The effect of the use of different milk types in Malatya cheese production on cheese quality characteristics during the maturation period

Within the scope of this thesis study, Malatya cheeses were produced with cow, sheep and cow-sheep mixture milk, and some characteristics of these three types of cheese were compared during storage. For this purpose, the cheeses produced were stored for 6 months and samples were taken at certain periods of storage (0th, 1st, 3rd and 6th months) and the cheeses were analyzed. Compositions of produced Malatya cheeses depending on ripening (moisture, protein, fat, ash, salt), ripening values (pH, acidity, total nitrogen, water-soluble nitrogen, proteolytic ripening index) and volatile compounds were determined. The results for the Malatya cheese produced with cow milk showed that moisture, protein, fat, ash and salt contents were varied in the range of %49.6-50.7, %17,5-17,6, %18.3-18.7, %12.6-13.8, and %10.9-%12.5, while titratable acidity, pH, ripening extension index and ripening depth index were detected to be in the range of 0.165-0.498, 6.54-6.36, %5.1-7.4 and %1.4-3.7, respectively. In Malatya cheeses produced with a mixture of cow and sheep milk, moisture content varied between 49.0-50.5%, protein content between 19.0-19.1%, fat content between 17.3-17.7%, ash content between 11.8-14.2%, salt content between 10.0-12.7%, titratable acidity between 0.146-0.462, pH between 6.35-6.62, ripening extension index between 4.8-7.7%, and ripening depth index between 1.5-2.8%. The moisture content of Malatya cheeses produced using only sheep milk varied between 51.1-52.3%, protein content between 18.0-18.4%, fat content between 14.4-14.7%, ash content between 14.1-15.8%, salt content between 12.5-14.4%, titratable acidity between 0.130-0.593, pH between 6.37-6.62, ripening extension index between 6.0-12.4%, and ripening depth index between 1.7-3.2%. It was observed that there were changes in composition due to the diffusion of substances from brine to cheese and from cheese to brine during ripening. The decrease in moisture content, the increase in salt and ash contents and the decrease in soluble nitrogen fractions in the first months of ripening were associated with this process. As a result of volatile compound analyses, 11 acids, 1 alcohol and 1 volatile phenol compounds were detected in the Malatya cheeses produced. It was determined that the total concentrations of volatile compounds increased during ripening. Keywords: Malatya cheese, ripening, proteolysis, volatile compounds.