Ameneh Allameh - Food laboratory expert in Islamic Azad University of khorasgan

Introduction: Pizza cheese production has increased dramatically by the rise in the popularity of the pizza. So factors influencing physical characteristics of pizza cheese which define its quality, are important for the producers. In the present study, the effects of calcium content, milk-clotting enzyme type, sodium chloride, iron fortification, freezing and shredding on physical properties of pizza cheese including melting time, extent of flow, cook color and stretch are reported.Results and Discussions: Increase in calcium concentration, decrease melt area and flow rate of part-skim pizza cheese; however require higher temperature and time to soften and also higher melting time of flow. Effects of milk-clotting enzymes on pizza cheese physical properties are that cook color is not affected by enzyme type (pepsin, chymosin, ...); though melt and stretch is affected. Researches show that iron fortification of pizza cheese has no effect on cook color but slightly increase metallic, oxidised and off-flavors. The melt is lower when cheeses are unsalted. Frozen cheese shows greater stretch than unfrozen cheese. Also shredded cheese stretches more after frozen storage than unshredded cheese; however, frozen shredded cheese melts less than frozen unshredded cheese.

Pizza cheese, freezing, shredding,melting time, extent of flow, stretch