Raclette cheese: less calcium for better melting properties

ALP conducted studies with experimental raclette cheese made from pasteurised milk to obtain a better understanding of the influence of calcium on the melting properties of raclette cheese. The trial presented here achieved its aim of using various factors to lower the calcium content of the cheese and increase the proportion of dissolved calcium. The addition of citric acid with the wash water had the most dramatic effect. In these cheeses the melting properties were very significantly superior across practically all parameters (apart from taste). This confirmed the important role of calcium – the less bound calcium in the curd, the better the melting properties. Temperature variations in milk pasteurisation, during the manufacturing process and in the brine had only a minimal effect on calcium content and melting properties. Compared with raclette cheeses in practice the ALP trial cheeses had a low calcium content and good melting properties. It is therefore difficult to further reduce the calcium content by means of technological factors.