title: Effect of temperature of CO2 injection on the pH and freezing point of milks and creams.
abstract: The objectives of this study were to measure the impact of CO2 injection temperature (0 degree C and 40 degrees C) on the pH and freezing point (FP) of (a) milks with different fat contents (i.e., 0, 15, 30%) and (b) creams with 15% fat but different fat characteristics. Skim milk and unhomogenized creams containing 15 and 30% fat were prepared from the same batch of whole milk and were carbonated at 0 and 40 degrees C in a continuous flow CO2 injection unit (230 ml/min). At 0 degree C, milk fat was mostly solid; at 40 degrees C, milk fat was liquid. At the same total CO2 concentration with CO2 injection at 0 degree C, milk with a higher fat content had a lower pH and FP, while with CO2 injection at 40 degrees C, milks with 0%, 15%, and 30% fat had the same pH. This indicated that less CO2 was dissolved in the fat portion of the milk when the CO2 was injected at 0 degree C than when it was injected at 40 degrees C. Three creams, 15% unhomogenized cream, 15% butter oil emulsion in skim milk, and 15% vegetable oil emulsion in skim milk were also carbonated and analyzed as described above. Vegetable oil was liquid at both 0 and 40 degrees C. At a CO2 injection temperature of 0 degree C, the 15% vegetable oil emulsion had a slightly higher pH than the 15% butter oil emulsion and the 15% unhomogenized cream, indicating that the liquid vegetable oil dissolved more CO2 than the mostly solid milk fat and butter oil. No difference in the pH or FP of the 15% unhomogenized cream and 15% butter oil emulsion was observed when CO2 was injected at 0 degree C, suggesting that homogenization or physical dispersion of milk fat globules did not influence the amount of CO2 dissolved in milk fat at a CO2 injection temperature of 0 degree C. At a CO2 injection temperature of 40 degrees C and at the same total CO2 concentration, the 15% unhomogenized cream, 15% vegetable oil emulsion, and 15% butter oil emulsion had similar pH. At the same total concentration of CO2 in cream, injection of CO2 at low temperature (i.e., < 4 degrees C) may produce a better antimicrobial effect during refrigerated shelf life due to the higher concentration of CO2 in the skim portion of the cream.
authors.affiliation: Northeast Dairy Foods Research Center, Department of Food Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Barbano
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D003611:Dairy Products; D004655:Emulsions; D005223:Fats / Q000032:analysis; D005519:Food Preservation; D005615:Freezing; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008892:Milk / Q000737:chemistry*; D010938:Plant Oils; D013696:Temperature; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D004655:Emulsions; D005223:Fats; D010938:Plant Oils; D002245:Carbon Dioxide