Coagulant and enzymatic coagulation in cheese technology

The aim of this article is to summarize the current state of knowledge concerning coagulating enzymes for cheese production.

Indeed, the evolution of worldwide cheese consumption has necessitated the development of increasingly specific coagulants, to meet industrial demands adapted to different markets, regulations, improved slicing qualities, cheese yields and whey quality. There are four different origins of coagulants on the market: animal, vegetable, microbial, and the most recent, FPC (Fermented Produced Chymosin), derived from fermentation using micro-organisms incorporating animal DNA.

After a presentation of the coagulants on the market and how they are produced, this article describes the main impacts of their choice and how they are used.

While the main impact of a coagulant concerns the quality of proteolysis, the choice of coagulant and coagulation parameters are decisive for the final quality of the cheese. In addition, the choice of coagulant must be carefully considered according to the type of cheese-making process.

Finally, this article describes the production-specific measuring tools used to measure coagulation, as well as possible directions for optimizing coagulation and cheese yield. It also sets out a new approach to the cheese-making process and its control.

A table of acronyms and notations is provided at the end of the article.