Thompson, Jason2018-11-282018-11-282016-09http://hdl.handle.net/11299/201025University of Minnesota M.S. thesis. September 2016. Major: Food Science. Advisor: Tonya Schoenfuss. 1 computer file (PDF); vi, 93 pages.Natural cheese is the primary ingredient used in the manufacture of process cheese and therefore has a large influence on its performance properties. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of natural cheese age on the viscosity of sauces made from process cheese loaves as well as to compare methods used to measure cheese sauce viscosity. Three replicates of process cheese loaves were made with average cheese blend ages of 10, 30, 90, 150, and 210 days and converted into sauces by diluting with water (3:1 cheese to water ratio) and heating to 70°C while mixing. Viscosity readings (mPa.s) were taken using three different methods (Brookfield, RVA, and MVAG) at the initial time point as well as after 2 hours and 4 hours of hold time at 70°C. Significant differences (P<0.05) in sauce viscosity were found between the cheese blend age treatments for all time points. Increases in sauce viscosity was observed for all treatments during the hold time, however significant differences (P<0.05) were found in the degree of the viscosity change over the hold time. These differences may be correlated with fat:casein and casein:phosphate ratios within the process cheese loaves used to make the cheese sauces. All methods of sauce viscosity testing showed similar trends for all time points, however significant differences (P<0.05) were found in the viscosity values. This is likely attributed to different sensitivity levels of the machines and the apparatuses used to measure viscosity. Overall, the age of the cheese used in the make of process cheese loaves does have an impact on viscosity when converted into cheese sauces and a method of sauce viscosity testing may be found to fit specific cheese sauce applications.enCheese ageProcess cheeseViscosityThesis or Dissertation