Cheese is a classical dairy product, which is strongly judged by On the other hand, it should be emphasized that, besides
its appearance and texture; hence, a renewed interest in its mi- the supporting proteinaceous/fatty matrix, microorganisms
crostructure has been on the rise, as sophisticated techniques are also an integral part of cheese. Microbial activity pro-
of analysis become more and more informative and widely duces indeed major transformations of the cheese matrix,
available. Processing parameters that affect microstructure which will affect the final microstructure as well. Hence, it
play a dominant role upon the features exhibited by the final is also crucial to elucidate microorganismematrix interac-
product as perceived by the consumer; rational relationships tions, in attempts to understand the whole picture.
between microstructure (which includes biochemical and Consumer acceptance of a cheese product depends
microbiological indicators), and quality and safety of the directly on its appearance, flavour and texture e which
products are accordingly required. Subsequent to that extra are in turn originated by a thorough combination of micro-
fundamental knowledge, technological innovations may even- biological, biochemical and technological parameters, that
tually improve current cheesemaking processes, and permit affect microstructure directly or indirectly. Note that the
mechanistic design of novel ones. This review thus focuses ultimate success of any food product relies on consumers
on recent advances pertaining to the microstructure of cheese, reactions: in fact, human perception of organoleptic charac-
and discusses them in a logical and critical manner. teristics is closer to the consumer status at the moment of
decision than data generated by any type of analytical
instrumentation (Adhikari, Heymann, & Huff, 2003) e
Introduction
Cheese is a highly regarded food in most human cultures, despite its constraints in repeatability and objectiveness.
and has accordingly been present throughout ages in man- Texture is intrinsically related to the arrangement of
kind daily life. The variety of cheeses currently available is various chemical components within distinct micro- and
large, because a myriad of topical advances e encompassing macrostructure levels e e.g. proteic network or fat fraction;
manufacture and ripening, have cumulatively taken place it is the external manifestation of such structures that even-
tually determines the uniqueness and distinctive character
over time. In addition to the somewhat intrinsic (and of a cheese product. However, cheeses are particularly
unpredictable) variability within each cheese type, tailor- complex systems, so full and meaningful assessment of
made cheese matrices have been proposed based on specific the effects of microstructure (and texture) upon flavour
microstructures e which have emerged side by side with and appearance is still incipient.
introduction of alternative (or improved) methodologies in This paper discusses a number of fundamental aspects
cheesemaking. pertaining to microstructure of cheese e and specifically
Microstructure is not a static concept; it evolves instead
focuses on issues associated with microstructural effects
along the food processing chain, and eventually leads to ma-
arising from technological and processing approaches.
jor transformations relative to the original microstructure of
the milk feedstock itself. This realization thus encompasses
Manipulation of physical properties of milk
specific molecular compositions and spatial arrangements.
A huge variety of dairy products exists at present,
depending on the deliberate alterations of the original
* Corresponding author.
0924-2244/$ - see front matter 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.tifs.2009.02.006
characteristics of milk e which always start with some Pressure treatments
form of bulk concentration (Malcata, 1999). A set of down- High pressure (HP) has been proposed as a suitable tech-
stream operations are normally applied to milk e which are nology for milk treatment to substitute, or in addition to
intended to alter, strengthen or create structure; they are thermal treatment. Its relatively recent development has
aimed at minimization (or even elimination) of potential been associated mainly with the possibility of inactivating
risk factors, e.g. product decay via metabolism of contam- undesired microorganisms and/or enzymes in milk; how-
inating microflora. Attempts to improve yield, as well as to ever, one cannot disregard the effect of such a practice
design novel products with better organoleptic features, upon milk constituents themselves, and consequently on
also lead to changes at the microstructure level. the final characteristics of ripened cheese e beyond im-
The most important unit operations in dairy food physi- provement of microbial safety and extension of shelf-life.
cal manipulation, that impinge upon microstructure, are So far, the most important concern in terms of HP-induced
listed in Table 1, and are discussed below in further detail. changes pertains to the physicochemical properties of casein
micelles and whey proteins e as HP affects intramolecular
Thermal treatments bonds, either reinforcing or weakening them. Lopez-
Thermal treatment is the most common operation used with Fandino, Carrascosa, and Olano (1996) reported that pressur-
milk; this is due to the tight safety that is enforced in food ization of cheesemaking milk at 300e400 MPa for 30 min
plants, including industrial cheese manufacture. Several dis- caused an increase of 14e20% in curd weight, and a decrease
tinct heat treatments have been successfully applied in of 7.5e15% in protein loss in whey. Huppertz, Fox, de Kruif,
industrial practice e ranging from mild to severe ones. As and Kelly (2006), Lopez-Fandino (2006) and Considine,
expected, the more severe the heat treatment, the more exten- Patel, Anema, Singh, and Creamer (2007) have comprehen-
sive the damages brought about thereby e as the thermal sively reviewed the molecular changes induced by HP in
history of milk affects the properties of the coagulum, and milk proteins, whereas Trujillo, Capellas, Saldo, Gervilla,
thus the development afterwards of microstructure; heat- and Guamis (2002) highlighted the principles of HP and their
treated (and homogenized) milk may in fact lead to off- implications on the final properties of dairy products.
flavours and weak clotting features (Singh & Wauguna, 2001). However, a thorough description of the aforementioned
Another consequence of milk heating is whey protein chemical and molecular mechanisms, and of the underlying
denaturation, followed by aggregation; or interaction with theoretical issues is not within the scope of this review e but
caseins, in the first place. The fraction of whey proteins rather the implications of such a type of process on the struc-
taken up may reach 50e70%, depending on their degree tural features of cheese.
of denaturation. A high pre-heating temperature improves It is widely accepted that HP treatments alter milk coag-
yield and stability of the final product, as well as texture ulation characteristics e either by reducing or increasing
e which will become smoother if short-time heating is em- the gelation time (Lopez-Fandino, 2006), or by inducing
ployed, because of increased water binding to the denatured proteolytic and lipolytic activities that promote acceleration
whey proteins (Hinrichs, 2001). of cheese ripening (Guerzoni et al., 1999). Exposure to HP
Table 1. Processing applications in cheesemaking milk, and effects thereof upon microstructure of cheese