Aug. 25, 2014, Chicago – The small elasticity of
cheddar, colby and Edam cheeses makes them less likely to blister for a less
burnt appearance, indicates a study of how composition and function affect the appearance of pizza cheese.
Aug. 25, 2014, Chicago – The small elasticity of
cheddar, colby and Edam cheeses makes them less likely to blister for a less
burnt appearance, indicates a study of how composition and function affect the appearance of pizza cheese.
The study, published by New Zealand food scientists in the Journal of Food Science,
published by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), evaluated the pizza
baking performance of different cheeses (mozzarella, cheddar, colby, Edam, Emmental,
Gruyere, and provolone) in conjunction with a new quantifiable evaluation
technique to see how their composition and functional differences affected
browning and blistering.
The study found that the elasticity, free oil, moisture,
water activity and transition temperature all influence the colour uniformity
of cheeses, according to a press release from the IFT. Blisters were not formed for cheddar, colby, and Edam cheeses
because of their small elasticity. A sufficient amount of free oil prevents
moisture evaporation, and thus less intensive browning on Gruyere and
provolone, and hardly at all with Emmental. Therefore, these cheeses can be
combined with the easily blistering mozzarella to create a gourmet pizza with a
less burnt appearance.
This study is unique because the researchers did not rely on
human sensory assessment. Instead, they developed a machine vision technique
coupling careful imaging with quantified image analysis to help quantify a
description that can be used by pizza manufacturers to make an appealing
product for consumers.
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