Traditional beaten cheese was manufactured in two different farms located in Mariovo region (southern Macedonia) during the summer period using raw ewe's milk. High counts of all microbial groups were found in ewe's milk (aerobic mesophilic bacteria 5.22x10 6-1.25x10 7 CFU•mL-1 , presumptive lactococci 3.30x10 6-1.34x10 7 CFU•mL-1 , presumptive lactobacilli 1.93x10 6-2.63x10 6 CFU•mL-1 , coliform bacteria 2.35x10 5-6.30x10 5 CFU•mL-1 and yeasts 1.24x10 4-2.40x10 4 CFU•mL-1). The lactic acid bacteria prevailed during manufacturing and ripening of the ewe's cheese. All investigated groups reached their maximum value during the dry ripening period and then gradually decline during salting and brining. A total of 240 isolates were taken from all stages of manufacturing and ripening. The prevailing species were Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis (35 %), Pediococcus sp. (16.7 %), Leuconostoc sp. (1 %), Lactobacillus paracasei ssp. paracasei (22.5 %), L. plantarum (15.8 %) and L. brevis (9.17 %). After 45 days of ripening the content of NaCl (6.1±0.8 % and 6.6±0.1 %) and salt to moisture (S/M) ratio (15.6±1.4 % and 17.3±0.3 %) in both cheeses was very high. The values of pH were 5.13-5.22. The main factors influencing the microbiological counts were NaCl and S/M content, and a strong correlation (p<0.05) was noticed between these two factors and the counts of the investigated microbial groups.

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The effect of the starter culture, temperature of curdling and processing technology on the composition, cheese yield and process optimization of Macedonian White cheese (MWC) was studied during 60 days of ripening in brine. Three treatments of cheese were made using current technological process and yogurt as starter-culture gained along processing of previous day (MWCK), freeze dried culture of L?ctobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus 3:1; F-DVS YF-3331 Yo-Flex version: 2 PI-EU-EN (MWC?1), and (MWC?2) with same starter culture as previous but whith 5 minute earlier processing of curd and temperature of curdling at 39?C. As ripening progressed, titratable acidity (?SH), salt and protein contents of the (MWC?2) treatment continuously increased, whereas their fat-in-dry-matter and lactose contents decreased. In same production conditions depending on the used temperature. Way of processing and starter cultures the cheese from (MWC?2) treatment was with highest acidity of 66.63 + 2.73oSH until the end of ripening of the cheese. Moisture of cheeses remained stable during ripening. The pH of cheese at the 1 day of ripening, which decreased by increasing the temperature of curdling (5.03, 5.11 and 5.00 for MWCK, MWC?1 and MWC?2, respectively), significantly (P < 0.05) affected most of the chemical characteristics of cheese. The content of salt at the end of storage at (?1) and (?2) variant is 5.23 + 0.31 and 5.52 + 0.31 respectively. Higher temperature of curdling decreased moisture and pH, whereas cheese protein content increased. The consumption of milk for production of a 1 kilogram of cheese ranged from 7.8 to 8.3 liters of milk. It was concluded that starter cultures have possstively influenced and improved the quality of white cheese.

The main purpose of this research was to determine the dynamic of total nitrogen matter and protein changes during ripening period of three kinds of indigenous Bieno cheese (A, B and C) in the region of Mariovo. The three kinds of Bieno cheese were produced with different traditional technologies. The cheese samples were analyzed for total nitrogen matter and protein during ripening process in five time intervals (in curd, after ripening, after salting, at 20-th day, at 45th day). The concentration of total nitrogen matter in examined Bieno cheese samples was between 3.98±0.06% to 4.16±0.15% and the concentration of protein in examined Bieno cheese samples was between 25.48± 0.49% to 26.53±0.93%. No significant differences in total nitrogen matter and protein concentration for p<0.05 and p<0.01 were determined. Proteolysis is affected by the type and amount of enzyme, the temperature during the ripening of the cheese, the length of ripening and the activity of the enzymes. The technological process of production, in essence, greatly affects the dynamics and breakdown of proteins, which is confirmed by our research.

“Bieno’’ cheese is an indigenous dairy product in Macedonia with autochthonoustraditional production technology which dates back from the Ottoman Empire. Theresearch includes and presents the results of the chemical composition and safety ofraw milk used for traditional production of ‘’Bieno’’ cheese, technology andphysico-chemical and microbiological quality of ‘’Bieno’’ cheese. The quality ofthe milk samples was determined within the permissible maximum according todata legislation. It is necessary to respect the hygienic-sanitary norms related tocultivation, preservation and care of the milking herds, and with the righttechnology of milking. After 45 days of ripening the researchers recorded theaverage results for the following parameters of the ‘’Bieno’’ cheese: moisture(38.63%), dry matter (61.37%), milk fat (26.89%), milk fat in dry matter (43.83%),proteins (26.53%), ash (9.25%), salt (5.21%) and the average of yield (9.36%). Theresearch specified the microbiological quality of “bieno” cheese after 45 days ofripening in accordance with the special requirements of food safety regarding themicrobiological criteria. Nowadays, there is a growing interest of consumers forcheeses produced with traditional technologies, usually based on handmadeproduction, characterized by piquant, unique and specific aromas, atypical forindustrial cheeses. The technology, physico-chemical and microbiological qualitycould be used in the protection of the origin and geographical labelling based on itsunique technology. The data obtained serve as the basis for creating standardizedproduction procedures, leading to the uniform quality of these products.