Haley Pollock

Diana Li
NUSC 3234
11/16/16

Milk and Cheese

Introduction: Dairy is extremely important in a healthy diet. Dairy provides majority of the
most bioavailable calcium in a humans diet which is very important for human physiology.
Cows milk is the most common dairy product in the American diet and is produced by the
mammary glands of a cow during lactation after giving birth. Aside from calcium milk also
contains all the essential amino acids, carbohydrates, water, various fats, and other vitamin and
minerals a living thing needs to grow and support life. Because milk is produced to support the
growth and development of a baby calf, naturally milk is a highly nutrient dense food that
humans take advantage of and use in various other food preparations such as cheese, yogurt,
cottage cheese, sauces, soups, drinks, baked goods, etc. Cheese is a popular food product that is
also very nutrient dense and important in most human diets. The first basic steps in making any
type of cheese is denaturing milk proteins and reducing water content of the milk which
concentrates all the chemical components found in milk. This process not only gives you a much
different product than liquid milk, it also prolongs the shelf life of a dairy product by decreasing
water activity and adding some type of natural preservative such as bacteria culture, molds,
and/or organic acids. There are two types of cheeses, ripened cheeses and unripened cheeses.
Ripened cheeses often involve the use of microorganisms, enzymes, and time to ripen the cheese.
Ripening cheese decreasing water activity further, extends shelf life, develops flavor, aroma,
texture, and various other characteristics depending on the type of cheese being produced.
Unripened cheeses usually have a higher water activity thus have a shorter shelf life compared to
ripened cheeses, but they take less time to produce. Cheeses can further be used in various
recipes and techniques in cooking to make rich and delicious food products.

Methods: One large potato was peeled and diced into very small cubes and set aside. One full
leek was finely chopped, a small onion was finely chopped, and two cloves of garlic was finely
minced. The onion, leek, and garlic was put into a medium sized skillet and sauted over medium
heat with olive oil until tender. Two sauces were made in separate small saucepans. One sauce
was made by melting 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat, then adding 1 tablespoon of allpurpose flour and teaspoon of salt and cooked for 30 seconds. Then 1 cup of skim milk was
stirred into this roux and cooked over low heat until thickened. The other thick sauce was made
by melting 2 tablespoons of butter then adding 3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour and teaspoon
of salt and cooking it for 30 seconds. Then 1 cup of whole milk was stirred in and cooked until
thickened. The onion and leak mixture was split in half and added to each of the small saucepans
in equal portions. The uncooked potato was also added in equal portions to each of the
saucepans. These soups were cooked on low heat for about 7-10 minutes, or until the potato was
cooked and the soup was fairly thick. Black pepper and salt was added to taste, and the soup was
served hot.
Results:
Please see attached lab journal.
Discussion: In the first exercise various milk products were observed. These milk products
included regular pasteurized dairy products such as: whole homogenized, low-fat, skim milk,
reconstituted milk, and lactaid, and goats milk. There were other dairy products that were nontraditional and modified such as: buttermilk, evaporated, and sweetened condensed. Finally,
there were nondairy milk substitutes such as: soy milk, rice milk, almond milk, cashew milk, and
almond/coconut milk. The flavors of these milks were all very different, some were alike such as
the regular dairy products. Except the lactaid milk was much sweeter tasting than the regular
milks with lactose in them. This can be explained by the lactose being broken down by lactase
enzymes in the lactaid milk thus this milk contained galactose and glucose monosaccharide

molecules instead of the lactose disaccharide molecule. Glucose is a much sweeter molecule than
lactose, thus lactaid is sweeter tasting than lactose containing milk. The goats milk had its own
unique flavor which was somewhat gamey tasting yet it was very smooth and creamy. The higher
fat milks were much richer in flavor because of their higher fat content compared to the lower fat
milks such as skim and 2%. The modified milk flavors varied the most such as buttermilk which
is a cultured milk and was very tangy, sour and tasted a lot like very thin yogurt. This is because
a bacteria is added to pasteurized milk which feeds off the sugars found in the milk and converts
them to organic acids such as lactic acid, thus the buttermilk is sour tasting from the hydrogen
ions. (1) The evaporated milk was sweet, salty, and also had a nutty flavor. This could be because
the milk became much more concentrated and had a lower water content since it was evaporated.
The nutty flavor could be explained by the caramelizing of some of the sugars during the
evaporation process of the milk. The sweetened condensed milk was extremely sweet and almost
tasted like a frosting. This is because the sweetened condensed milk has sugar added to it. Finally
the diary substitute milks tasted much more refreshing, watery, and less creamy than the real
dairy milks. Ultimately, these dairy substitutes have less saturated fat than regular dairy milks.
(2) Because dairy milks have higher saturated fat, this fat tends to coat the tongue and mouth
thus have a creamier mouthfeel which most people enjoy. (2) In saying this, the fat content is the
reason for the big difference in flavor. Usually the only reason these milk substitutes are as
creamy as they taste is because there are emulsifiers such as carrageenan or gums added to the
milk to thicken them slightly and keep the milk emulsified. Regular dairy milk contains its own
emulsifiers and have higher fat content so these emulsifiers do not need to be added in as they
are already naturally present.
In the next exercise various white sauces were made. These sauces varied in thickness
and amount of ingredients used. The thicker sauces had a higher flour and butter content as well

as whole milk instead of skim milk which contains more fat. The thinner sauces had less butter
and flour and used skim milk which contains less fat. The thicker the sauce, the thicker the final
product in which you add the sauce to. The thicker sauces contained more flour because flour is
the thickening ingredient because of gluten. The more flour, the more gluten there is to form a
network in the sauce and thicken it. More butter also has to be added to thicker sauces that
contain more flour because the fat is the initial moisture that the starch absorbs and thus becomes
activated to gelatinize. (3) Another important factor in making thickened sauces is applying heat.
Heat must be applied to the butter, flour and milk mixture in order for the starch granules to
move around, bump into the molecules in the mixture, absorb the liquid, and thus gelatinize to
thicken the sauce. (3)
In exercise three the thickened sauces made in exercise two were used in making soups.
Cream of broccoli soup, a soup with no starchy vegetables was made with thin white sauce and
thick white sauce. Potato and leek soup, a soup with a starchy vegetables was also made with the
thin white sauce and thick white sauce. The leek and potato soup with the thick white sauce was
almost inedible. It had the consistency of a thick dip, and was far too thick to serve as a soup. On
the other hand, the cream of broccoli soup with the thickened white sauce was also thick but not
nearly as thick as the potato and leek soup. This could be explained by the extra starch from the
potatoes thickened the soup even more versus the soup that did not contain the starchy vegetable.
This concluded that if a soup containing a starchy vegetable is made, the thinner white sauce
should be used to make the soup to get a desired consistency. On the other hand, if a soup is
being made with a non-starchy vegetable a thicker white sauce may be acceptable to get a
desired final consistency.
Milk foams were made in exercise four with various types of dairy and nondairy
products. The dairy product with the best volume was the 35% heavy cream, both at a chilled

temperature and a warmer temperature. However, the warmer 35% heavy cream did not have any
drainage at all, compared to the chilled 35% heavy cream which had a bit of drainage of
teaspoon. However, the structure the 35% heavy cream produced was less of a foam and more of
a stiff and stable network such as whipped cream. The evaporated milk with lemon juice had a
slight volume and was bubbly like a foam after whipped for 8 minutes. The drainage was the 3rd
least out of all the milk foams. The nonfat dry milk with added water and lemon juice also was
slightly bubbly, airy, and light. However, the 18% light cream and alternative milk did not foam
at all. Milk foams are somewhat complex because of the balance of fat, protein and quality of the
milk product used. The protein in milk foams stabilize the foam whereas fat destabilizes the
foam. (4) However, a milk containing a higher fat content will produce a more stable foam at a
warmer temperature. (4) Its also a toss-up because although skim milk may be the best milk to
foam, this type of milk lacks flavor from the fat thus has a less desirable mouthfeel. (4) Milks
with added acid such as lemon juice for example, help in the foaming process because the acid
from the lemon juice slightly denatures the proteins in the milk and helps in the stability of the
foam. In conclusion, high protein and low fat containing milk products produce a better foam.
In exercise five, cheese sauces with sharp cheddar, milk cheddar, and processed cheese
was compared. Both the sharp and milk cheddar sauce had a gritty mouthfeel, was not smooth
and seemed to have separated in the cooking process. However, the processed Velveeta cheese
was very smooth and not separated at all. The proteins in the cheddar cheese sauces must have
curdled too quickly instead of denaturing slowly thus the final product was gritty and separated.
(5) Making a cheese sauce with a harder cheese such as cheddar is much harder to do, because of
the complex structure of fat, protein, and water content in this type of cheese. (5) On the other
hand, the processed cheese was much more heat stable because it is not real cheese. This type of
processed cheese has a much higher fat content compared to protein content thus, the fat will

lend itself to a more homogenies product that is smooth and emulsified. This type of cheese also
contains many other ingredients that may contribute to its heat stability and homogenies
characteristics. The cheddar cheese has a high protein content which makes it more finicky to
work with when making a sauce and applying heat. Proteins are denatured by heat much easier
whereas fat molecules can tolerate higher heat before burning, oxidizing, or breaking down. (5)
In conclusion, careful heating and care must be taken when making a cheese sauce with a nonprocessed cheese, and if this is not possible a processed cheese with a high fat content may be a
better option for producing a smooth homogenies cheese sauce.
Finally, the last exercise compared various cheeses by differences in flavor, texture, color,
and odor. These characteristics will affect how the cheese should be used in food processes. The
ripened harder cheeses contained less moisture and had stronger flavors, aromas, and had grittier
textures. On the other hand, the ripened softer cheeses were creamier and contained more
moisture. The ripened soft cheeses also had much more flavor than the un-ripened soft cheeses.
This has to do with the introduction of various microorganism in the ripened cheeses which
produce various by products that contribute to a cheeses overall flavor. (6) Harder cheeses should
usually be used as is and not used in any cooking processes. They can be enjoyed with crackers
or grated over a dish. However the softer ripened cheeses can be used in some sauces or soups
because they are creamier and will melt into heated sauces or soups much easier than a hard
ripened cheese. (6) However, the unripened cheeses have shorter shelf lives and are usually eaten
as is or used in some baking processes or desserts. For example, cream cheese is commonly
spread over a bagel but it also can be used in cheesecakes to make a rich, smooth product. These
type of cheeses are usually the main component of whichever food product they are used in
because of their rich flavor and high fat content which gives a desirable mouthfeel.

References:
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