Evaluation of sensory quality of calf chops: a new methodological approach.

A new method to evaluate the sensory quality of calf chops was developed by discussion with experts. Resulting method comprised four parameters: quality related to odor, texture, flavor and persistence. For each parameter, the sensory characteristics perceived are marked and, by using decision trees, corresponding quality is directly scored, so making the assessment more objective. Global sensory quality is calculated by weighting these four partial qualities. Due to sensory characteristic collection, the method also provides an exhaustive description of each sample. To check the appropriateness of the method, 127 calf chop samples were evaluated by a panel specifically trained to apply it. Results confirmed the suitability of the method to describe the samples and differentiate among them according to their quality level. This innovative approach can be very useful for quality control and also to study the effects of different factors on meat sensory quality.

Effects of seasonal changes in feeding management under part-time grazing on the evolution of the composition and coagulation properties of raw milk from ewes.

Ewe raw milk composition, rennet coagulation parameters, and curd texture were monitored throughout the milk production season in 11 commercial flocks reared under a part-time grazing system. Milking season lasted from February to July. During that period, the diet of the animals shifted from indoor feeding, consisting of concentrate and forage, to an outdoor grazing diet. Lean dry matter, fat, protein, calcium, and magnesium contents increased throughout the milking season, as did rennet coagulation time, curd firmness, and curd resistance to compression. However, lean dry matter, protein content, and curd resistance to compression stabilized when sheep started to graze. Principal component analysis correlated curd resistance to compression and proteins, whereas curd firmness was highly correlated with fat content and minerals. Discriminant analysis distributed milk samples according to the feeding management. Curd firmness, fat, and magnesium turned out to be discriminant variables. Those variables reflected the evolution of the composition and coagulation parameters when fresh pasture prevailed over other feeds in the diet of the flocks. The present study shows that seasonal changes associated with feeding management influence milk technological quality and that milk of good processing quality can be obtained under part-time grazing.

Brining time effect on physicochemical and microbiological parameters in Idiazábal cheese.

Physicochemical and microbiological parameters were compared for three brining times (12, 24 and 36 h) for fresh, young, semihard and hard Idiazabal cheese. Longer brining time produced higher salt, dry matter and salt-moisture ratio and lower water activity values for all types of cheese according to ripening time, while non-significant changes were observed for pH. In fresh cheese (1-15 days ripening), non-significant differences for microbiological counts in relation to brining time were observed, except for moulds. In young and hard cheeses, Lactobacillus and Leuconostoc showed lower counts with longer brining times. In contrast, Micrococaceae, yeast and moulds were stimulated by higher salt content in matured cheeses. In addition. this work has proved that there are lower water activity values and lower microbiological counts in longer-matured Idiazabal cheeses. For the different brining and ripening times, positive correlations were observed among most of the microbial groups studied, but a different behavior was established for Enterococcus, Clostridium tyrobutyricum, yeast and moulds.