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

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

Cheesemaking with vegetable coagulants - the use of Cynara L. for the production of ovine milk cheeses

This paper reviews the use of plant extracts as vegetable coagulants for cheesemaking. It covers the plants used as sources of coagulants, with a historical overview and particular emphasis on Cynara species. The genus Cynara L., its composition, milk clotting and proteolytic enzymes (cardosins) and their specificity towards peptide linkages are also described. Cheeses produced in the Iberian Peninsula using Cynara L. as coagulant are documented. Cynara L. is still the most used vegetable coagulant in cheesemaking, and also the most investigated. However, much work remains to be done to understand its action during cheese maturation and further characterization

Evaluation of Serpa cheese proteolysis by nitrogen content and capillary zone electrophoresis

Proteolysis of Serpa cheese produced traditionally (B) and semi-industrially (C) was evaluated for the first time by determination of nitrogen content and capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE). A citrate dispersion of cheese was fractionated to determine the nitrogen in pH 4.4, trichloroacetic and phosphotungstic acid soluble fractions (pH 4.4-SN, TCA-SN and PTA-SN, respectively). The pH 4.4-SN was significantly higher for B ( P < 0.001), while TCA-SN was significantly higher for C ( P < 0.001). PTA-SN was also higher for C but at 60 days ripening no significant difference was found between B and C. Degradation of alpha(s1) - and beta-caseins evaluated by CZE was in good agreement with the maturation index (pH 4.4-SN/TN)

Preliminary observations of flavonoid glycosides from the vegetable coagulant Cynara L. in protected designation of origin cheeses

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