Near‐Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy for Rapid Analysis of Curds during Cheddar Cheese Making

Abstract

ABSTRACT Near‐infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) equations were developed for rapid analysis of curds during Cheddar cheese making. The coefficients of determination (R 2 ) for NIRS and chemical analysis were: moisture (0.982), protein (0.965), fat (0.951), and lactose (0.909). When validation samples were compared by NIRS and chemical analysis, the R 2 s were moisture (0.984), protein (0.964), fat (0.957), and lactose (0.982). These results suggest that NIRS is applicable for rapidly monitoring chemical changes in curds.