Effects of Rennet Treatment and Water Content on Thermal Conductivity of Skim Milk

Abstract

ABSTRACT Effective thermal conductivities of skim milk and skim milk curd over a moisture range of 60–95% were measured by the hot wire method. The measured thermal conductivity of skim milk decreased significantly with change in structure through rennet treatment at 30.0°C; the intrinsic thermal conductivity of solids content was determined on the basis of the series model to be 0.346 W/mK for skim milk and 0.338 W/mK for skim milk curd. The relationship between the water content and effective thermal conductivity of the specimens was described by using a single parabolic formula. The deviations of empirical values based on this formula related to the experimental ones were 0.31 ± 0.30%.