Effect of Dairy, Season, and Sampling Position on Physical Properties of Trentingrana Cheese: Application of an LMM-ASCA Model.

Michele Ricci,Isabella Endrizzi,Pietro Franceschi,Danny Cliceri,Eugenio Aprea,Flavia Gasperi,Leonardo Menghi

doi:10.3390/foods11010127

Abstract

Trentingrana hard cheese is a geographic specification of the PDO Grana Padano. It is produced according to an internal regulation by many cooperative dairy factories in the Trentino region (northern Italy), using a semi-artisanal process (the only allowed ingredients are milk, salt, and rennet). Within the PSR project TRENTINGRANA, colorimetric and textural measurements have been collected from 317 cheese wheels, which were sampled bi-monthly from all the consortium dairies (n = 15) within the timeframe of two years, to estimate the effect on physical properties related to the season of the year and the dairy factory implant. To estimate the effect of the dairy and the time of the year, considering the internal variability of each cheese wheel, a linear mixed-effect model combined with a simultaneous component analysis (LMM-ASCA) is proposed. Results show that all the factors have a significant effect on the colorimetric and textural properties of the cheese. There are five clusters of dairies producing cheese with similar properties, three different couples of months of the year when the cheese produced is significantly different from all the others, and the effect of the geometry of the cheese wheel is reported as well.

Highlights

Trentingrana cheese is an extra-hard-seasoned cheese type with Italian Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) falling under the Grana Padano PDO [1]
Within the PSR project TRENTINGRANA, colorimetric and textural measurements have been collected from 317 cheese wheels, which were sampled bi-monthly from all the consortium dairies (n = 15) within the timeframe of two years, to estimate the effect on physical properties related to the season of the year and the dairy factory implant
This study aims to analyze the variation of textural and colorimetric parameters of a semi-artisanal PDO product according to dairy, sampling position, and time of the year using Linear mixed models (LMM)-ANOVA simultaneous component analysis (ASCA) analysis, which has proven to be a valid statistical procedure to evaluate a large-scale dataset of measurements from Trentingrana industrial quality control process

Summary

Introduction

Trentingrana cheese is an extra-hard-seasoned cheese type with Italian Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) falling under the Grana Padano PDO [1]. Texture properties of extra-hard cheese affect how the cheese is portioned and packed. Texture affects the behavior of the cheese when it is subjected to shredding or grating, and how the cheese retains gas and its predisposition to form eyes, cracks, or swell. Consumer expectations are influenced both by cheese color itself and its homogeneity. Both colorimetric and textural properties are critical for the commercial value of hard seasoned cheese, such as Trentingrana cheese. The measurement of those properties defines the product from a technological and commercial point of view

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Results