Why do parmesan and cheddar cheese crumble differently? And how much more cheese could manufacturers produce if they could predict and control the texture of cheese during its manufacture?

Dr Sally Gras, from the University of Melbourne’s school of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, is one step closer to answering these questions after being named a recipient of this year’s Victorian Fellowship Award. Dr Gras will travel to Ireland, the United Kingdom and Europe with her $18,000 Fellowship and visit dairy-based industrial and research centres to learn about their product microstructure and functional food research.

“There is a lot we don’t know about the intermediate stages of cheese making, and I hope my team’s research will help build Victoria’s capability in cheese production to ensure it remains internationally competitive by boosting quality and decreasing waste,” she says.

Dr Gras’ research will focus on how raw ingredients such as milk proteins, fat globules and starter bacteria are transformed to make cheese and how these ingredients, together with the cheese making process, determines cheese texture.

“Cheese texture is quite important for consumers as it determines the taste and feel of the cheese within our mouth. Cheese texture is also important for manufacturers who would like to consistently produce a cheese product with the same texture and increase yield,” she says.

“Our research, which will help manufacturers predict and control cheese texture, is likely to have a big impact on cheese manufacturing and the dairy industry. Up to $5 million dollars may be realised from increased sales with just an increase of 0.5 per cent yield (resulting in 2,000 tones more cheese per year).  This will strengthen the dairy industry, improve exports and help the Australian economy."