Temperature and relative humidity influence the ripening descriptors of Camembert-type cheeses throughout ripening

Abstract

Ripening descriptors are the main factors that determine consumers' preferences of soft cheeses. Six descriptors were defined to represent the sensory changes in Camembert cheeses: Penicillium camemberti appearance, cheese odor and rind color, creamy underrind thickness and consistency, and core hardness. To evaluate the effects of the main process parameters on these descriptors, Camembert cheeses were ripened under different temperatures (8, 12, and 16°C) and relative humidity (RH; 88, 92, and 98%). The sensory descriptors were highly dependent on the temperature and RH used throughout ripening in a ripening chamber. All sensory descriptor changes could be explained by microorganism growth, pH, carbon substrate metabolism, and cheese moisture, as well as by microbial enzymatic activities. On d 40, at 8°C and 88% RH, all sensory descriptors scored the worst: the cheese was too dry, its odor and its color were similar to those of the unripe cheese, the underrind was driest, and the core was hardest. At 16°C and 98% RH, the odor was strongly ammonia and the color was dark brown, and the creamy underrind represented the entire thickness of the cheese but was completely runny, descriptors indicative of an over ripened cheese. Statistical analysis showed that the best ripening conditions to achieve an optimum balance between cheese sensory qualities and marketability were 13±1°C and 94±1% RH.

Effect of seaweed flakes addition on the development of bioactivities in functional Camembert‐type cheese

“…This pH evolution corresponds to what is generally reported for Camembert‐type cheese as described by Liu & Puri (), within the first 20 days. The pH of cheese curds is correlated to the fungus growth and its proteolytic activities (Leclercq‐Perlat et al ., ). The results obtained show no significant difference among the three treatments.…”

Perceptions of Brazilian consumers regarding white mould surface‐ripened cheese using free word association

“…), and the period and conditions of ripening may also influence the sensory characteristics of this type of cheese (Leclercq‐Perlat et al . ).…”

Assessment of physicochemical, textural and microbiological properties of brazilian white mold surface-ripened cheeses: a technological approach

“…These values were lower than those reported by LECLERCQ-PERLAT (2011) for French white mold cheeses (50-60%). The causes of these variations and the lower moisture content in relation to French cheeses may be due to different humidity and temperatures used in the ripening process; lack of efficient control of humidity and design of maturation chambers (LECLERCQ-PERLAT et al, 2015;JUDACEWSKI et al, 2016) .…”