Lexi Sittenfeld Parkhurst

STEM 1/ 2 period
11/1/17
Cheese Lab Report
Lab description: There were three parts to this lab; seeing how long it took for milk
to curdle with different curdling agents, next changing a variable in the first part and see
the results, and then testing our cheese to see what is in it.

Part 1
Purpose:
To figure out the most efficient way to make cheese.

Hypothesis:
If we test different curdling agents and speed then FPC will be the fastest.

Procedure:
1. Label four 6ml tubes with the type of curdling agent and group number.
2. Use a large pipet to transfer 3ml of milk to each of the
6ml tubes.
3. Use a small pipet and transfer the entire contents of the
tubes of fermentation produced chymosin, natural
bovine chymosin or buttermilk to the labeled tube
containing the milk. For water, fill the small transfer
pipet to the bottom of the bulb and add to the labeled
tube containing the milk. Use a different pipet for each
transfer to avoid cross contamination.
4. Cap the tubes and invert the tubes three times and then
transfer to 37 degrees celsius water bath ot place at
body temperature(i.e. armpit) for incubation.
5. Set a timer and check for curdling every 5 minutes, by
gently inverting the ube and examining for curds.
6. Record the time (in minutes) when the milk begins to
curdle (small or large lumps) or solidified.
7. If the milk has not curdled in 30 minutes, check fr curdling
every hour.
 8. In a data table similar to the Data Table 1, record the
time (in minutes) when the milk begins to curdle (small or
large lumps) or solidify.
9. Upon return to the lab, during the next work period (next
day in most lab classes), determine the amount of cirds
produced by each treatment.
10. For each treatment, weigh a paper cone and record the
empty cone weight.
11. Transfer the entire contents of the tube labeled filter
paper cone over suitable collection vessel. Once all liquid
has drained through, dry the filter paper wit curds
overnight.
12. Weigh the dry cone with dry curds. Subtract the dry cone
weight. Record the weight of the curds in mg by
multiplying the mass in grams by 1000.
13. Repeat with each treatment
14. Create a data table that reports the Rate of Curd Production (weight/time) by
each Curdling Agent.
15. Create a bar graph that shows the Rate of Curd Production (weight/time) by each
Curdling Agent.

Data:

Curdling Time Weight of Cone Weight of Cone Weight of

Curdling Agent (min) and Curds (g) (g) Curds (g) Rate (mg/min)
Chymosin
(FPC) 5 2.55 1.14 0.33 66
Rennin (NCB) 1440 2.13 1.14 0.2 0.00079166666
Buttermilk 1440 1.63 1.14 0.22 0.1527777778
Water 2880 2.64 1.14 0.27 0.09375

Observations:
When curdling agent was inserted into milk is stayed at the top and the mil at the
bottom
FPC curdled very fast while the others curdled much slower.
Curdled milk when poured out of the tube looked like jelly with liquid surrounding
it.
 When we left buttermilk and NBC over night they curdled but milk with water was
still liquid.
we left the FPC to drain and the liquid dripped through the filter paper
We the cheese was dried out is was hard and flattened
If you bend the filter paper the cheese would crack

Analysis:

Some improvements could be to make sure the

cheese could curdle in the period so our data
would be completely accurate. We could of also
had a more efficient heating source, not our
armpit.

When we did research on all of our curdling

agents( FPC and NBC) I thought FPC would
make the milk curdle first because it was made
to enhance cheese production while NBC was
just a gene extracted from a cows stomach
called renin. The only problem was we didn't
really learn what buttermilk was so the people
who didn't know what it was were confused.

^ This graph shows the rate(mg/min) versus the agents in comparison to each other. So
how fast each agent curdled the milk first. (Class put all group data in)

Part 2
Purpose:
Make an even better way to make cheese than the original procedure.

Hypothesis:
If we add 3x the supplement then the milk will curdle faster than the original amount.
Procedure:
1. Label four 6ml tubes with the type of curdling agent and group number.
2. Use a large pipet to transfer 3ml of milk to each of the 6ml tubes.
3. Use a small pipet and transfer the entire contents(3x the supplement or the the
original test) of the tubes of fermentation produced chymosin, natural bovine
chymosin or buttermilk to the labeled tube containing the milk. For water, fill the
small transfer pipet to the bottom of the bulb and add to the labeled tube
containing the milk. Use a different pipet for each transfer to avoid cross
contamination.
4. Cap the tubes and invert the tubes three times and then place at body
temperature(i.e. armpit) for incubation.
5. Set a timer and check for curdling every 5 minutes, by gently inverting the ube
and examining for curds.
6. Record the time (in minutes) when the milk begins to curdle (small or large
lumps) or solidified.
7. If the milk has not curdled in 30 minutes, check fr curdling every hour.
8. In a data table similar to the Data Table 1, record the time (in minutes) when the
milk begins to curdle (small or large lumps) or solidify.
9. Upon return to the lab, during the next work period (next day in most lab
classes), determine the amount of cirds produced by each treatment.
10. For each treatment, weigh a paper cone and record the empty cone weight.
11. Transfer the entire contents of the tube labeled filter paper cone over suitable
collection vessel. Once all liquid has drained through, dry the filter paper wit
curds overnight.
12. Weigh the dry cone with dry curds. Subtract the dry cone weight. Record the
weight of the curds in mg by multiplying the mass in grams by 1000.
13. Repeat with each treatment
14. Create a data table that reports the Rate of Curd Production (weight/time) by
each Curdling Agent.
15. Create a bar graph that shows the Rate of Curd Production (weight/time) by each
Curdling Agent.

Data:

Curdling Curdling Weight of Weight of Weight of Rate

agent time (min) cone and cone(g) curds (g) mg/min
 curds(g)

FPC 3 2.84 1.14 0.40 0.13

NCB 1440 2.30 1.14 ? ?

Buttermilk ? ? 1.14 ? ?

H20(water) 2880 x x x x

Observations:
FPC curdled after 3 minutes.
There was more cheese than the first experiment
It took longer to dry out when put on the filter paper
We spilled a little bit of the milk with water in it because we thought it was curdled
when it wasnt.
Not enough time in the period for others to curdle so there was no way to tell the
difference between this tesst and the first test.

Analysis:
There was not enough data to create a graph that would tell you an accurate analysis of
this data.

Some improvements coan include being able to change the procedure so that the milk
will curdle in the period. This will lead to more accurate data. This also lead to us spilling
one of our tubes. We thought it had would cuddle in the period and it looked like it was
so we tested that and it spilled. Another improvement could have been everyone staying
on task and contributing, without this it was hard t get everything done within the time
required.

We believed that if we put 3x the amount of curdling agent then the milk would curdle
faster. That only seemed to be true with FPC. Our data is not particularly accurate so
the lab was not entirely conclusive. Some errors that we made were not staying on task
and spilling one of the test tubes. Now we know what not to do in the future.
Our data shows that FPC curdled faster due to more of the curdling agent while the
other milk resulted inconclusively. Because there is so little data it is pointless to create
a bar graph to represent it.

Part 3
Purpose:
Test what macromolecules were in our cheese.

Hypothesis:
If we test for macromolecules in our cheese fat and protein will come up positive.

Procedure:
1. Peel off as much of the curds as you can off of the filter paper and crush it.
2. Equally distribute the crushed cureds between 4 test tube and add 2ml of water
to each ones. Then stir.
3. Test for glucose: In a test tube mix your curdled milk and water solution with 2ml
of Benedicts solution. Heat for 2 minutes in a
boiling water bath (100 ml of water in a 250ml
beaker at 100 degrees celsius. If it changes colors
and ends in orange it is positive. If the solution
stayed blue it is negative.
4. Test for starch: In a test tube, mix well the curdled
milk and water solution with 0.25ml of Lugols
iodine. Gently swirl to mix. IF is is positive it will turn
black while negative will remain orange.
5. Test for protein: Wearing goggles and gloves ass 0.5
ml of 10% NaOH and CuSO4 mixture called Biuret
reagent with your curdled milk and water solution.Mix
well and after 30 seconds if the solution turned purple it
is positive while negative stays light blue.
6. Test for lipids(paper bag test): Place a drop of your
curdled milk and water solution on a brown paper
bag. Let is dry for 10 minutes. Hold up paper to
light. If is is positive is will be translucent while if it is
negative it will be not translucent
 7. Test for lipids(Sudan IV): Add 60ul of Sudan IV solution to your curdled milk and
water solution. Gently mix. Red is negative lipid test and orange is a positive lipid
test.
8. Record all of your data is a table like the one blow and observations look like the
table you can see in my observations section.

Data:

Macromolecules being yes no

tested for

glucose x

starch x

protein x

fat x

Observations:

Standard molecule Indicator used Description positive Description

tested control negative control

glucose Benedicts solution Changed colors, Stayed blue

blue to green to
dark orange

starch Lugols Iodine Turned black Stayed orange

protein Biuret Reagent Turned purple Stayed light blue

fat/lipids Sudan VI and IV- orange IV- red

paper bag test PB- translucent PB- not translucent
^This was a test for positive and negative controls so we knew what the cheese would
look like if is had some of these macromolecules in it.
Water and curdled milk flakes solution was murky white with flakes still inside.
Analysis:
Some improvements to this lab would be for there not to be the paper bag test because
it is imprecise and results are unclear. It would have once again been easier to do if
everyone split up the work and done their part so it could get done easier. We also
should have labeled more of our pipets and not just depended on our memory.

We thought that the cheese would contain fat and protein. Our testing proved us right
but the glucose test was a little unclear. Other groups suffered the same result. We
almost used the wrong pipet for a different substance but caught ourselves.

Our data shows that our cheese contained fat/lipids and protein, not glucose and starch.

Overall testing conclusion:

I have discovered that in order to get accurate data you have to be able to take
observations and complete testing in the amount of time given to you. OUr lab was
about how cheese is made and what macromolecules it contains. Our data in parts 1
and 2 of our experiment is not entirely accurate because we had to leave the milk to
curdle overnight. This altered our observations, the exact time it took to curdle, and the
rate we calculated the milk curdling. This affects every variable in this lab that we are
testing. Not getting the proper data or reaction we were looking for in our work period
greatly affects accuracy of our work. This also comes into play when we make an error
like spilling one of the test tubes. We were not able to redo it because the milk was
possibly going to take more than two work periods to curdle and we didnt have that
time to waste. For future performance of this lab the procedure should be altered so all
the milk will curdle within the work period to result in more accurate data.