Characteristics of Cheese Manufactured by Coprecipitation of Whey and Soy Milk

As a way of improving the texture and flavor of soybean cheese, whey-say cheeses were made by coprecipitation of various mixtures of whey, whey powder, soy milk and soy protein powder, and mixed culture of str. lactis, str. cremoris and rennet were added, then the cheeses were cured at for up to 10 weeks. Physicochemical characteristics of the cheese were investigated by analyzing pH, titratable acidity(TA), water soluble nitrogen, 10% TCA soluble nitrogen, amino acid composition, beany flavor, color and hardness. The pH of whey-soy cheeses during ripening changed from 5.3 to 4.2 after 5 or 6 weeks and maintained that value while that of soybean cheese maintained a higher pH value. TA of whey-soy milk cheeses was gradually increased to the value of 0.4-0.45 after 8 weeks, but that of soybean cheese reached only 0.2 after the same period. Water soluble and 10% TCA soluble-nitrogen increased steadily during ripening. Hardness of the whey-soy milk cheeses reached maximum after three weeks of ripening and greatest at those made from 3 : 1 mixture of whey and soy milk and that from soymilk. Color of the whey-soy milk chesses was lighter than that of soybean cheese. The bean flavor of soybean cheese was strong and persistent for the whole ripening period. Acid flavor was dominant in the whey-so milk cheese and masked the beany flavor partially.