A Study on the Development the Technology and the Quality Characteristics of Cheese with Herb

Authors: Atilla YETİŞMEYEN

Abstract: Cheese with herbs is traditionally manufactured in the East and Southeast Regions of Anatolia by nomads. It is generally made from sheep milk with the addition of natural herbs. In this research, cheese with herbs was manufactured by using modern technological methods such as pasteurization and use of starter culture under hygenic conditions, instead of traditional methods. In this research, an experiment was carried out to evaluate the combined effect of different kinds of milk and herb mixtures. It was a factorial experiment including three levels of raw material (namely, sheep milk, cow milk and the mixture of 50 % cow milk and 50 % sheep milk), and three levels of herbs mixture given below: A: Dill + Parsley + Fresh peppermint, B: Dill + Parsley + Dry thyme, C: Dill + Parsley + Garlic. In the research, physical, chemical, microbiologic and organoleptic analyses were applied to the experimental cheese during the 90 days of ripening. From the measurements taken, the following conclusions can be drawn: Cheese made from sheep milk and the mixture of sheep and cow milk had higher total solids and lower fat and fat-in- drymatter contents than that of the cheese made from cow milk. Both non-protein nitrogen (NPN) and water-soluble nitrogen (WSN) contents increased throughout the ripening in all these cheeses with herbs, and the highest values were observed in the cheeses with herbs made from sheep milk. The highest values of ripening index (WSN/TNx100) and total volatile fatty acids contents were achieved in the cheeses with herbs made form sheep milk. The hardest body measured by penetrometer was obtained in the cheeses with herbs made form sheep milk at the end of ripening. According to the overall scores, the cheeses with herbs made from sheep milk were the best preferred samples among the cheeses made from different kinds of milk at the end of ripening. The cheese with herbs containing garlic made from sheep milk had higher overall score than the other sheep milk cheeses.

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