The role of copper in the manufacture of Finnish Emmental cheese.

The effects of added copper in the manufacture of Finnish Emmental cheese were studied. Consequently, cheeses were produced with or without the copper supplement and a facultative heterofermentative strain, Lactobacillus rhamnosus Lc705, which is currently utilized as a protective culture in large-scale manufacture in Finland. Cheeses were examined at 1, 7, 30, 60, and 90 d from the microbiological, chemical, and sensory points of view. Organic acid production was affected by the presence of copper in the cheeses. The addition of copper to cheesemilk increased the level of primary proteolysis and slowed secondary proteolysis as measured by nitrogen content in different extracts after citrate fractionation of cheeses, in pH 4.4-soluble nitrogen and 5% phosphotungstic acid-soluble nitrogen, respectively. The presence of copper appears to positively regulate the sensory characteristics of the cheese produced in our conditions; in particular, consistency was affected significantly. The role of the Lb. rhamnosus Lc705 protective strain has not been shown to have important effects on most of the parameters that influence the final quality of the cheeses. Although the traditional plating systems for revealing bacterial populations during cheese manufacture did not reveal any drastic differences caused by the presence of copper, the results from chemical and sensory analyses suggest that its use plays a significant role in the regulation of bacterial physiological and biochemical activities, which in turn affect the sensory quality of Emmental cheese.

The characterization of the most-liked reduced-fat Havarti-type cheeses.

In Finland, official recommendations state that reduced-fat cheese should be used in the everyday diet. Finnish consumers are increasingly willing to consume food with a reduced fat content, and sales of reduced-fat cheeses have been increasing. The consumers who participated in this study (n=153; 17 to 78 yr old) ate reduced-fat cheeses on a weekly basis. They were recruited from supermarket customers living in a metropolitan area in Finland. The object of this study was to determine which kind of reduced-fat Havarti-type cheeses were most liked. The study consisted of a consumer test, sensory descriptive analysis, and chemical analysis of commercial reduced-fat Havarti-type cheeses (n=10). The results of the sensory quantitative descriptive analysis were compared with consumer hedonic ratings by external preference mapping. In addition, information on composition (fat, salt, and free amino acids) was gathered and compared with the hedonic ratings. The preferred sensory properties were a pale appearance, sticky texture, and rich flavor. However, the consumers could be grouped according to their preferences on appearance and consistency. The main attributes contributing to the grouping of consumers were stickiness, hardness, and yellow color. The least preferred cheeses among all Finnish consumers were those with the lowest flavor intensities. The consumers preferred the cheeses with the highest salt content.