The physiochemical characteristics, microstructure and texture of Lighvan cheese were investigated over a 90‐day ripening period. The moisture content of the cheese decreased during storage and the salt‐in‐moisture ratio increased during this period. The most important biochemical change of the Lighvan cheese during aging was the extent of proteolysis. The water‐soluble nitrogen to total nitrogen ratio increased significantly during ripening. This microstructural study suggested that the size and number of pores increased significantly and the dense microstructure with large protein aggregates converted to a casein network with more homogenous aggregates. The degree of proteolysis caused the hardness of the ripened cheese to decrease during aging. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Limited work has been done on Lighvan cheese, a traditional Iranian cheese, which ripens in deep natural or man‐made caves for 3–4 months at an average temperature of 10–12C. Reducing ripening time is desirable for the producer. This study identified some of the physiochemical, microstructural and textural changes during cheese aging in brine. Precise recognition of cheese changes during aging provides essential information for ripening characteristics control and reducing ripening time.

The effect of milk origin on the physicochemical characteristics, microstructure and texture of Lighvan cheese was investigated over a 90-day ripening period. Besides fat, other physicochemical properties of Lighvan cheese were affected by milk type.The moisture content of Lighvan cheese decreased when half or all the ovine milk was substituted with bovine milk. The Lighvan cheese's microstructural properties and porosity were affected by type of milk and ripening time. Compaction of cheeses manufactured from ovine and mixed ovine and bovine milk is similar, and more than that of bovine Lighvan cheese. Ovine Lighvan cheese is harder and less brittle than bovine and mixed bovine and ovine.

In this research, complex coacervation between oak protein isolate (OPI) and gum arabic (GA) at different pH values (7.0-1.6) and mixing ratios (8:1 to 1:8 protein: polysaccharide), and a constant biopolymer concentration (0.125% w/w) was studied by turbidimetric analysis. The findings revealed that the pH = 3.2 and 4:1 mixing ratio were the optimum conditions for electrostatic complex formation. The functional properties (e.g., solubility, surface hydrophobicity, capacity of water and oil absorption, foam formation, and emulsifying properties) of the OPI-GA complexes were better than OPI. The FTIR spectra revealed that the complex coacervation between the amine groups of OPI and the carboxyl groups of GA caused the formation of the coacervate, with hydrogen bonding also being involved. The results of DSC and TGA showed that the complex coacervate had better thermal stability in comparison with OPI and GA.

The volatile compounds and protein profiles of Lighvan cheese, (raw traditional sheep cheese) were investigated over a 90-days ripening period. Solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry [SPME-GC-MS] and sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis [SDS-PAGE] were used to identify volatile compounds and assess proteolysis assessment, respectively. Ripening breakdown products viz., acids (butanoic acid, 3 methyl butanoic acid, hexanoic acid, octanoic acid, decanoic acid,…) comprised of the highest number of detected individual compounds (10) followed by esters (9), alcohols (7), cyclic aromatic compounds (6), ketones (5) and aldehydes (4). Carboxylic acids were the dominant identified group; their levels increased during ripening and involved 48.22 % of the total volatile compounds at the end (90 days) of ripening. Esters, ketones, cyclic aromatic compounds and aldehydes also increased, whereas the alcohol content slightly decreased towards the end of the ripening. Degradation of β- and αS- casein was higher during the initial stage of ripening (1st month) of ripening than at later stages, which could be related to the inhibitory effect of salt on some bacteria and proteolytic enzymes.

The effect of three different coating materials, including maltodextrin (MD, 9.95-20.05%), gum arabic (GA, 4.98-10.02%), and whey protein isolate (WPI, 4.95-15.05%), was optimized in order to produce high-quality beetroot extract powder (BEP) using response surface modeling (RSM). Beetroot extract (BE) was encapsulated using MD, GA, and WPI by implementing a spray-drying method. The highest total phenolic content (TPC) was obtained at 15% MD, 7.5% GA, and 10% WPI. The same results were achieved for antioxidant activity. Increasing the MD and GA contents resulted in reducing the moisture adsorption of microencapsulated BEP.