High intensity of proteolysis and lipolysis in the curd due to the activity of mold enzymes is characteristic of mold-ripened cheeses. The intensity of proteolysis and lipolysis in cheese curd during the ripening process of Pechersky cheese containing two types of mold has been investigated in order to delineate the optimal production parameters. The results showed that the intensity of enzymatic processes in Pechersky cheese was higher than in Roquefort and Camembert cheeses. This is due to the bidirectional ripening of Pechersky cheese, with mold Penicillium roqueforti mediating the ripening starting from the center of the block and the mold Penicillium camemberti mediating the ripening starting from the surface of the block. The data obtained allow for a reduction of the ripening time of Pechersky cheese to 21 days.
P. camemberti, P. roqueforti, Pechersky cheese, proteolysis, lipolysis
INTRODUCTION
The consumption of mold-ripened cheeses in the CIS has shown a tendency to increase during the last ten years. Unfortunately, domestic companies produce a limited range of such cheeses and the demand for these cheese varieties is met only partially. Production of mold-ripened cheese is more profitable than that of hard cheeses due to the lower cost of raw materials per unit of final product. Soft cheeses, including mold-ripened cheese, account for up to 40% of cheese production volume in Western Europe [1]. The share of such cheeses in the total production volume in the world is increasing every year due to their high biological value and unique organoleptic characteristics. According to the experts’ estimates, cheeses with white surface mold account for about (7–8)% of the total cheese production volume in Europe and for about (2-3)% of world production volume. French companies alone produce more than 300 000 tons of cheese with white surface mold per year.
Unstable quality parameters remain the main disadvantage of domestic mold-ripened cheeses. The use of foreign technologies for the production of mold-ripened cheese cannot provide for stable quality parameters, and therefore modifications taking the features of the domestic production facilities into account must be introduced into the technologies. Thus, improvement of the existing domestic technologies for the production of mold-ripened cheese and the development of new technologies are tasks of high priority.
The presence of mold microflora possessing high proteolytic and lipolytic activity is characteristic of mold-ripened cheese [2]. Biochemical processes that occur in cheese during ripening are associated with the development of microorganisms and their enzymatic activity that depends on many factors, such as active acidity, redox potential and water activity of the cheese mass, and ripening conditions (temperature, relative humidity, and intensity of air exchange in the maturation chamber) [3, 4, 5]. Proteolysis and lipolysis processes that determine the organoleptic characteristics of cheese can be controlled by selecting the technological parameters of cheese production and the regimen of cheese ripening [6, 7, 8]. Proteolysis is a critical process in the production of all kinds of cheeses, since it is responsible for the structural changes and has a significant effect on the formation of cheese taste and flavor. Intensity of proteolysis is much higher in mold-ripened cheeses than in other types of cheese; for example, the content of soluble nitrogen in blue cheese amounts to (50–65) mass % [9]. The level of proteolysis in cheese with white surface mold is rather high, although lower than that in blue cheese [4, 10]. The content of soluble nitrogen in the outer part of the block of mature Camembert cheese is 35% of the total nitrogen content, and that in the middle of the block is 25% [4, 10].
Free fatty acids are formed in the cheese mass during lipolysis, and the volatile fatty acids among them account for the flavor and taste of the cheese.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
