Mechanisms of Syneresis in Rennet Curd without Mechanical Treatment

ABSTRACT An original method for syneresis evaluation was developed, based on image analysis which enabled direct monitoring of curd shrinkage. Image analysis was employed in combination with the customary tracer method to follow the effects of cutting on curd syneresis. The two methods were then utilized to study curd syneresis in the presence of ethanol, a solvent less polar than water. Curd syneresis was reduced in the presence of diluted ethanol which led to the hypothesis that the mechanism which causes rennet curd to synerese probably relates to changes in protein conformation, essentially due to hydrophobic bonding.