Effects of Enzyme Type on Milk Coagulation

Rate of increase of curd firming decreases as the extent of nonspecific proteolysis increases. Effect of enzymes on relative curd firming rates, from greatest to least, was chymosin, calf rennet, Mucor miehei proteinase, Mucor pusillus proteinase, adult bovine rennet, calf rennet-porcine pepsin (50:50), bovine pepsin. When porcine pepsin is used, the effect of proteolytic specificity on curd firming is confounded by loss of activity of porcine pepsin at the pH of milk. Differences in curd firmness among commercial milk coagulants 3 h after enzyme addition were not significant. Pepsin content in mixtures of chymosin and bovine pepsin was inversely proportional to curd firming rate