Determination of Fatty Acids and Chemical Characteristics of Cokelek Cheese from Cows Milk Using of L. helveticus and/or Yoghurt Bacteria

Abstract

Cokelek cheese is a very popular dairy product in Turkey. It is produced mainly by boiling of set yoghurt made from cow's milk and then straining in a special cloth bag.
In the present work, Cokelek cheeses were manufactured from cows’ milk by fermenting with different starter cultures (yogurt bacteria, Lactobacillus helveticus or mixture of these bacteria), and then denaturing at two different temperatures (85°C or 95°C), to asses the effect on yield, chemical and sensory properties of the products. The yields of Cokelek cheeses coded Y95:C, Y85(inoculated with yogurt culture and heated at 85°C), M95, M85 (inoculated with yogurt culture and L. helveticus (1:1), and heated at 85°C or 95°C), H95 and H85 (inoculated with L. helveticus, and heated at 85°C or 95°C) was found as 19.27 ± 0.21%, 19.78 ± 0.18%, 16.59 ± 0.76%, 18.69 ± 0.39%, 19.71 ± 2.17% and 19.88 ±0.25%, respectively. Statistically, no significant difference (p>0.05) was observed among the TA %, TS %, fat/TS % and salt/TS % level of the samples during storage period. At the 45^th day, the saturated fatty acid (SFA)%, total unsaturated fatty acid (TUFA)%, monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA)% and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA)% varied between 58.89 and 66.71, 27.14 and 31.80, 24.58 and 29.03, and 2.23 and 2.99, respectively. As the log counts of lactococci were determined between 2.50 ± 0.1 and 3.03 ± 0.35, the log counts of lactobacilli were found between 3.60 ± 0.26 and 4.33 ± 0.41 at the 45^th day. Total sensory point of the sample made with mixture culture in boiling at 85°C was the highest at the 15^th day. The investigation results showed that L.helveticus (single or mixture) might be proposed as a starter culture alternated to yoghurt bacteria in Cokelek cheese made from cow milk.