Efects of Pasteurized Sheep's Milk Use on Production and Ripening of Siirt Herby Cheese

Abstract

Siirt herby cheese is a varietty of local cheeses, and raw sheep’s and goat’s milk are used in its production. The curds obtained by curdling the milk obtained in the highlands is sold in the city centre during the day or the next day. Siirt herby cheese is produced from the retail curds. Three different cheese samples form retail curd, raw sheep’s and pasteurized sheep’s milks were made. The samples were ripened at 4°C for 120 d. Hygienic quality of raw milk supplied from a farm and raw milk curd bought from local retailers did not have adequate hygiene. Coagulase positive staphylococci were 3.11±0.6 log10 CFU/ml in raw milk, then it increased to 6.6±0.5 log10 CFU/g in the curd before salting. Pasteurization of milk was decreased the total count of the coagulase positive staphylococci below the maximum permissible value (103 CFU/g) in the regulation on Microbiological Criteria of the Turkish Food Codex. These samples were only contained >103 CFU/g coagulase positive staphylococci at the 120th d of ripening. The pasteurization of milk allowed to obtain cheese that meets the desired hygienic criteria. In addition, sufficient acidity and pH development were observed in pasteurized dairy cheeses even though starter culture was not used. It was found that the traditional cheese production using both retail curd and raw milk may not be suitable for producing cheese in accordance with the official standards and regulations. It was concluded that in the case of the production of these cheeses, it is not appropriate to offer them for sale before the completion of the legal ripening period of 120 d. It was deemed necessary to conduct further research in order to draw up a production diagram including the parameters of the Siirt herby cheese production process.