Manufacture of feta cheese from sheep's milk, goats' milk or mixtures of these milks

Abstract

Abstract Feta cheeses were made from pure sheep's milk, pure goats' milk and from mixtures containing 25, 50 or 75% of goats' milk. Chemical, organoleptic and rheological analyses of the cheeses at various stages of ripening and storage were performed. Cheeses made from pure goats' milk had a lower moisture content than those from other milks. No significant differences in the mean values of protein and salt content of the different cheeses at all stages (ages) studied were found. Cheeses from pure goats' milk had higher fat in dry matter (FDM) but a lower yield compared to cheeses from pure sheep's milk. No differences between the cheeses were found with respect to non-protein nitrogen (TCA-N). Significant differences were observed in the acid degree value (ADV); the higher the percentage of goats' milk, the higher the ADV of the cheeses. Cheeses from pure sheep's milk received, in general, higher scores for body-texture, flavour and total organoleptic quality than cheeses from other milks. At 120 days, the overall quality of cheese from goats' milk decreased slightly. Pure goats' milk cheeses, assessed by the Instron Testing Machine, were harder and less brittle than those from other milks.