  Conversion of liquid milk to cheese curds is the first stage in cheese
manufacture. Changing the rigidity of cheese curds through heating and pH
control is an established method for preparing fresh curds, whereas a similar
method to prepare fully coagulated curds is largely unknown. This study
elucidated the effect of temperature variation on the viscoelastic moduli of
fully coagulated curds under different pH conditions. The results showed that
rennet curds treated at pH 4.8 exhibited drastic changes in the viscoelasticity
at 43 degrees C, above which the degree of fluidity exceeded the degree of
rigidity. The viscoelastic moduli exhibited exponential decay as a function of
temperature, which was independent of pH.
