Effect of composition, casein genetic variants and glycosylation degree on bovine milk whipping properties

This study investigated the individual and combined effects of & kgreen;-Casein (& kgreen;-CN; AA, AB, BB), beta-Casein (beta-CN; A1A1, A1A2, A2A2) and high and low ratios of glycosylated & kgreen;-CN to total & kgreen;-CN, referred to as the glycosylation degree (GD), on bovine cream whipping properties. The genetic variants of individual cows were identified using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) and verified through liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). A previously discovered relationship between days-in-milk and GD was validated and used to obtain high and low GD milk. Whipped creams were created through the mechanical agitation of fat standardised cream from milk of different & kgreen;-CN, beta-CN, and GD combinations, and whipping properties (the ability to whip, overrun, whipping time and firmness) were evaluated. No significant correlation was measured in whipping properties for cream samples from milks with different & kgreen;-CN and beta-CN genetic variants. However, 80 % of samples exhibiting good whipping properties (i.e., the production of a stiffened peak) were from milk with low GD suggesting a correlation between whipping properties and levels of glycosylation. Moreover, cream separated from skim milk of larger casein micelle size showed superior whipping properties with shorter whipping times (<5 min), and higher firmness and overrun. Milk fat globule (MFG) size, on the other hand, did not affect whipping properties. Results indicate that the GD of kappa-CN and casein micelle size may play a role in MFG adsorption at the protein and air interface of air bubbles formed during whipping; hence, they govern the dynamics of fat network formation and influencing whipping properties.