Production of Lighvan cheese from different mixtures of unpasteurized buffalo, sheep, and goat milk and comparison of its microbial properties with sheep Lighvan cheese
Subject Areas : Food Hygiene
Shirin Jabbarvand Behrouz
1
,
Yahya Shafiei
2
*
1 - Department of Food Science and Technology, Mam.C., Islamic Azad University, Mamaghan, Iran.
2 - Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Agricultural Science and Natural Resources, Khoy.C., Islamic Azad University, Khoy, Iran.
Keywords: Lighvan cheese, Buffalo milk, Goat milk, Traditional cheeses, Microbial properties.,
Abstract :
Lighvan cheese is the most famous Iranian brined cheese, traditionally produced from ewe's milk in the Lighvan village, Tabriz. Due to the limited and seasonal availability of ewe's milk in the Lighvan region, there is a need to explore the production of Lighvan cheese using milk from other species, such as buffalo and goat, or a mixture of these milks. This study aimed to produce Lighvan cheese using equal proportions of unpasteurized buffalo/goat milk and buffalo/sheep milk, and to assess the microbial properties (total count, lactobacilli, coliforms, mold, and yeast) of the resulting cheeses, comparing them to traditional Lighvan cheese as a control. The cheese samples were produced in an artisanal cheese plant in Lighvan and stored at 4°C. Microbial properties were analyzed every 15 days for up to 90 days. The total count of mold and yeast in the samples was lower than in the control (p<0.05). The lactobacilli count in the samples was higher than in the control, with a significant increase observed in the buffalo/goat milk sample (p<0.05). Throughout the maturation process, the total bacterial count, coliforms, lactobacilli, and yeast populations decreased, while the mold count fluctuated with successive increases and decreases. Based on the results of this study, it is concluded that a mixture of buffalo and goat milk can serve as a suitable substitute for whole ewe’s milk in the production of Lighvan cheese.