Serpa Cheese: Technological, biochemical and microbiological characterisation of a PDO ewe's milk cheese coagulated with Cynara cardunculus L.

Abstract

-Portugal has a strong tradition of cheesemaking from raw ewe's milk; most of these cheeses are still made on a traditional farmhouse scale. Their production is protected by Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) but the specific biochemical aspects of the majority still need to be characterised. Two different cheesemaking procedures, traditional and semi-industrial, were compared technologically, biochemically and microbiologically. It was observed that, despite the highly significant difference between artisanal and semi-industrial cheeses (P < 0.001), both products were within the limits of national regulations for most parameters except maturation temperature, humidity and the value for the maturation index. Although the present study was not fully representative of the region, the results obtained suggest that the specific regulations for Serpa cheese should be revised and that other parameters, such as moisture and salt-in-moisture content, which are very much dependent on the cheesemaking process, should be included in order to characterise better this traditional cheese.Serpa cheese characterisation / PDO cheese / ewe's milk cheese / Cynara cardunculus L. / vegetable coagulant Résumé -Le fromage Serpa : caractérisation technologique, biochimique et microbiologique d'un fromage AOP au lait de brebis, coagulé par Cynara cardunculus L. Le Portugal a une forte tradition dans la fabrication de fromage au lait cru de brebis, continuant à être fabriqués pour la majorité à l'échelle des fermes traditionnelles. La production de quelques-uns de ces fromages est protégée par l'AOP (Appellation d'Origine Protégée) mais leurs caractéristiques spécifiques restent inconnues. Deux procédés de fabrication (artisanal et semi-industriel) ont été réalisés et les résultats obtenus ont été comparés. On a pu observer que, malgré la différence significative des deux procé-dés de fabrication (P < 0.001), tous les deux avaient des valeurs comprises dans les limites imposées par la réglementation. Toutefois, certains paramètres, tels que la température et les conditions d'humidité pendant la maturation, ainsi que les valeurs proposées pour l'index de maturation, étaient différentes. Cela nous conduit donc à suggérer que certains paramètres pourraient être révi-sés et d'autres tels que l'humidité et le sel dans l'humidité, qui dépendent beaucoup du procédé de fabrication, soient dorénavant inclus afin de permettre une meilleure caractérisation de ce fromage traditionnel. Caractérisation du fromage

Bacterial Communities in Serpa Cheese by Culture Dependent Techniques, 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing and High‐throughput Sequencing Analysis

“…The cheese samples had a pH range between 4.95−5.49, with the highest values for industry V and A in spring season. These pH data are in concurrence with those reported for soft cheeses (Alvarenga, Silva, Garcia, & Sousa, ; Ordiales et al., ; Roseiro, Wilbey, & Barbosa, ). At 30 days of ripening, the moisture content of the cheeses ranged from 45.02 to 48.76% ( p < 0.05) for PDO industries and 39.10‐51.90% for non‐PDO registered industries, while the a w values were around 0.90 to 0.98.…”

Physicochemical, microbiological, textural and sensory characterisation of Mexican Añejo cheese

“…The results are similar to those found for Gabriel (Lawlor et al. 2002) and Serpa (Roseiro et al. 2003) cheese.…”

“…The times the curd is cut and drained, and the times it is milled before cheese is moulded also led to higher whey drainage and therefore less moisture in cheese A and B. Cutting of the curd and whey drainage has also been associated to losses of fat to whey (Roseiro et al. 2003).…”

Recent advances in milk clotting enzymes

“…2009), the ratio of milk clotting activity to proteolytic activity is not high enough for commercial cheesemaking. This is, however, not true for Cynara cardunculus L. extracts which have been used for centuries in traditional artisanal production of ewe milk cheeses such as Serra da Estrela, Manchego, La Serena or Serpa in Portugal and Spain, some of them having PDO status (Sousa and Malcata 2002; Roseiro et al. 2003a; Prados et al.…”