Investigation of lipolytic and proteolytic ripening degrees of enzyme-modified dairy products manufactured in Turkey

Abstract

The usage of dairy products as flavor enhancer is recently increased in addition to the direct consumption. The specific flavor of dairy products, especially cheeses, can be obtained after long ripening processes. It is possible to mimic the ripening process and to develop specific flavor in a short time under controlled conditions by the aid of enzymatic reactions. These products which are named as enzyme-modified dairy products are widely used as food additive. Enzyme modified dairy products are recently begun to be produced in Turkey. However, the enzyme modified dairy products with traditional flavors have yet to be produced in Turkey. In the present study, 8 different enzyme-modified cheese (EMC) and 2 different enzyme-modified butter samples which were commercially manufactured in Turkey were supplied and the principle chemical properties, free fatty acid content & amounts, and proteolytic ripening degrees of them were analyzed. The EMCs produced with sheep and goat flavors had high amounts of proteolytic and lipolytic ripening degradation products, while EMC with Edam flavor had low amounts. It is detected that Parmesan and Cheddar EMCs had high proteolytic ripening degrees, whereas EMC with cheesy flavor came to the front with its high lipolytic ripening degree. It is concluded that varied proteolytic and lipolytic ripening degrees were achieved to produce different cheese flavors.