Abstract:
Blistering and browning are two important properties when baking Mozzarella cheese on pizza. In this study, the blistering and browning of five Mozzarella cheeses with different salt and moisture contents were evaluated using machine vision and image analysis techniques. Cheese attributes, including meltability, free oil, elasticity and stretching properties, composition, water activity and microstructure, were also evaluated.All Mozzarella samples had similar browning appearances, due to their similar galactose contents. Mozzarella cheeses with higher salt concentration had relatively smaller fat globules and lower water activity, thus higher transition temperature, and elastic and stretching resistances which resulted in smaller blisters on the pizza. It was proposed that cheese with higher transition temperature had a shorter time to flow, and the elastic and stretching resistances of the melted cheese restrained the size of the blisters and impeded the growth of the blisters during heating.
