Abstract

The possibilities of using recombinant chymosin as an alternative coagulant to commercial calf rennet in the production of white pickled cheese was investigated. For this purpose, white pickled cheese produced by using commercial calf rennet, recombinant chymosin (Aspergillus niger var. awamori) and microbial rennet (Rhizomucor miehei) were compared in terms of their chemical and organoleptic properties. The cheese samples were stored in brine containing 12% salt at 4±1°C for 60 days. In the study, which was carried out in duplicate, pH, titratable acidity, dry matter, fat, fat-in-dry matter, protein, salt, nitrogeneous compounds (water sobuble nitrogen (WSN), ripening index (RI), non-protein nitrogen (NPN), electrophoretic and organoleptic properties of the cheese samples were determined at 1, 15, 30 and 60 days of storage. According to the results, the effects of enzyme type on the titratable acidity, dry matter, salt, nitrogeneous compounds and all sensory properties, except for the odour was significant (p<0.05). At the end of storage, the titratable acidity, salt, WSN, RI, NPN values and sensory scores of the cheeses increased, while the pH, fat, total nitrogen (TN), protein, b- and a_s1-casein contents of cheeses decreased compared to initial values.

Key words: White pickled cheese, calf rennet, recombinant chymosin, microbial rennet.

Abbreviation

Abbreviations: WSN, Water sobuble nitrogen; NPN, non-protein nitrogen; PPN,proteose-pepton nitrogen; RI, ripening index; EDTA, ethylenediaminetetra acetate;FDM, fat-in-dry matter; TN, total nitrogen.