Ankara Univ Vet Fak Derg, 69, 51-60, 2022 DOI: 10.33988/auvfd.813215 Chemical, rheological, and organoleptic analysis of cow and buffalo milk mozzarella cheese Abdul Rauf BHAT 1,a , Atta Hussain SHAH 1,b , Mansoor AYOOB 1,c , Muhammad Faisal AYOOB 2,3,d, , Farrukh SALEEM 3,e , Muhammad Mohsin ALI 3,f , Muhammad FAYAZ 3,g 1 Department of Animal Product Technology, Faculty of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sciences, Sindh Agriculture University Tando Jam-70060, Pakistan. 2 Department of Veterinary Pathology, Faculty of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sciences, Sindh Agriculture University Tando Jam-70060, Pakistan. 3 National Veterinary Laboratories, Ministry of National Food Security and Research Islamabad-44000, Pakistan a ORCID: 0000-0002-1624-0338; b ORCID: 0000-0003-4558-3660; c ORCID: 0000-0003-4991-8069; d ORCID: 0000-0002-4514-5911; e ORCID: 0000-0002-5571-7207; f ORCID: 0000-0002-8823-6055; g ORCID:0000-0001-6374-4849  Corresponding author: ayoob.faisal@yahoo.com Received date: 20.10.2020 - Accepted date: 08.04.2021 Abstract: This research was aimed to determine the impact of milk source on mozzarella cheese's chemical, rheological, and organoleptic characteristics. A total of 10 lots of cow and buffalo milk mozzarella cheese each were prepared. Prominent milk source influence on the chemical characteristics and calorific values of mozzarella cheese was determined. A decrease in moisture content and an increase in fat, protein, ash, and calorific values were noted in mozzarella cheese against their respective milk. Moisture content in cow milk mozzarella cheese (CMM) was considerably higher than buffalo milk mozzarella cheese (BMM). Average fat, ash content and calorific values appeared considerably high in BMM cheese compared to CMM cheese but protein content was recorded inverse and statistically non-significant (P>0.05). The average meltability was slightly higher in CMM cheese and the stretchiness of CMM cheese appeared significantly high from that of BMM cheese. BMM cheese was remarkably high in yield in contrast to that of CMM cheese. Appearance, flavor, and body/texture scores were slightly higher in CMM cheese as compared to BMM cheese. Regardless, the average benefit computed for BMM cheese was high in comparison to CMM cheese, the differences among them were statistically non-significant. The present study concludes that buffalo milk is better to produce mozzarella cheese with higher calorific values, better yield, and with more economic values, while cow milk is better to produce mozzarella cheese with the more proteinous, enhanced stretchiness, and better organoleptic quality. Keywords: Buffalo milk, cow milk, Mozzarella cheese, organoleptic, rheological. Introduction Mozzarella cheese is popular around the world due to its use for pizza topping. Its rheological (melting and stretching) properties, softness and appearance are best for making pizzas. Mozzarella cheese belongs to 'pasta filata' class that requires a skillful stretch of the coagulated milk in lukewarm water to achieve smoothness. It is a product made from buffalo-milk, by coagulating the milk casein by direct addition of lactic acid or adventitious micro- organisms with rennet or a similar enzyme from which moisture was extracted by incising, cooking or pressing, and then matured at appropriate temperatures and humidity (19). Bacterial culture is used to convert milk sugar (lactose) into lactic acid. The production rate of acid is important in assessing the consistency of the cheese (7). Mozzarella cheese is a savory and nutritious milk product. However, its quality depends on the physical properties, especially the ability to melt, elasticity, color, and free oil production. Differences in processing conditions, temperature, storage time, and milk quality can affect the functional properties of mozzarella cheese (2). The fat and casein contents contained in a curd during processing are typically high in Mozzarella cheese, which contains reasonably little quantities of water-miscible components (whey proteins, milk sugar, and water-miscible vitamins) that are primarily found in the wey. Mozzarella cheese is a rich source of nutrients, proteins, vitamins, fat, and carbohydrates (16). It provides many health benefits and can protect against gout, which causes uric acid crystals to develop in the joints (17). The calcium present in mozzarella also contributes to weight loss and protects from breast cancer and metabolic disorders that raise the