Effect of plant originated coagulants and chymosin on ovine milk coagulation

The coagulation of ewe's milk was studied by using plant source coagulants namely the artichoke, Cynara scolymus L. cv. Blanca, and latex from the fig tree (Ficus carica L.). A turbidimetric method was used to evaluate and compare the coagulation properties of the novel coagulants with chymosin treated samples. Syneresis capacity and sensory evaluation of resultant cheese samples were studied and it was found that both cynara and chymosin produced sigmoidal increase in turbidity to the milk with three distinct phases. The coagulation kinetics was affected substantially by both coagulants. Plant coagulant induced shorter gelation time compared to chymosin however required longer time for restructuration (end of coagulation). The coagulum obtained with the latex of Ficus carica had a higher yield, owing to its high water retention capacity. With the exception of color, the overall sensory attributes did not show significant differences among coagulants.