The Makeup of Cheese

By Jackson Hilton
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Purpose a. Weigh paper cone
The purpose of this lab was to learn how b. Drain whey, dry cone overnight
cheese is made, as well as what macromolecules it c. Record weight of cone and curd
contains. d. Repeat for each test tube
10. Record rate of curd production
Hypothesis 11. Run positive and negative controls for
If whole milk is curdled to make cheese, each macromolecule
then the cheese will contain monosaccharides, 12. Record color changes as +C and -C
starch, protein, and lipids. 13. Create a bar graph for these rates

Materials Part Two

4 6mL Test Tubes 1. Label 4 6mL test tubes for the 2 curling
20-200L Micropipette agents and methods (FPC boiling, Water
Pipette with 1mL and 2mL tips boiling, FPC control, Water control)
250mL Beaker 2. Transfer 3mL of milk into each test tube
Hot Plate 3. Transfer 100L of each agent into their
24mL of Whole Milk respective test tubes
100L of Buttermilk 4. Invert each tube 3 times
100L of Renin (NCB) 5. Place the boiling tubes in a boiling
300L of Fermentation-Produced water bath, leave the control tubes on a
Chymosin (FPC) rack
150mL of Water 6. Watch the test tubes for curdling
7. Record the time each tube starts curdling
Procedure 8. If it does not curdle within 30 minutes,
Part One leave the tube to sit overnight
1. Label 4 6mL test tubes for the 4 curdling 9. Fill out data table
agents (Buttermilk, NCB, FPC, and 10. Determine the weight of the curds
Water) a. Weigh paper cone
2. Transfer 3mL of milk into each test tube b. Drain whey, dry cone overnight
3. Transfer 100L of each agent into their c. Record weight of cone and curd
respective test tubes d. Repeat for each test tube
4. Invert each tube 3 times, then place in 11. Record rate of curd production
armpit 12. Create a bar graph for these rates
5. Check for curdling every 5 minutes
6. Record the time each tube starts curdling Part 3
7. If it does not curdle within 30 minutes, 1. Scrape cheese into 4 6mL test tubes
leave the tube to sit overnight 2. Label the tubes glucose, starch, protein,
8. Fill out data table and lipid
9. Determine the weight of the curds 3. Transfer 2mL of water into each tube
 4. Mix until cheese dissolves
1620 1120 0.77
5. Test f or glucose
a. Transfer 2mL of Benedicts
solution into the glucose tube Part Two (Our Data)
b. Place in boiling water bath Agent Curdle Mass of Rate of
(100mL of water in a 250mL Time Curds Production
beaker) for 2 minutes (min) (mg) (mg/min)
c. Record color change
FPC 0.5 410 820
6. Test for starch
boiling
a. Transfer 0.25mL of Lugols
iodine into the starch tube FPC 1440 340 0.32
b. Gently swirl to mix control
c. Record color
7. Test for protein Water 1440 320 0.22
control
a. Transfer 0.75mL of Biurets
reagent into the protein tube *The Water boiling tube did not yield results
(gloves and goggles recomended)
b. Mix for 30 seconds Part Three (Our Data, Color Change)
c. Record color change Test Indicator Cheese +C -C
8. Test for lipids
Glucose Benedict Blue Blue Blue
a. Transfer a drop of solution from
s Solution Yellow Red Blue
the lipid tube onto a paper towel
b. Record translucence Starch Lugols Amber Amber Amber
c. Transfer 60L of Sudan IV into Iodine Amber Black Amber
the lipid tube Protein Biurets Blue Blue Blue
d. Gently mix Reagent Lavender Purple Blue
e. Record color change
Lipid Sudan IV Clear Clear Clear
Pink Red Clear
Data
Part One (Our Data / Class Average)
Agent Curdle Mass of Rate of
Time Curds Production
(min) (mg) (mg/min)

Butter- 1440 390 0.27

milk 1440 838 0.59

NCB 1440 310 0.22

1237 803 7.43

FPC 5 360 72.0 The +C, -C, and cheese test for monosaccharides
6 1226 178.3

Water 1440 380 0.26

 Analysis
Part One

The -C, +C, and cheese test for starch

This chart clearly shows that the artificial

The +C, -C, and cheese test for protein chymosin produced cheese curds faster than any
other curdling agent. The next fastest was the
natural chymosin, renin.

Part Two

The -C, +C, and cheese test for lipids

Observations
Throughout the lab, the classroom had a
sour smell from the milk. When we took the FPC
tube out of the boiling water, the milk looked like Once again, this chart shows that the FPC
it had a marble texture. The monosaccharide test was more effective at producing cheese curds than
on the cheese produced a liquid that looked like a water. It also shows that the thermal energy from
melted dandelion crayon. the boiling water significantly sped up the curdling
process because the enzymes had more energy to Conclusion
use for the chemical reactions.. Cheese contains monosaccharides, pro-
teins, and lipids. In this lab we curdled milk to
Part 3 make cheese. We then tested this cheese for
For the monosaccharide, protein, and lipid various macromolecules. The test tube for
tests, the tubes with cheese showed similar color monosaccharides turned a deep yellow color. The
changes to their respective positive controls. This positive control for monosaccharides also changed
means that cheese contains all of these macro- from a blue to a reddish yellow color, showing that
molecules. However, the test for starch resembled the cheese contained monosaccharides. The test
the color change of the negative control, showing tube for proteins changed to a deep shade of
that there is no starch in cheese. lavender. This is similar to the color of our
positive control, meaning that cheese contains
My hypothesis was incorrect because, protein. The test tube for lipids turned to a light
unlike I predicted, the cheese did not contain any pink. Because the positive control also turned to a
starch. reddish color, the cheese must contain lipids.
Having to leave the cheese to curdle
overnight significantly skewed our results.
Because we assumed it took 24 hours to curdle,
our rates were likely far below the actual curdling
rates. Due to an accidental spill, we were not able
to obtain data from the milk and water solution
curdling in the boiling water. We were unable to
obtain results from the lipid test using the paper
towel. This test would have helped in verifying our
results, as the test with Sudan IV was not as clear
as it should have been. When we scraped the
cheese into the test tubes, we also scraped in some
of the coffee filter. It is possible that having paper
in the test tubes could have altered our results,
invalidating all of our tests.
This lab would be significantly improved
if there was a way to check the curdling milk
overnight. This could be achieved by capping the
tubes, laying them on their side (to increase
visibility) and setting up a camera and a clock to
film the tubes and show the time.
This lab leads me to wonder what other
substances cheese contains, such as bacterial
cultures or the specific types of lipids it contains. I
would also like to know how cheese is mass
produced in factories, and how farmers obtain
renin from cows.