A simple method for detecting an early stage in coagulation of rennetted milk

Abstract

Summary An apparatus is described which measures at 10—15 sec intervals the viscosity of rennetted milk taken from a cheese vat. The first signs of an increase in this viscosity mark what is at present the earliest measurable stage in the process of coagulation. Coagulation times so determined agreed fairly closely with the observations of a skilled cheese-maker and, for a given milk, were inversely proportional to rennet concentration over quite a wide range. Clotting times obtained by the method of Berridge (1952) for standardizing rennets came 2 or 3 min after those determined by the new method and were linearly related but not proportional to inverse rennet concentration.