Changes with Temperature of Melting Time of a Mozzarella Cheese

― Easy Determination at Home ―

Abstract

In this study, the time required for melting commercial mozzarella cheese slices within a temperature range of 110-180 °C was determined using a home electric oven via visual observation through its window. Assuming cheese melting to be a first order reaction, the recorded time periods were considered to be half-lives and converted to reaction rate constants (k). The Arrhenius plot of ln k versus 1/T revealed a good linear relationship, with an activation energy of 14.9 kJ/mol and a frequency factor of 0.314 /s. Although melting of mozzarella cheese is a complex process involving lipid melting and structural changes of proteins, this behavior can be easily understood by considering the temperature dependence of intermolecular interactions, primarily hydrogen bonding. The results of this study offer important insights into the time required for mozzarella cheese melting during daily home cooking scenarios.