Casein
Thought of the day, comes from NY Times.
Parmesan Cheese Troubles
Since the mid-1950's, scientists have known that milk contained multiple types of casein, known as beta, alpha and kappa casein, and that the levels of the proteins in milk varied with different cattle breeds. It was not an important issue until the mid-1970's when dairy farmers in Parma, Italy, the center of Parmesan cheese-making, noticed that manufacturing efficiency and their product's quality had declined.
Italian researchers discovered that the value of milk in cheese production depended on the content of specific caseins, particularly one known as kappa-BB. Italian farmers had crossbred their cows with Holsteins, a breed developed for high production of milk, but not milk that is most useful for cheese. The gene that produces kappa-BB casein, the investigators concluded, had been diluted in many herds, causing the decline in the milk's cheese value.
A small percentage of Holsteins, though, do carry the gene for kappa-BB casein and several other proteins vital for cheese manufacturing.
Parmesan Cheese Troubles
Since the mid-1950's, scientists have known that milk contained multiple types of casein, known as beta, alpha and kappa casein, and that the levels of the proteins in milk varied with different cattle breeds. It was not an important issue until the mid-1970's when dairy farmers in Parma, Italy, the center of Parmesan cheese-making, noticed that manufacturing efficiency and their product's quality had declined.
Italian researchers discovered that the value of milk in cheese production depended on the content of specific caseins, particularly one known as kappa-BB. Italian farmers had crossbred their cows with Holsteins, a breed developed for high production of milk, but not milk that is most useful for cheese. The gene that produces kappa-BB casein, the investigators concluded, had been diluted in many herds, causing the decline in the milk's cheese value.
A small percentage of Holsteins, though, do carry the gene for kappa-BB casein and several other proteins vital for cheese manufacturing.