Production of spiced pasta cheese using Bioyogur ferment alternative to commercial thermophilic ferment (Part 1)

Abstract

The food industry’s current focus lies mainly on the diversification of products and the substitution of imports. The objective of the following research work was to prepare a spiced pasta cheese using Bioyogur ferment at the "Sierra Maestra" Cheese Factory in Santiago de Cuba. For which two different Bioyogur ferments were used, the physico-chemical characteristics (fat, fat in dry extract, % moisture, total solids and pH) were determined and the microbiological parameters were evaluated to the final product in order to estimate the quality of it. The results of the physical-chemical study indicated that it is possible to obtain a spiced pasta cheese using Bioyogur ferment with optimum quality since comparable results were obtained with the commercial product obtained using thermophilic ferment. The pasta filata cheese maintained microbiological quality because no growth of undesirable microorganisms was observed.