Dynamic viscoelastic studies on the mechanism of milk clotting process

The reaction order of the clotting process of milk-rennet system was determined by an analysis of clotting curves obtained from the measurement of the complex rigidity at various concentrations of milk and rennet under the conditions of fixed weight ratio of rennet to milk. The results obtained show that the clotting process of milk-rennet system after gelation begins is described by a single first order reaction. At constant weight ratio of rennet to skim milk, it was found that G'00 increases almost linearly with increasing temperature. Under the conditions of a constant milk concentration and temperature, the latent period is inversly proportional to the enzyme concentration and the rate constant of gelation is proportional to the enzyme concentration. These results were discussed in terms of Payens' theory of enzymatic clotting processes and Ziff's theory of the kinetics of polymer gelation.