Effects of the detailed protein composition of milk on curd yield and composition measured by model micro-cheese curd making of individual milk samples

The effect of the contents of casein (CN) and whey protein fractions on curd yield (CY) and composition was estimated using 964 individual milk samples. Contents of αS₁-CN, αS₂-CN, β-CN, γ-CN, glycosylated κ-CN (Gκ-CN), unglycosylated κ-CN, β-LG, and α-LA of individual milk samples were measured using reversed-phase HPLC. Curd yield and curd composition were measured by model micro-cheese curd making using 25 mL of milk. Dry matter CY (DMCY) was positively associated with all casein fractions but especially with αS₁-CN and β-CN. Curd moisture decreased at increasing β-CN content and increased at increasing γ-CN and Gκ-CN content. Due to their associations with moisture, Gκ-CN and β-CN were the fractions with the greatest effect on raw CY, which decreased by 0.66% per 1-standard deviation (SD) increase in the content of β-CN and increased by 0.62% per 1-SD increase in the content of Gκ-CN. The effects due to variation in percentages of the casein fractions in total casein were less marked than those exerted by contents. A 1-SD increase in β-CN percentage in casein (+3.8% in casein) exerted a slightly negative effect on DMCY (β = −0.05%). Conversely, increasing amounts of αS₁-CN percentage were associated with a small increase in DMCY. Hence, results suggest that, at constant casein and whey protein contents in milk, the DMCY depends to a limited extent on the variation in the αS₁-CN:β-CN ratio. κ-Casein percentage did not affect DMCY, indicating that the positive relationship detected between the content of κ-CN and DMCY can be attributed to the increase in total casein resulting from the increased amount of κ-CN and not to variation in κ-CN relative content. However, milk with increased Gκ-CN percentage in κ-CN also shows increased raw CY and produces curds with increased moisture content. Curd yield increased at increasing content and relative proportion of β-LG in whey protein, but this is attributable to an improved capacity of the curd to retain water. Results obtained in this study support the hypothesis that, besides variation in total casein and whey protein contents, variation in protein composition might affect the cheese-making ability of milk, but this requires further studies.