CHEESE TRUE DENSITY PREDICTION BY LINEAR EQUATIONS

摘要

Knowledge of cheese density is necessary to accurately predict heat exchange ratenoccurring during cheese curd cooling or cheese processing, freezing and thawing.nCheese density data are poor in literature. True density of 22 different cheeses wasnmeasured by the water displacement method. Linear equations able to predictncheese density from its components mass fraction have been elaborated and validated.nThe best fit between measured and predicted values was obtained when allnthe major cheese components were considered in the equation. Also, equationsnbased only on nonfat total solids or moisture and fat content gave a good prevision,nresulting in an alternative to the universal formula based on componentsnvolume fraction that overestimates cheese true density, if air content is not takenninto account. The proposed equations may become a powerful instrument to correctlynpredict true density and to improve accuracy of heat exchange predictionnmodels.