Improving of the Microbiological and Proteolytic Profile of Kashkaval Cheese by Modification in Heat Treatments of Cow's Milk and Cheddared Curd

Model samples kashkaval cheese were made by the microwave processing of cow's milk in thermisation mode (62 - 67 °C) and direct microwave treatment of cheddared curd with subsequent dry salting. Control cheese samples were produced by the conventional approach with classical thermisation (62 - 67 °C) of cow's milk and classic hot brining in brine solution (72-74 °C, 14%NaCl). Samples were placed in ripening conditions (8 - 10 °C). The changes of microbiological and proteolytic profile on the 5th, 15th, 30th and 45th day of ripening were studied. Higher survival levels of the starter culture responsible for ripening were established in kashkaval cheese produced by microwave treatment in comparison with classical cheese. It was found that the higher cell concentration of the starter culture leads to active and accelerate process of proteolysis with production of free amino acids in concentrations significantly exceeding the obtained in the classical cheese: 490,10±2,10 mg100g-1(microwave kashkaval cheese) versus 216,50±2,00 mg100g-1 (classical kashkaval cheese).