Why calcium matters
Once chymosin has stripped the stabilising layer from the micelles, calcium helps bridge them together. Too little available calcium gives a softer, slower-forming gel even when your dosage is correct.
Where calcium goes missing
- Pasteurization and processing.
- Extended cold storage of the milk.
- Shifts in pH, which move calcium between bound and soluble forms.
- Seasonal variation in milk composition.
About calcium chloride
Adding calcium chloride is a common way to compensate in pasteurized milk. Use quantities appropriate to your process and stay within the limits allowed in your market — and remember that more is not better here either.
About the author
Bixa Products — Editorial team
Educational content written by the Bixa Products team, a family-owned cheesemaking ingredient company specializing in rennet and chymosin. Technical guidance is written conservatively: where a value depends on your milk, process or product, we say so instead of guessing for you.
- Family-owned cheesemaking ingredient company
- 30+ years in the Latin American cheesemaking market
- Specialists in rennet, chymosin and milk coagulation