Ripening changes of Kashkaval cheese made from cow's milk

Abstract

Kashkaval cheese was made from cow's milk and examined for the changes in its microstructure and chemical composition during ripening. The percentages of fat, protein, soluble nitrogen, non-protein nitrogen, amino acid nitrogen and the total free fatty and amino acids increased during ripening. The presence of glutamic acid, leucine, phenylalanine, valine and tyrosine at high concentration, and of butyric, caproic, caprylic and capric acids may contribute to the formation of Kashkaval cheese flavour. The small concentrations of acetic and propionic acids preclude any contribution to Kashkaval flavour. In young cheese, casein aggregates lose their spherical shape due to the scalding and kneading processes and they form a fibrous network including cavities. During ripening, dissociation and fusion processes occur in protein fibres to form a more homogeneous structure and interaction between layers of casein sheets increases to give a more compact structure.