Growth of a single bubble in semi-hard cheese: Comparison between simulation and experiment

Area of Science:

• Food Science
• Dairy Technology
• Chemical Engineering

Background:

• Bubble formation is crucial for cheese texture and quality.
• Previous models focused on mechanical aspects of bubble growth.
• Understanding mass transport is key to refining bubble growth models.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a model for bubble growth in semi-hard cheese.
• To investigate the influence of mass transport phenomena on bubble expansion.
• To compare model predictions with experimental data from industrial-scale cheeses.

Main Methods:

• Coupling mechanical behavior with mass transport principles.
• Developing a mathematical model for bubble growth.
• Experimental validation using industrial-size semi-hard cheeses.
• Conducting sensitivity analyses on key parameters.

Main Results:

• The model shows good agreement with experimental results at the cheese core.
• Carbon dioxide production rate and surrounding cheese material significantly influence bubble growth.
• Poorer agreement was observed under the rind due to regional heterogeneity.

Conclusions:

• The proposed model effectively captures bubble growth dynamics at the cheese core.
• Mass transport is a critical factor in cheese bubble formation.
• Regional variations in cheese properties impact model accuracy, particularly under the rind.