VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – HO CHI MINH CITY

INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY

General Biochemistry lab

EXPERIMENT 8:
CHEESE PRODUCTION FROM MILK
Group: 3
Group members:
Huỳnh Hữu Thảo Trung BTBCIU16005
Lê Thịnh Phát BTBCIU16056
Lê Thu Trang BTBCIU16019
Võ Minh Hạnh BTBCIU16083
Introduction
Cheese is a dairy product made by coagulating milk protein and separate it from the remaining
watery liquid called whey. As a result, cheese is high in fat and proteins and can be stored
longer than milk. Many variations in cheese production exists, resulting in a wide range of
cheeses with different flavor, hardness… Commercial cheesemaking involves the use of
microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, …) in different stages to induce desired color, flavor, aroma
changes. Curdling is typically done using rennet- a mixture of proteases from calf’s stomachs or
genetically engineered bacteria- or acids from plants, fruits. The curd is then mixed with
additives, pressed, and left to age in certain conditions depending on the type of cheese. In this
practical session, a simplified cheesemaking process was explored. Casein from non-UHT milk
was coagulated using acids within lemon juice to form curd, which was then separated from the
whey by filtering the coagulated milk with a cloth. The curd was pressed and cooked to remove
remaining water and flavored with sugar and salt to taste.

Result:
1 liter of non-UHT milk was used in the cheese making process. The milk was heated to 80
degrees Celsius. It was then removed from the heat and let cooled to room temperature.
Lemon juice was added for the protein to coagulate.

(Picture 1: milk curd being formed during the protein coagulation process)
The milk curd was then strained dry, microwaved, weighted and then enjoyed with a dash of
salt and sugar. The cheese extracted from 1 liter of milk was 80.95g.

(Picture 2: weighted cheese)

Discussion:
When acidic lemon juice was added, the milk protein, which was sensitive to pH, coagulated.
Hence, curd, the cloudy suspension, separated from the whey. The curd taste was mostly plain.
The whey, however, has a sour taste and a yellow color to it. The yellow came from the lipid
suspending in the liquid solution, and the sour taste came from the excess acid of the lemon
juice.