Usi̇ng of whey culture in Izmir tulum cheese production

In this study, effect of using whey culture in cheese samples in Izmir Tulum Cheese production according to physical, chemical and microbiological suitability was investigated. For this purpose, whey was divided into two groups and incubated at 25OC (Mezophilic) and 35OC (Thermophilic) temperatures until 1.5%of lactic acid formed in pasteurized milk. Four different kinds of Izmir Tulum Cheese were produced and these are Mesophilic, Thermophilic, combination of mesophilic-thermophilic whey cultures and without whey culture as a control.Chemical, sensory, textural and microbiological analyses of the cheese samples were carried out on days 0., 15., 30., 60., 90. and 120.. As a result of statistical evaluations, the average total matter values of whey cultured cheese samples were determined as 48.77%, 49.51%, 48.13%. The effects of whey culture on pH, fat, protein and total nitrogen rate changings of the cheesewere not statistically significant(p ˃0,05). It was determined that salt value of cheese sampleswith whey culture increased from the 30th day and it was higher than the standard. Furthermore, titratable acidity of mesophilic-thermophilic whey culture mixture tend to increased during the maturation compare with other cheese samples.As a result of colony counting on Lactococcus ssp, Lactobacillus ssp and Entrecoccus spp, there is statistically significant differences for both within samples and storage period (p ˂0,05).In this study, numbers of coliform bacteria colonies in the samples were changed between 11.47-11.27 Log cfu-1which arein compliance with microbiological criteria. In the sensory evaluation, cheese samples produced with whey culture received an average of 4.00 according to taste, odor, structure, color and general impression characteristics, while the sample of cheese produced with mesophilic-thermophilic mixture whey culture was accepted by panelists. Also, whey culture samples are in accordance with standards in terms of texture and firmness. Elasticity and gummines values of all samples were decreased during maturation process. End of the maturation, chewiness values of all samples was decreased by 1stday. Key words: whey, starter culture, İzmir Tulum cheese, quality