The Effect of Enzymes on Cheese Production Abstract Enzymes are a necessity to human life and cheese production.

In this lab, Rennilase was tested to see if when higher amounts are added, more cheese would be produced. Three samples of milk, all with different amounts of Rennilase, were curdled, squeezed, and weighed to see if the hypothesis was true. The end result was that the beaker with the least amount of Rennilase produced the most amount of cheese. This proves that greater amounts of Rennilase do not provide greater amounts of cheese, but that less is more. Introduction Enzymes are proteins that speed up (catalyze) chemical reactions. In the chemical reactions, molecules, also called substrates, are converted into products by the enzyme. Almost all chemical reactions in the body need enzymes in order to keep balance within the body. Enzymes are also valuable assets in the process of cheese making. In order to make cheese one must have an enzyme named Rennilase. Rennilase is a special enzyme found in any mammalian stomach. When used in cheese, it causes milk to coagulate faster. This coagulation separates the curd (solid milk) from the whey (liquid milk). This can also be done without using Rennilase and just using acid or bacteria but takes a much longer time to separate without the enzyme. The point of this lab was to test whether or not the quantity of Rennilase affected the amount of cheese produced. Given that enzymes speed up reactions, the premise was that the more enzymes added the greater the amount of cheese produced. Materials 37C Whole Milk

3 Beakers Lemon Juice Rennilase Balance Thermometer 3 Glass Stirring Rods 3 Cheese Clothes Graduated Cylinder 250 mL cups x 3 3 Rubber Bands Hotplate Method

1. Pour 150 mL of milk into each of the three beakers 2. Using a clean pipette measure and add .5 mL of Rennilase to one beaker, 1 mL of Rennilase to the second beaker, and 2 mL of Rennilase to the third beaker. Label each clearly. 3. Using a different clean pipette, add 1mL of lemon juice to each of the beakers and stir gently. 4. Gently stir each of the beakers simultaneously at a consistent rate for 10 minutes. 5. As the beakers are being stirred, set up your filter cups by placing a cheese cloth over each of the cups and hold the cloth in place with a rubber band.

6. After the 10 minutes, filter the curds and the whey using the three filter cups. 7. Drain as much whey from the curds by squeezing the curds without pushing them through the cheese cloth. 8. Determine the mass of the curds by using the balance. Record the mass on your data table. Results

In determining the mass of the cheese, it showed that the cheese with .5 mL of Rennilase was 29.003g. The cheese with 1mL of Rennilase had a mass of 28.472g and the cheese with 2 mL of 21.657g. In the experiment the cheese with 2 mL of Rennilase separated into curds and whey the fastest while the cheese with .5 mL of Rennilase took the longest.

Data Table Sample Control (1 mL Rennilase) .5 mL Rennilase 2 mL Rennilase Mass (grams) 28.472 29.003 21.657

Discussion Results indicate that the original hypothesis was incorrect. As more enzymes were added, a less amount of cheese was produced. As seen in the data table above, the beaker with the least amount of Rennilase proved to produce the most amount of cheese. With enzymes, even with more added there are only so many substrates that can attach to enzymes and with that stated, could be a possible reason why the beaker with the largest amount of enzymes produced the least amount of cheese. There could have been many places for human error that could have caused a slip in the experiment. The temperature of the milk may have not been correct or the rate of stirring may have been different in each of the beakers, meaning the enzymes and substrates did not mix well. Also, the amount of whey squeezed from the curd may have been different in all three samples. There are many ways that could improve this experiment such as having a more stable environment and having a constant heat source. In addition the use of actual bacteria could have changed the results. Many questions arose from this experiment such as what temperature would have been best for the enzymes and what type of milk is best for the production of cheese.