Coagulation properties of ultrafiltered milk retentates measured using rheology and diffusing wave spectroscopy

The effect of concentration of milk by ultrafiltration on renneting has been widely studied as it is of great interest in dairy technology. Although a number of reports are available on the texture and microstructure of the milk gels formed at various concentrations, very little is understood on the effect of concentration on the stages preceding aggregation, or how concentration may affect the interactions between micelles. This study aims to investigate the renneting behavior of milk concentrated by ultrafiltration (without diafiltration) to 3× and 5× (v/v) and compare it to that of skim milk. The scattering properties of the casein micelles under quiescent conditions suggest that they deviate from hard-sphere behavior at 5× concentration (micelle volume fraction, ϕ = 0.5). The release of the caseinomacropeptide during renneting was not significantly different amongst the three different casein concentrations tested (1×, 3×, and 5×). No significant differences were also noted in the rennet coagulation time as detected by both diffusing wave spectroscopy and rheology. Concentrated milk samples formed significantly (p-value < 0.05) stiffer gels than regular milk due to an increased number of bonds in the network. The level of milk concentration also accelerated a change in the spatial distribution and rate of change of turbidity of the micelles because of a decrease in the overall inter-particle distance and increased collision frequencies. This in situ investigation of concentrated milk samples suggested that the changes in rennet coagulation with concentration are merely a cause of crowding effects.