Analysis of factors influencing the physical, chemical and sensorial properties of Serra da Estrela cheeses

Serra da Estrela cheese: A review

“…Among the different research studies, the moisture content of ripened Serra da Estrela cheese varied between 34.9% and 49.8%; however, the Portuguese law considers the content to be between 61% and 69% based on cheese free of fat content (Ministry of Agriculture, ). In all studies, and as expected, the moisture content decreased during ripening (Guiné et al, ; Macedo, Tavares, & Malcata, ; Sousa & Malcata, ), being affected by relative humidity conditions; the ripening conditions control the rate of water evaporation (Macedo et al, ). A higher variation for fat content was observed, where results fluctuated from 25.15% to 53.57%; in the meantime the law reports fat content to be between 45% and 60% in the dry residue (Ministry of Agriculture, ).…”

“…As far as the protein content is concerned mean values varied between 12.97% and 28.77%; by the law protein content should be between 26% and 33% in the dry residue (Ministry of Agriculture, ). Several studies reported slight fluctuations in fat and protein contents along with ripening, in particular, reductions until 63–68 days were reported (Macedo et al, ; Sousa & Malcata, ) whereas an increase in values were reported at 52 and 177 days ripening (Guiné et al, ). In several studies, the ash content fluctuated from 3.40% to 5.16%, values which are lower than those required by law, namely, 5 to 6.5% in the dry residue (Ministry of Agriculture, ).…”

“…The manufacturing techniques used and the environmental conditions lead to cheeses with different characteristics (Guiné, Tenreiro, Correia, Correia, & Barracosa, ; Macedo et al, ; Tavaria & Malcata, ). This traditional Portuguese cheese is made with only three ingredients: Milk from Bordaleira Serra da Estrela and/or Churra Mondegueira ewes breeds, salt and a Cynara cardunculus , L. extract as rennet (Planning & Political Office, ), as illustrated in Figure .…”

Bacterial Communities in Serpa Cheese by Culture Dependent Techniques, 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing and High‐throughput Sequencing Analysis

“…The properties of the resulting cheese can be expected to vary between producers due to small differences in the cheese making technology and slight variations in the chemical and microbial composition of the milk associated with the conditions of milk production, such as hygiene, geographical area, animal breed, season, and the microbial population of the cheese making environment (Alessandria et al., ; Bokulich & Mills, ; Guiné, Tenreiro, Correia, Correia, & Barracosa, ; Pereira et al., ). A thorough microbial survey of similar cheeses regarding their origin and production technology, as PDO and non‐PDO cheeses, could be very important for the dairy industry, as the PDO regulation enables knowledge of the production technology and milk production conditions to guarantee the quality of the product.…”

“…The properties of the resulting cheese can be expected to vary between producers due to small differences in the cheese making technology and slight variations in the chemical and microbial composition of the milk associated with the conditions of milk production, such as hygiene, geographical area, animal breed, season, and the microbial population of the cheese making environment (Alessandria et al, 2016;Bokulich & Mills, 2013;Guiné, Tenreiro, Correia, Correia, & Barracosa, 2016;…”