Effects of different starter culture applications pre- and post-scalding on the biochemical and sensory properties of pasta filata type cheeses

Abstract

In this study, three different types of starter cultures (S1, S2, and S3) were applied either before (A1) or after (A2) scalding stage in Tel Cheese production and their chemical, biochemical, electrophoretic, and sensory properties were investigated during ripening. In general, there was no significant difference between the dry matter, fat, protein and salt values of the cheese samples (P > 0.05). However, there were significant differences between the pH and titration acidity values of the samples (P < 0.05). Especially the titration acidity values of cheeses in the A2 application increased significantly until maturity. The WSN (water-soluble nitrogen), TCA-SN (trichloroacetic acid-soluble nitrogen) and PTA-SN (phosphotungstic acid-soluble nitrogen) values were significantly affected by ripening period and increased continuously (P < 0.05). These values for A2S2 and A2S3 cheeses increased more than the others suggesting better ripening characteristics. Electrophoretograms indicated that αs1-and β-casein degradation rates were the highest in A2S2 cheese. Finally, sensory scores of A1 cheeses were found to be higher than those of the A2 cheeses.