Traditional Cheeses from Selected Regions in Asia, Europe, and South America

Celile Aylin Oluk, Oya Berkay Karaca, Celile Aylin Oluk, Oya Berkay Karaca

• Publisher: Bentham Science Publishers
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN:
  9789811432354
• eBook ISBN:
  9789811432361
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Food Science
• Index: Technology & Engineering

This book serves as a treatise on lesser known ethnic varieties of cheese made in regions ranging from Mesopotamia to Europe and America. Cheese experts from different countries including Brazil, Croatia, Iran, Macedonia, Montenegro and Turkey bring together a rich blend of information about the traditional cheese in each region. The contributors describe the chemical and microbial characteristics, production technology and artisan culture of cheese making for each local variety. The simple and systematic presentation of the information makes this a useful reference for a wide readership interested in food, dairy technology, and gastronomy, such as producers, consumers, academics and students. The book also represents an effort to bring forth knowledge about a culinary facet of the concrete cultural heritage of local communities which can benefit tourism and sustainability programs that involve the promotion of traditional dairy products. [Series intro]Current Developments in Food and Nutrition Research is a reference series intended for a multidisciplinary readership (researchers, students, and general readers) interested in subjects ranging from food science and technology to nutritional biochemistry and gastronomy.

Characteristics of Traditional Cheeses Produced in the Republic of North Macedonia

Natasha Mateva¹, Vesna Levkov¹, Sonja Srbinovska², Dushica Santa², Sandra Mojsova³, Erhan Sulejmani^{4, *}

¹ Institute of Animal Science, Ss Cyril and Methodius University, blv. Ilinden 92a, Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia

² Faculty of Agricultural Science and Food, Ss Cyril and Methodius University, 16-ta Makedonska brigada No 3, Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia

³ Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ss Cyril and Methodius University, Lazar Pop-Trajkov 5-7, Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia

⁴ Faculty of Food Technology and Nutrition, University of Tetova, Tetovo, Republic of North Macedonia

Abstract

Traditional cheeses are specific products of the Republic of North Macedonia, mainly produced in small-scale farms or farm houses located in high mountains and rural areas. Some of the best-known cheese types are produced in almost all regions in North Macedonia: kashkaval, white brined cheese and beaten cheese (“bieno sirenje”). These types of cheese can also be found in other Balkan countries, only with different tastes and properties. Kashkaval is a type of hard yellow cheese with a natural rind and it belongs to the Pasta filata cheese group. Traditionally, it is made from sheep milk. White brined cheese is the most commonly consumed type of cheese that can be produced from sheep, cow and goat milk. Beaten cheese is a type of yellow hard cheese and the scalding procedure is a crucial step in its production. The great diversity in the manufacturing procedures results with variations in the physical, chemical and microbiological composition, as well as with variations in the proteolysis, the texture, and volatiles. In this chapter, the properties of cheese, the cheese-making technology and the artisan culture of the traditional cheese varieties in the Republic of North Macedonia are discussed.

Keywords: Beaten cheese (“bieno sirenje”), Kashkaval cheese, Proteolysis, Volatiles, White brined cheese.

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^* Corresponding author Erhan Sulejmani: Faculty of Food Technology and Nutrition, University of Tetova, Tetovo, Republic of North Macedonia; Tel/Fax: [phone]; E-mail: [email protected]

INTRODUCTION

Beaten Cheese (“bieno sirenje”), Kashkaval from the Bistra mountain and White

Brined Cheese (“belo salamureno sirenje”) are our typical trademark products which vary in appearance, aroma, flavour, and texture. Artisanal cheeses are differentiated according to their strong bonds with the territory of their origin and so they represent a historical and cultural blueprint of the community they are produced by. The production of these cheeses takes place in limited geographical areas with the use of know-how techniques transferred from generation to generation and the use of milk that has undergone no treatment after milking. From milking to the end of the ripening process, these types of cheese pass through different surroundings where a variety of microorganisms have the opportunity to grow and develop. Raw milk is an example of an environment comprised of many complex communities and different taxonomical groups of microorganisms with approximately 300 species of bacteria, 70 species of yeast, and 40 species of moulds. The conducted research showed that traditionally made cheeses have unique properties in terms of palatable pleasure, richness, and diversity, as well as protection against pathogens. Undoubtedly, these properties are achieved due to the presence of unique indigenous microbiota, especially because of the use of raw milk, combined with the specific skills of the cheese-makers that result in the creation of their general properties and quality. Each traditional cheese originates from a complex system with its own biodiversity components such as environment, micro and macro climate, pasture, autochthonous breeds, use of untreated milk and its natural microbiota, natural coagulants, cheese-making procedures, ancient traditional tools and equipment, and natural ripening environment.

WHITE BRINED CHEESE

Macedonian white cheese is a brined variety of cheese with either soft or semi-hard texture. White colored, rindless, with close texture and salty acid to pickled flavour are the main sensory properties of this type of cheese. This cheese is most commonly made from cow milk, sheep milk and, less commonly, from goat milk, prepared in blocks, and ripened in brine for a period of 90 days (Fig. 9). Traditionally, this type of cheese has been produced for decades by local farmers on a small-scale, using raw milk and traditional techniques handed down from generation to generation using only elementary equipment. Instead of using commercial starter cultures, artisan cheese-makers rely on the naturally present indigenous microorganisms in the raw non-pasteurized milk and the adventitious contaminants from the soil, the equipment, the surfaces, and the environment in general. According...

Table of contents

• Welcome
• Table of Content
• Title
• BENTHAM SCIENCE PUBLISHERS LTD.
• PREFACE
• List of Contributors
• Characteristics of Traditional Cheeses Produced in the Republic of North Macedonia
• Montenegrin Traditional Cheeses
• Traditional Cheese Maturing in Lambskin Sacks from Dalmatian Region
• Brazilian Traditional Cheeses
• Manufacturing Method and Physicochemical Properties of Lighvan and Koozeh (Koopeh) Cheeses
• Traditional Cheeses of Marmara Region in Turkey
• Traditional Turkish Cheeses of Black Sea Region
• Traditional Cheeses of Eastern Anatolia Region in Turkey
• Traditional Cheeses in Southeastern Anatolia Region in Turkey
• Traditional Cheeses of the Central Anatolia Region in Turkey
• Traditional Cheeses of the Aegean Region in Turkey
• Traditional Cheeses of Mediterranean Region in Turkey
• Microbiological Quality of Traditional Turkish Cheeses