Chemical, textural and organoleptic characteristics of Greek semihard goat cheese made with different starter cultures during ripening and storage

Abstract

The present study investigated the cheesemaking technology of a semihard cheese made from goat milk and evaluated the influence of two starter cultures, the first consisting of Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris, Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis, and Streptococcus thermophilus and the second of Lc. lactis subsp. cremoris, Lc. lactis subsp. lactis, Str. thermophilus, and Lactobacillus helveticus. The cheesemaking technology included milk pasteurisation, starter culture incubation, milk clotting with liquid rennet, pressing and salting in brine, ripening and storage for 180 days. The composition, proteolysis, lipolysis, volatile compounds, antioxidant activity, organoleptic and textural properties of the cheeses were determined. The results showed that using the present cheesemaking technology, first quality semihard cheeses were produced, as defined by the Greek legislation (i.e., maximum moisture content 45% and minimum fat-in-dry matter content 40%). All cheeses received high scores during organoleptic evaluation. Both starter cultures can be used for its cheesemaking.