Quality and healthy aspects of Lider cheese at different stages of ripening

Abstract

Lider cheese is a commercial full- fat semi-hard cheese produced from pasteurized goat`s milk in mountain area of Nikšić, Montenegro. The aim of this paper is to characterize the change of protein and fatty acid profiles, mineral content and antioxidant potential during the period of one month of its ripening. Proteolysis was monitored using electrophoresis of total extracts and water-soluble fractions under reducing conditions. Fatty acid profiles were determined by gas chromatography whereas the mineral content of cheese at different stage of ripening was determined by Inductively coupled plasma - optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) for macroelements and Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) for microelements, respectively. One month of ripening of Lider cheese is characterized by a relatively slow proteolysis which can be attributed to intensive lose of moisture, by the increase in desirable fatty acid content and consequently by the improvement of fatty acid healthy indices. After 30 days of ripening, mainly due to the degradation of αs-CN, the WSN/ TN and TCA/TN contents increased from 4.69 % to 6.06 % and 1.15 % to 1.90 %, respectively. One- month-old cheese had improved indexes of lipid quality as well as improved reducing power and ability to scavenge free radicals. Ripening did not affect mineral content of cheese if it is expressed on dry matter basis. According to obtained results, the optimal ripening period of Lider cheese is 15 days.