Abstract
Serra da Estrela (SE) cheese is one of the most appreciated Portuguese cheeses, being produced only from raw ewe’s milk, cardoon flower and salt. Cardoon takes part in two important processes in cheese production—coagulation and proteolysis—contributing to its unique features. Furthermore, milk chemical characteristics change during the milking season, being another factor that account for the high variability of cheese attributes. Therefore, the purpose of this work is to study the influence of cardoon flower (commercial, 6 M and 3 M) and flock lactation stage (November 2018, February and April 2019) in the final characteristics of SE cheese. The parameters analysed were moisture, protein, fat and salt contents, texture and colour. Results showed that flock lactation stage has the highest influence in all the studied characteristics, corresponding the early stages of lactation to the most protein-rich and low-fat cheeses. Cardoon flower affects mainly fat and rind colour. This study allows us to conclude that seasonal changes in ewe’s milk have a considerable impact in cheese attributes, and that although cardoon type had a more restrained effect, when used with expertise it may help adjust cheese sensory characteristics in order to obtain a final product that matches consumer acceptability requirements.
Highlights
Serra da Estrela (SE) cheese is a Portuguese traditional agro-food product with ProtectedDesignation of Origin (PDO), manufactured only from raw ewe’s milk, cardoon flower (Cynara cardunculus L.) and salt [1,2,3]
The ProtectedDesignation of Origin (PDO) SE cheese was manufactured by Queijaria Quinta de São Cosme (Vila Nova de Tázem), a certified cheese producer from the PDO region, according to their regular manufacture procedure, reported in Caderno de Especificações do Queijo Serra da Estrela [28]
Characteristics the milk used inremained the production of PDO Serra d approximately constant, whereas fat increased from November to February, continuing to be stable from thereon
Summary
Serra da Estrela (SE) cheese is a Portuguese traditional agro-food product with Protected. Designation of Origin (PDO), manufactured only from raw ewe’s milk (exclusively from Serra da Estrela sheep), cardoon flower (Cynara cardunculus L.) and salt [1,2,3]. SE cheese is perceived as a unique high-quality food product with great economic importance [4,5], highly appreciated for its strong aroma, slight bitterness and semi-soft texture [6]. The cheese final properties are dependent on a variety of parameters, including the characteristics of used ingredients and processing factors. Variation in the nutritional composition of milk is expected to affect the final characteristics of the cheese [8]
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