FoodNet

Experimental cookery

1932

Page 244

Presented as published in 1932. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
Effect of heating milk on acidity. When milk is heated at the boil- ing point or at temperatures above or near the boiling point the titratable acidity at first decreases owing to the loss of carbon dioxide, and then increases. Whittier and Benton report that the hydrogen-ion concentra- tion increases continuously. They find the hydrogen-ion increase and the later increase in titratable acidity is due to the formation of acids from constituents of the milk. The amount of acid produced depends upon the time and temperature of heating, a greater amount of acid being produced with a longer heating period and with higher temperatures. From their experiments they conclude that the acid is produced from the lactose of the milk. They have shown that, the greater the concentration of lactose pres- ent, the greater the amount of acid formed at a definite temperature and for a definite time. Coagulation of Milk Under certain conditions, the addition of alcohol as well as the appli- cation of heat may cause coagulation of milk. Milk may be coagulated by the addition of rennin or by bringing the acidity oi the milk to the isoelec- tric point of the casein. When milk is combined with other foods, the salt content of the food or the tannin content of the food may be factors that aid coagulation. Alcohol coagulation. The addition of 70 per cent alcohol to milk may cause coagulation. As the pH of the milk decreases, it becomes susceptible to alcohol precipitation, though this varies with different milks. Usually the milk is precipitated by alcohol while it is still stable to heat and sterilizing temperatures. Some freshly secreted milk is coagulated by alcohol, but this milk is usually abnormal in some way. About 2 cc. of alcohol are added to an equal quantity of milk for the test. Casein is precipitated by alcohol as calcium caseinate, calcium is not released as by acid coagulation. Rennet coagulation. Milk may be coagulated by the addition of rennet. Rennet is an extract that is usually obtained from the inner lining of the stomachs of calves and lambs. The rennet contains an enzyme called rennase or rennin. The clotting of the milk is generally believed to be the direct action of the rennin on the casein. But the manner in which these changes is pro- duced is not fully understood. A very small amount of rennin is capable of coagulating a large amount of milk. At favorable or optimum hydrogen- ion concentrations for clotting, 1 part of the fairly pure enzyme prepara- tion is able to coagulate 3,000,000 or more parts of milk. Mechanism of clotting. It is usually stated that the casein is changed to paracasein by the action of the rennin. It is also often stated that the 302 MILK AND CHEESE