A study on the chemical characteristics changes throughout the manufacture and ripening of Lighvan cheese

Abstract

Lighvan cheese is one of the traditional cheeses which have the most high quantity of use in Iran. It is produced in South East of Tabriz in North West of Iran. The raw milk of ewe together with 20% -30% of goat's milk, without yeast, are used for its production. Its taste is mild salty and its scent is pleasant. The purpose of this study was to investigate the chemical indexes changes including salt percentage, the degree of acidity, pH, dry mater, ashes, and protein during the production and ripening. For this purpose, after coordinating with 10 local cheese producers, one batch from each producer and from each batch 20 tins, weighing 1 kg, which in total was 200 newly packaged cheese were purchased randomly. The tins were kept in special caves for 30 days in the region and then 60 days in refrigerator. In each batch sample of the raw milk, clot after rising and before salting, the cheese during the package time in tin and the cheese sample on 15th, 30th, 60th, and 90th days of ripining was analyzed chemically. The results of the study from the initial days of production to the end of the ripening period indicated the following changes: the rate of fat from 6.8 ± 0.25 in milk to 24.55±0.95 in samples, pH from 5.94± 0.06 in milk to 4.4±0.11 in samples, acidity from 39.4 ± 5.99 D° in milk to 119.4±5.38 in samples, rate of ash from 1.77±0.23 in milk to 8.09±2.32 in samples, the percentage of dry mater from 16.52±0.74 in milk to 43.57±1.34 in samples, and finally the percentage of protein from 4.45±1/12 in milk to 14.2±1.4 in samples. This result suggests that Lighvan cheese has unique characteristics in terms of its alteration procedure and chemical characteristics and based on the standard criterion in Iran, 2344-1, it is white cheese ripened brine in terms of chemical characteristics and fatty cheese in terms of the percentage of fat