Monitoring the properties during ripening of full- and low-fat acid-coagulated (Circassian) cheeses produced from ovine or bovine milk

Abstract

The study examined the effects of milk type, fat content, and ripening time on the fatty acid (FA) and free fatty acid (FFA) content, colour, and sensory properties of Circassian cheeses. The major FAs identified were myristic (C14), lauric (C12), capric (C10), palmitic (C16), and stearic acid (C18) in all Circassian cheeses. Milk type significantly affected short-, medium-, and long-chain FAs. Fat content had no significant effect on FAs, supported by cluster analysis of the heatmap. The predominant FFAs were oleic (C18:1) and palmitic acid (C16), and the effect of milk type, fat content, and ripening time on FFAs was significant. Full-fat cheeses had higher brightness and sensory scores than low-fat cheeses. On the PCA score plot, bovine full-fat (BF) and bovine low-fat (BLF) cheeses were in different groups in terms of FA and FFA distributions and were separate from the group comprising ovine full-fat and ovine low-fat cheeses.