If milk is white, why is cheese yellow?

• Autor: Escobar Zapata, Carlos Alfonso
• Formato: artículo
• Fecha de Publicación: 2021
• Institución: Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú
• Repositorio: Revistas - Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú
• Lenguaje: español
• OAI Identifier: oai:revistaspuc:article/24159
• Enlace del recurso: http://revistas.pucp.edu.pe/index.php/quimica/article/view/24159
• Nivel de acceso: acceso abierto
• Materia: Carotene; Annatto; Bixin; Norbixin; Caroteno; Anato; Bixina; Norbixina

Cow's milk, which is used to make cheese, contains b-carotene, which is the compound responsible for the natural pale-yellow color of cheese. This yellow-orange colored compound is found naturally in the grass that cows feed on. As it is fat soluble, it is stored in the cow´s fat and passes into the milk encapsulated inside the so-called fat globules contained in milk. Since these globules scatter the incident light, milk appears to be white. During cheese making, these fat globules break down, releasing the b-carotene, which stains the cheese with its characteristic yellow color. Currently, to homogenize the cheese color in the industry, Annatto is added, a natural colorant extracted from the plant Bixa orellana L., present in the Peruvian Amazonia.