Chemical changes that predispose smoked Cheddar cheese to calcium lactate crystallization

We have observed a high incidence of calcium lactate surface crystals on naturally smoked Cheddar cheese in the retail marketplace. The objective of this study was to identify chemical changes that may occur during natural smoking that render Cheddar cheese more susceptible to calcium lactate crystal formation. Nine random-weight (approximately 300 g) retail-packaged samples of smoked Cheddar cheese were obtained from a commercial manufacturer immediately after the samples were smoked for about 6 h at 20°C in a commercial smokehouse. Three similarly sized samples that originated from the same 19.1-kg block of cheese and that were not smoked were also obtained. Within 2 d after smoking, 3 smoked and 3 control (not smoked) samples were sectioned into 5 subsamples at different depths representing 0 to 2, 2 to 4, 4 to 6, 6 to 8, and 8 to 10 mm from the cheese surface. Six additional smoked cheese samples were similarly sectioned at 4 wk and again at 10 wk of storage at 5°C. Sample sections were analyzed for moisture, l(+) and d(−) lactate, pH, and water-soluble calcium. The effects of treatment (smoked, control), depth from cheese surface, and their interactions were analyzed by ANOVA according to a repeated measures design with 2 within-subject variables. Smoked samples contained signficantly lower moisture and lower pH, and higher total lactate-in-moisture (TLIM) and water-soluble calcium-in-moisture (WSCIM) than control cheeses. Smoked samples also contained significant gradients of moisture, pH, TLIM, and WSCIM, with lower moisture and pH, and higher TLIM and WSCIM, occurring at the cheese surface. Gradients of moisture were still present in smoked samples at 4 and 10 wk of storage. In contrast, the pH, TLIM, and WSCIM equilibrated and showed no gradients at 4 and 10 wk. The results indicate that calcium and lactate in the serum phase of the cheese were elevated because of smoking, especially at the cheese surface immediately after smoking treatment, which presumably predisposes the smoked cheeses to increased susceptibility to calcium lactate surface crystallization.