Effects of technological settings on yield, curd, whey, and cheese composition during the cheese-making process from raw sheep milk in small rural dairies: Emphasis on cutting and cooking conditions

摘要

The technological conditions of cheese-making affectcheese yield and compound losses in the whey, especiallythe processes of cutting and cooking. Althoughsignificant compositional and functional differenceshave been reported among animal species, there is alack of studies on the effects of cheese-making technologyon cheese yield and losses for sheep milk. Thus, weexamined the cheese-making settings in 8 small ruraldairies working with raw sheep milk and their effects oncheese yield and compound losses in whey during thecheese-production season. Actual cheese yield varied in2 to 3 kg of cheese/100 kg of milk among dairies due tothe cheese-making conditions, particularly the durationof cutting and cooking and the final cooking temperature.The combination of the conditions used duringcutting and cooking, especially, determined fat lossesin the whey. Fat losses were increased with high-speedand short cutting time settings together with high stirringspeed and long duration of cooking. Additionally,cheese-makers should adapt the cutting and cookingconditions to the seasonal variations of milk composition,especially during early summer, when fat losses inthe whey are higher. Our results suggest that it couldbe useful to use approximately 10 to 15 min of cuttingtime and moderate cooking speed and duration. Thedata reported in this study may assist the improvementof the cheese-making process in small rural dairies usingsheep milk, where facilities are limited and the roleof the cheese-maker is crucial.