A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF MILK-CLOTTING COAGULANTS IN CAMEL MILK CHEESEMAKING

Camels (Camelus dromedarius), which are highly resilient to extreme climatic conditions, play a vital role in ensuring food security and the sustainability of pastoral farming in Kazakhstan. Enzymatic coagulation is a key stage in cheese production, determining the structure, yield and quality characteristics of the product. The efficiency of coagulation and the intensity of proteolysis depend on the nature of the coagulant and its rennet and proteolytic activity, which is particularly important when processing camel milk, given its specific protein composition.

This study aimed to conduct a comparative analysis of camel’s milk cheeses produced using microbial and animal-derived coagulants. The study assessed dry matter content, yield, and textural characteristics, and evaluated the effect of coagulant type on the formation of the cheese’s peptide profile. The results obtained show that, under various temperature conditions, the Kalase coagulant exhibited a longer coagulation time, ranging from 224,8 s at 34 °C to 95,6 s at 40 °C, compared with the Chy-Max coagulant, which ranged from 180 s at 34 °C to 88 s at 40 °C. In contrast, at higher temperatures (38-40 °C), the difference narrowed to 7,6- 9 s. Syneresis showed that when using the Chy-Max coagulant, the curd released an average of 55,6% whey, whilst cheese samples using the Kalase coagulant showed a lower syneresis level of 45,6%. The cheese yield using the Chy-Max coagulant was 20,9%, whilst that using the coagulant Kalase was 18,7%. The total solid content in the cheese samples using the coagulant Chy-Max and Kalase was 48,4%±0,05 and 47,3%±0,5, respectively. The textural parameters of the cheeses indicated a denser texture when the microbial coagulant was used. Biologically active peptides were also identified in both cheese samples, which possess antihypertensive, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and immunomodulatory properties.

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