Raw Milk Brie VS. Pasteurized Brie
Chemistry of Food and Cooking Project Reflection
By: Grady James
In this experiment comparing the use of raw milk and pasteurized milk, I looked to see if there were different characteristics in the cheeses that would be changed by what type of milk was used. The chemical processes which I was looking at in this experiment was the process that takes the "hairy CMP" layer off the outside of the casein proteins so that they can bond together to make a solid in cheese. You can find this in the diagram shown in the introduction of my scientific paper. The when you pasteurize the casein proteins it can change its structure slightly so that it bonds differently when you strip the casein macropeptide or CMP from the casein micelle seen in the diagram in the paper above. The other more pertinent component that pasteurization does to change the resulting cheese is that it kills naturally occurring bacteria which create different flavors and break down the cheese as it ages.
In the case of my brie I made for this experiment I was not able to come to a reputable conclusion of whether or not leaving the enzymes in the cheese would help the flavor profile. However, there was a slight preference for the raw milk cheese in my survey, but not one great enough with my sample size to draw any conclusions. The pasteurized milk does not have any of these naturally occurring bacteria which not only help age the cheese but help you digest the lactose sugars as the cheese ages. I would find it interesting to try cheeses which are aged for different times to compare the difference over a larger time scale that pasteurization and raw milk made cheeses have on the flavor profile and aging speed.
The experimental design and timeline of this experiment were far from ideal having many flaws. First off the timeline of this experiment was limited so I was not able to age the brie for the proper amount that it should be aged for. This caused the discrepancy in the data I was able to collect for the proteolysis penetration in the 2 bries. The other inacuracy was the most obvious, and that was my sample size of people for my taste preference survey. I was only able to get 14 people to fill out and taste the cheese for this survey. It would be much better in the future for there to be a larger test group for taste preference. The time lapse component I had planned to use to monitor and compare mold growth did not get executed to the precision and frequency that I wanted it to. As soon as I had made the cheese I was not available to take photos regularly so I did not get the timelapse of the bloomy rind mold growth on the exterior of the cheese.
With these improvements to this project, there would be a great increase in accuracy and definitive results. I will execute the survey again this summer when the cheeses have come to the correct ripeness to give them a proper measurement for proteolysis penetration and cheese taste profile and preference. In the future out of curiosity, I might set up a time-lapse camera in front of some brie which my father usually makes with extra milk nearing the end of the season in August. When I perform the preference test again some time in June I am planning to use my entire family or some event at the James Ranch Market to gather the rest of my data which would both solve the test subject sample size problem and the problem regarding the young age of the cheeses. Waiting until this time will also solve the problem of having a small discrepancy in the difference in proteolysis penetration in the cheeses.
In the case of my brie I made for this experiment I was not able to come to a reputable conclusion of whether or not leaving the enzymes in the cheese would help the flavor profile. However, there was a slight preference for the raw milk cheese in my survey, but not one great enough with my sample size to draw any conclusions. The pasteurized milk does not have any of these naturally occurring bacteria which not only help age the cheese but help you digest the lactose sugars as the cheese ages. I would find it interesting to try cheeses which are aged for different times to compare the difference over a larger time scale that pasteurization and raw milk made cheeses have on the flavor profile and aging speed.
The experimental design and timeline of this experiment were far from ideal having many flaws. First off the timeline of this experiment was limited so I was not able to age the brie for the proper amount that it should be aged for. This caused the discrepancy in the data I was able to collect for the proteolysis penetration in the 2 bries. The other inacuracy was the most obvious, and that was my sample size of people for my taste preference survey. I was only able to get 14 people to fill out and taste the cheese for this survey. It would be much better in the future for there to be a larger test group for taste preference. The time lapse component I had planned to use to monitor and compare mold growth did not get executed to the precision and frequency that I wanted it to. As soon as I had made the cheese I was not available to take photos regularly so I did not get the timelapse of the bloomy rind mold growth on the exterior of the cheese.
With these improvements to this project, there would be a great increase in accuracy and definitive results. I will execute the survey again this summer when the cheeses have come to the correct ripeness to give them a proper measurement for proteolysis penetration and cheese taste profile and preference. In the future out of curiosity, I might set up a time-lapse camera in front of some brie which my father usually makes with extra milk nearing the end of the season in August. When I perform the preference test again some time in June I am planning to use my entire family or some event at the James Ranch Market to gather the rest of my data which would both solve the test subject sample size problem and the problem regarding the young age of the cheeses. Waiting until this time will also solve the problem of having a small discrepancy in the difference in proteolysis penetration in the cheeses.