Influence of physicochemical factors on the specific activity of proteases used in cheesemaking biotechnology

The formation of a clot under the influence of proteolytic enzymes is an essential stage in cheesemaking technology. Depending on their composition, milk-clotting enzyme preparations have a different effect on the quality characteristics of the clot, whey separation, and yield of the finished product. At present, the Russian market offers a wide range of domestic and imported milk-clotting enzyme preparations. In this connection, the choice of a milk coagulant by cheese makers should be carried out in accordance with the cheese group produced by the enterprise. The milk-clotting activity of enzyme preparations depends not only on the active acidity of the mixture, but also on the temperature of the solution used to obtain them. It is the solution temperature that has a determining effect on the duration of the coagulation process and, therefore, the quality of the formed clot. Research into the specific activity of milk-clotting enzyme preparations, obtained in a working solution with different active acidity (pH from 4.0 to 8.0), showed their milk-clotting activity to decrease significantly upon pH shifting to the alkaline region. Application of solutions with a pH of 4.0 led to an increase in the milk-clotting activity of bovine pepsin, VNIIMS SG-50 rennet-bovine preparation, and rennet enzyme by 94, 72, and 36%, respectively, relative to the control. Bovine pepsin demonstrated the highest sensitivity to fluctuations in active acidity. A study into the effect of substrate temperature in the range from 30 to 40 °C established rennet to be the most sensitive preparation to temperature changes. It is concluded that a properly selected enzyme composition is an effective means for affecting the quality of cheese products.