Micellar calcium in acid curd cheese with different pH values, fat and protein levels

A titrimetric method was modified (exact sample pH adjustment and cool storage before titration) to estimate the amount of micellar calcium (mCa) in cream cheese. The average mCa content was 223.8 mg kg−1 cheese and mCa content correlated (r = 0.838) and increased significantly (P < 0.001) with protein concentration (g protein kg−1) in the cream cheese (full fat, light, light “brick”) from 163.0 mg kg−1 for 56.9 g protein kg−1 to 314.5 mg kg−1 for 96.5 g protein kg−1, and had no correlation with pH within the pH range 4.66–5.15. Mean mCa was 3.0 ± 0.6 mg g−1 protein and did not vary significantly (P > 0.05) between cream cheese samples. A decreasing absolute mCa content with increasing fat level in the sample was found (r = −0.464, P < 0.05). This study also summarises possible reasons to explain the presence of mCa in acid curd cheese.