Cheese Lab Write-Up

Purpose:
Part 1: The purpose of the first part of the lab was to find out which agent curdled the
milk the fastest.
Part 2: The purpose of the second part of the lab for our group was to see if different
amount of milk will affect the rate at which the FPC curdles at.
Part 3: The third part of the lab was to see what macromolecules were in our cheese
that we made.

Hypothesis
Part 1: If we follow the procedure correctly, then we will see that the FPC curdle the
milk the fastest because it is genetically modified.
Part 2: If we add more milk to the same amount of FPC then it will take longer for the
milk to curdle.
Part 3: If we correctly perform the lab, then we will see that our cheese contain glucose,
proteins, and fats.

Procedure:
Part 1:
1. Label 4 6ml tubes with the type of curdling agent and group number.
2. Use a large pipet to transfer 3 ml of milk into each tube.
3. Transfer all the contents of the tubes of 100 microliters of fermentation produced
chymosin (FPC), 100 microliters of natural bovine chymosin (NCB), or 100
microliters of buttermilk. For water, fill the small transfer pipet to the bottom of the
 bulb and add to the labeled tube containing milk. To avoid cross contamination,
use a different pipet for each agent.
4. Cap all the tubes and invert the tubes 3 times and transfer to 37 water bath or
place at body temperature (under your arms) for incubation.
5. Set timer and check for curdling every 5 minutes by gently inverting the tube
while checking for curdles or solidification.
6. Record time when milk begins to curdle or solidify.
7. If milk has not curdled in 30 minutes, then check for curdles every hour.
8. In a data table record the time when the milk begins to curdle or solidify.
9. Determine the amount of curds produced by each treatment. Do this the next day
to make sure that the curdles dried out completely.
10. Weight a paper cone and record the weight of the empty cone. Then do this for
each treatment.
11. Transfer the entire contents of tube onto labeled filter paper over a suitable
collection vessel. Once all the liquid drained, dry filter paper with curds over
night.
12. Weight dry cone with dry curds. Subtract dry cone weight. Record the weight of
curds in mg.
13. Repeat for each treatment.
14. Create a data table that reports the rate of curd production by each curdling
agent.
15. Create a bar graph that show the rate of curd production (weight/ time) by each
curdling agent. `

Part 2:
1. Label 3 6ml tubes with the amount of milk and group number.
2. Use a large pipet to transfer 3 ml of milk, 1 ml of milk, and 5 ml milk into a
different tube.
 3. Transfer all the contents of the tubes of fermentation produced chymosin into
each tube f the different amounts of milk.
4. Cap all the tubes and invert the tubes 3 times and transfer to 37 water bath or
place at body temperature (under your arms) for incubation.
5. Set timer and check for curdling every 5 minutes by gently inverting the tube
while checking for curdles or solidification.
6. Record time when milk begins to curdle or solidify.
7. If milk has not curdled in 30 minutes, then check for curdles every hour.
8. In a data table record the time when the milk begins to curdle or solidify.
9. Determine the amount of curds produced by each treatment. Do this the next day
to make sure that the curdles dried out completely.
10. Weight a paper cone and record the weight of the empty cone. Then do this for
each tube of milk.
11. Transfer the entire contents of tube onto labeled filter paper over a suitable
collection vessel. Once all the liquid drained, dry filter paper with curds over
night.
12. Weight dry cone with dry curds. Subtract dry cone weight. Record the weight of
curds in mg.
13. Repeat for each treatment.
14. Create a data table that reports the rate of curd production by each volume of
milk.
15. Create a bar graph that show the rate of curd production (weight/ time) by each
volume of milk. `

Part 3:
1. Label 4 vials with the different different indicators used.
2. Put a few flakes of dried cheese curds into each vial with 2mL of water in it.
3. Mix the curds and the water until most of the curds are dissolved.
4. To test for glucose
 a. Mix 2 mL of a 2% glucose solution with 2 mL of Benedicts solution.
b. Heat for 2 minutes in a boiling hot water bath. This will be the only solution
you will heat.
c. Record what color the mixture turns. If it turns orange then it contains
glucose.
5. To test for starch
a. Mix 2 mL of starch suspension with 0.25 mL of Lugols iodine.
b. Gently swirl to mix but do not heat it
c. Record the change in color. If turns black then it contains starch.
6. To test for protein
a. Add 2 mL of gelatin (protein) solution in a test tube with the cheese
b. Add 1.5 mL of Biuret reagent and gently swirl to mix.
c. Wait 30 seconds and record color change. If the color is purple then there
is protein in the cheese.
7. To test for lipids
a. Add 120 L of Sudan IV solution to the cheese flakes.
b. Gently mix.
c. If the color is orange then it contains lipids.

Data and Observations

Part 1 Data Table

The table show how long 100 mL of each agent took to curdle 3 ml of whole milk.
Observation: On day one I observed that the curds became a solid when completely
curdled instead of lumpy like milk is when it curds. I also noticed that the milk with the
different agents in them had different scents.

Part 2 Data Table

The table shows that for the amount of liquid we had was proportionate to the
curdling time. The time increased linearly by two minutes each time.
Observation: I noticed that when the curds were dry, a good portion of the weight was
lost, but there was no liquid in our vial we were using it to drain into.

Part 3
Observation: I observed that the cheese curds were orange when it was tested for
glucose, which means that it contains sugar. When tested for starch the solution was
red in color which means that it does not have starch. The curds were light purple when
it was tested for protein, which means that it has it. Finally when tested for lipids the
color was orange which meant that the curds had fat in them.
Analysis and Discussion
Part 1
Part 1 Bar Graph

The data on this graph shows that the curdling rate of the FPC was the fastest.
That means that that method of cheese production is the most efficient.
The data means that the FPC was the best agent for this part of the lab because
the rate was the highest. If it had the highest rate that meant it was the most efficient to
curdle, which means that you could produce more cheese curds in a productive
manner.
My hypothesis was correct because the genetically modified agent was the
fastest curdling since scientist altered it so it was the best at curdling milk.
One error we had was not gathering any data for the NCB because when we
went to leave it out so it sit and curdle overnight we split it, so we had no curds to take
data on. Another error we had was the weight of our cones were all different. That
probably happened because there could be a variance in the cone or there could have
been stuff on the scale when we weighted the cones.
We could improve the lab by using different types of milk, i.e. 2%, fat free, etc, to
see if the curdling agents had the same effect on the the different type of milk.
This leads me to wonder what would happen by combining different agents to
see what effect it has on the curdling process. Also I wonder what would happen if you
use different amounts of milk with the curdling agent and what effect it would have on
the time.
Part 2
Part 2 Bar Graph

This data show that the amount of milk used has an effect on the time it take the
FPC to curdle the milk. You can see amount of liquid and the curdling time is
proportionate, because every 2 ml of milk added, the time it takes for the milk to curdle
increases by 2 minutes.
Yes, the part of my hypothesis that stated that the time will increase was correct,
but I did not think originally that the time would increase in a linear pattern.
One potential error was the volume of the milk since we used a dropper to
measure the amount of liquid, which would have not been as precise as a pipet.
We could improve this lab by using a bigger volume of milk to see if the time still
increases linearly. We could also test this with other agents to see if the other agents
time also increases linearly, or if they do not.
This lead me to think that if we added more FPC to the milk, would that speed up
the time or not, and can you only put in so much FPC before it reaches its maximum
curdling time. Also would the amount of FPC in the milk affect the taste or quality of the
cheese.
Part 3
Our results showed that the cheese curds contains glucose, protein, and lipids.
That means that the curds contains those macromolecules, which we need to survive.
My hypothesis was correct because it contained what I thought it did, although I
do not know how much of each it contained, which would be interesting to look into
further.
One error we had was choosing not to do both tests for lipids. That could have
been a mistake because the colors for positive and negative were very similar. Another
mistake was not measuring our a certain amount of the cheese curds to use. That could
have messed up the ratios and caused the mixture to look a certain color when I was
not that color.
We could improve this lab by coming up with a better method to mix the water
and curds that doesnt leave some lumps on the bottom, or was more efficient to do.
This make me curious if other types of cheeses will have the same results, ex.
goat milk, 2%, or cream. Also, I wonder how much of each macromolecule is found in
the curds.

Conclusion
Part 1
I discovered that the most efficient way to make cheese curds is FPC. In this lab
we tested a variety of way to curdle cheese. It took the FPC 5 minutes to curdle which
gave it a rate of 34.8 mg/m. That means that if the rate is higher the solution is more
efficient because it takes less time to curdle a milligram of milk. The buttermilk had to sit
out overnight in order to curdle, which meant that its rate is 0.115 mg/m. Since the rate
is such a small number it means that it took much longer for the buttermilk to curdle a
milligram of milk which means that it is not to efficient because it has to sit overnight to
curdle such a small amount of milk.
Part 2
In this lab I discovered that the amount of milk and time it takes to curdle in FPC
has a linear pattern. We used 1ml, 3ml, and 5ml of milk to see how long it takes to
curdle in FPC. In 1 ml of milk it took the FPC 3 minutes to curdle it and it took 5 minutes
to curdle 3 ml of milk. That shows that with every 2ml of milk added the time increases
by 2 minutes. With 5 ml it took 7 minutes to curdle, which is 2 ml more of milk with 2
more minutes to curdle. That again is a linear increase from 3 ml to 5 ml.

Part 3
We discovered that cheese curds contains multiple macromolecules. We did this
by performing various tests that would show if it contained certain macromolecules.
When we tested our cheese curds with the Sudan IV solution to test for lipids, it reacted
and turned orange. When it turned orange it showed that it contained lipids which is a
macromolecule. We again tested our cheese curds, only this time with Biuret reagent
which would show if it contained proteins. The solution turned a light purple which
shows that it is protein positive, that means that it does contain proteins.