Physicochemical and organoleptic changes in goat’s milk cheddar cheese with the addition of Lactobacillus casei as a starter during ripening

Abstract

Abstract The fermentation process using lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in cheese manufacturing plays important roles to enhance the nutritional content of cheese. This study aims to observe the effect of the addition of Lactobacillus casei in goat’s milk cheese manufacturing. Changes in physicochemical and organoleptic characteristics were observed during cheese ripening. Cheese was made using 8% of L. casei as starter and its changes were observed for 8 weeks of ripening. The results showed that the acidification process in cheese by L. casei resulted in a yield value of 10.85%. The ripening period affects significant changes in physical and chemical indicators, except for pH. Observations during cheese ripening from the 4th to the 8th week indicate that pH tends to stabilize at pH 5, protein increases by approximately 16%, and the decrease in moisture and fat content was by 18% and 15%, respectively. The best quality of cheese was obtained by 8 weeks of ripening. After 8 weeks of ripening, the cheese was yellow in color, has a hard texture with cheesy aroma, sour taste, and contains approximately 1.8 × 106 CFU/ml of LAB. The study of LAB application in goat’s milk cheddar cheese will provide an innovation in cheese production.