructure under conditions relevant to manufacture by our industry partners. Further progress in the project will help Australian manufacturers to produce advanced dairy products with enhanced product consistency. This project also has the potential to provide an important tool for the quality control of dairy products.
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Fig. 1: Microstructure of cheese curd sample obtained using Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy. The scale bar is ten micrometres in length. |