摘要：Wara, a Nigerian soft cheese, was produced from cow milk using different crude coagulants obtained from (1) the juice of Calotropis procera , (2) an aqueous solution of calcium chloride, (3) an aqueous solution of alum and (4) steep waste water from pap production. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of these coagulants on the yield, proximate analysis , mineral composition, energy content, in vitro multienzyme protein digestibility and sensory evaluation of Wara. The result revealed no significant difference (p≤0.05) in the yield of the cheese (31.5-32.5%) from the different coagulants. The protein (25.56%), Mn (0.23), Zn (1.9) of Calotropis procera coagulated cheese was significantly higher (p≤0.05) than that of other coagulants. However, it had the least value in energy (6.5 cal g-1), K (26.04), Ca (22.5) and Na (16.98). The steep water coagulated cheese gave a significantly higher (p≤0.05) fat (21.9%), Fe (1.7), Mg (54.3), K(56.5), Ca(43.6), Na (45.2), energy (8.1 cal g-1) and in vitro multienzyme protein digestibility (86.3-92.6%) than the cheese produced by other coagulants. Calcium chloride coagulated cheese had the lowest content of protein (17.85%), Fe (0.993), Zn (0.785) and in vitro multienzyme protein digestibility (80.7-83.6%). Alum coagulated cheese had a high content of protein (23.64%), Fe (1.583), Ca (36.9) and Na (31.4). The results obtained from sensory evaluation showed that Calotropis procera coagulated cheese gave the best coagulum. The locally used coagulant in Nigeria for cheese production, steep waste water, appears to be promising because of its high content of minerals, though the sensory quality could be improved.
