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Department of Dairy Husbandry, Michigan State College, East Lansing
ABSTRACT
This study was carried out to determine the desirability of using a so-called olive oil test as a means of determining the moisture content of Cheddar cheese, and to modify it if necessary so that the results by this method would be accurate enough for all practical purposes.
Preliminary results, secured by using variations in the olive oil procedure, showed more constant values could be obtained if the sample weighed approximately 5 grams and approximately 20 cc. of olive oil were used. Wider variations between duplicate determinations were obtained if 10 cc. of oil were used with either a 5 or a 2.5 gram sample of cheese. This was due probably to the fact that insufficient oil was used to completely cover the cheese during the heating.
Thirty-one non-spattering samples of Cheddar cheese were analyzed for moisture by the olive oil method and by the modified Mojonnier method, with the oil method giving results averaging approximately 0.3 per cent higher than those secured by the Mojonnier procedure.
Many samples of cheese, however, spattered too badly upon heating in the olive oil to permit accurate moisture determinations. In fact, approximately 30 to 40 per cent of the samples encountered possessed this spattering tendency under the conditions of this experiment. In addition, practically all of the cheese samples, during heating, lumped together and stuck to the bottom of the pan. When a small amount of sodium chloride, approximately one gram, was added to the oil, the cheese particles did not clump together or stick to the bottom of the pan, nor did the cheese samples encountered in this study spatter upon heating.
The oil moisture test, modified by the use of the salt, gave results averaging approximately 0.5 per cent higher than those secured by the Mojonnier procedure. These higher values may have been due to the fact that the particles of cheese did not clump or stick during the heating, thus permitting more efficient drying, and secondly to the dehydrating action of the salt itself. That the action of the salt was not merely physical was proved by the substitution of dry sand. The sand did not prevent sticking or spattering of the cheese.
It might be concluded, therefore, that in regard to its general applicability the modified olive oil test appears to be the most logical choice since it does not appear to be generally affected by samples with spattering characteristics or by the condition or type of moisture pans. Recognition should be given to the fact that the results by this method are likely to be slightly high in comparison to those secured by the regular olive oil and Mojonnier methods, although they appear accurate enough for all practical purposes.
One of the chief advantages of the open flame oil method is its rapidity of operation. A moisture determination by this procedure can be completed in approximately 20 minutes, with only 5-7 minutes actually being required for the heating period.
The results of this study dealing with the olive oil methods present possibilities for further investigational work. First, there is need for a comparison of results secured by the modified method with those obtained by a recognized accurate method since the Mojonnier method for cheese has not been officially adopted as a reliable standard for comparison with other procedure. In addition, there is a need for knowledge as to other oils which may be substituted for the olive oil, and also for information as to other materials which may be used to supplant the salt in the modified procedure.
* Authorized as Mich. Exp. Sta. Jour. Article No. 287 (n. s.).
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