ABSTRACT
Dairy products comprise a wide range of materials derived from the milk of various species. Although the flavor of these products has concerned researchers for many years, their textural properties have received relatively little attention. Because of their relatively mild flavor, the texture of many dairy products assumes greater importance to the consumer than does texture in other foodstuffs. The dairy industry has traditionally considered the texture of a product in terms of its structural appearance rather than in terms of its sensory properties perceived during mastication. The textural properties of the most basic dairy products, namely, milk and cream, are essentially those of liquids. Cheese has the most complex structure of the traditional dairy products; there are as many variations in its structure as there are varieties. The importance of texture in dairy products has always been recognized by the emphasis it has been given in the traditional forms of evaluation such as grading.
