Per capita consumption of fluid milk has been declining for decades in the US, but to see which dairy products are bucking the trend look no further than yogurt and cheese. Sales of yogurt exploded between 2010 and 2013 increasing 7.8 percent to 10 percent year to year. Although growth has been lighter more recently, sales continued to grow between 2013 and 2014 at 3.4 percent, with 2014 sales reaching $8.9 billion.i Similar to yogurt’s recent rise in sales, February 2015 total U.S. cheese production (excluding cottage cheese) achieved a 3.9 percent increase above February 2014 production, reaching 884.3 million pounds compared to February 2014’s 850.9 million pounds.ii
Cheese
Salt is added to cheese either through direct salting or brining, and plays an important role in the flavor and functionality of dairy products. In cheese, the salt level markedly influences flavor, aroma, rheology and texture properties, cooking performance and overall quality. It can enhance cheese flavor with salty or acid characteristics or by reducing bitterness in cheese.iii Moreover, salt can also help control bacteria growth, which allows salt to do a number of things:
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