The Effect of Salt on the Structure of Individual Fat Globules and the Microstructure of Dry Salted Cheddar Cheese

Abstract

Salting is an essential step in the production of Cheddar and other cheese varieties and is a well-studied process but the effect of salt addition on the microstructure of the milk ingredients and resulting cheese is not well known. This study provides insights into how the primary components in milk and the cheese matrix respond to salting. High concentrations of salt (15–25% (w/w) NaCl) disrupted fat globules due to the increased osmotic pressure. This led to fat coalescence, resulting in large fat globules >10 μm in diameter, together with submicron sized fat globules ~ 120–500 nm in diameter. Salt addition also prevented the visualization of the milk fat globule membrane when added at hi..