SODIUM CASEINATE AND SKIM MILK GELS FORMED BY INCUBATION WITH MICROBIAL TRANSGLUTAMINASE

Several suspensions and emulsions containing commercial sodium caseinate or skim milk were gelatinized by Ca2+-independent microbial transglutaminase treatment. The characteristics of the gels were largely affected by the enzyme concentrations employed. For caseinate gels generally the higher enzyme concentration gave steep decreases in breaking strength, strain and cohesiveness of the gels. The creep tests on emulsified gels prepared to two different enzyme concentrations showed that the gel made with a higher enzyme concentration was the more viscoelastic. For skim milk gels, the enzyme treatment in higher concentration caused substantial increase of the breaking and hardness while the strain and cohesiveness had little or no changes.