Effects of freezing and frozen storage on the physicochemical and sensory characteristics of four types of goat's cheese

Abstract

Physicochemical and organoleptic properties were studied in two batches of four different types of goat's milk cheese: fresh, washed curd, soft with surface flora, and Majorero, frozen for four months prior to ripening and/or chilled storage. Frozen storage did not produce significant changes in the rheological or sensory characteristics of the cheeses, except in the case of fresh cheese, the textural characteristics of which were adversely affected. The level of proteolysis, estimated from the amino-acid nitrogen, was higher in the pre-frozen washed curd, soft with surface flora, and Majorero cheeses. The level of lipolysis was comparable, except in the soft cheese with surface flora, which presented higher levels of free fatty acids when stored frozen before ripening.