Caractérisation du fromage Bastelicaccia

Abstract

Characterization of Bastelicaccia cheese. The cheesemaking parameters and the mi- crobiological, physico-chemical and rheological properties of Bastelicaccia, a soft cheese produced in Corsica, were studied in order to characterize the product. The work was carried out during winter and spring, on 4 farms, two of which transforming goat milk and the two others ewe milk. Bacterial counts revealed that lactococci and leuconostocs (about 8 Log ufc.g -1 ) were dominant in the cheese microflora while enterococci were less numerous (about 5 Log ufc.g -1 ). Cheeses made in winter were significantly different ( p < 0.05) (lower dry matter, lower level of lipolysis, higher level of proteoly- sis, lower firmness) from cheeses made in spring. The variability in cheesemaking conditions, depending on farmhouse producers, resulted in cheeses with significantly different ( p < 0.05) physico-chemical and rheological properties. This characterization of Bastelicaccia cheese provides data basis for physico-chemical, microbial and rheological properties in order to develop quality management of the cheese production in the small-scale traditional units. ewe / goat / milk / cheese