Learning objectives
The goals of this teaching course are the following:
1) To learn cow milk production, composition and coagulation
2) To learn new and traditional technologies for drinking milk production
3) To study the meaning of the term “cheese”, and the principal technological operations that characterise two very different typologies of cheese: one hard, cooked and long ripened cheese; the other fresh and “pasta filata” cheese.
4) To reach the knowledge on the principal milk analyses.
Prerequisites
none
Course unit content
Cow milk production and composition. Milk coagulation.
Drinking milk: lessons on pasteurization, microfiltration and sterilization technologies. Differences in composition between pasteurized drinking milk and pasteurized “high quality” drinking milk. Quality composition (sero-protein content) of different typologies of pasteurized milk, UHT milk and sterilized milk.
General topics on cheese: cheese definition; notes about cheese classification; notes about PDO and GPI products. Detailed description of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheesemaking, as an example of hard, cooked, long ripened cheese. Notes about Grana Padano cheesemaking: most important differences with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Detailed description of Mozzarella di Bufala Campana cheesemaking, as an example of fresh, “pasta filata” cheese.
LABORATORY EXPERIENCES: Milk physico-chemical properties: titratable acidity, pH, density, milk skimming, stability to ethanol. Milk nitrogen fractions: proteose-peptones and their meaning, micellar structure, acid coagulation, rennet coagulation, Kjeldahl method for the determination of milk nitrogen fractions. Visit to a Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese factory (Baganzolino, PR) and to a pasteurized drinking milk factory (Caseificio Val Ceno – Varsi, PR).
Full programme
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Bibliography
Salvadori Del Prato (2001). Trattato di Tecnologia Casearia. Edagricole, Bologna.
Alais (2000). Scienza del latte. Principi di tecnologia del latte e dei derivati, 3a Edizione, Tecniche Nuove, Milano.
Salvadori Del Prato (2005). Tecnologie del latte. Burro, yogurt, gelato, latte alimentare. Edagricole, Bologna.
Teaching methods
Lectures using audio-visual facilities; laboratory experiences and guided visits to dairy factories.
Assessment methods and criteria
Oral examination.
Other information
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