Quality and Technology of Indigenous Traditional ‘’bieno’’ Cheese in the Region of Mariovo, Macedonia

Abstract

“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.