Abstract
The paper examines the structural and mechanical properties of cheeses, which determine their texture, consistency and taste characteristics. Parameters such as hardness, elasticity, viscosity, and their dependence on chemical composition, production technology, and storage conditions are evaluated. The results of studies of the structural and mechanical properties of cheeses using an original device (Rheoplast) according to the author's methodology are presented. The uniaxial compression technique makes it possible to evaluate both the hardness of the cheese mass and the plastic properties characterized by stress relaxation. The strength and relaxation characteristics of soft, hard and semi-hard cheeses have been studied. The essence of the device is to measure the impact force of a pre-compressed cheese sample on the indenter. In this case, a cylindrical cheese sample with a diameter of 10mm and a height of 10 mm is subjected to 99 compression at a constant fixed speed by 30%, i.e. up to a height of 6.67 mm. At the same time, stress relaxation processes occur in the cheese, which are recorded by the measuring system of the device. The device consists of a measuring device with a mechanical system and a control unit connected by cable to a computer for data recording, the rheological properties of soft brine cheese produced from the enzyme preparation rennet enzyme brand SG-50 were studied