Possibilities of using geographically indicated cheeses belonging to Marmara Region in cheese erişte production

Recently, with the increasing interest in healthy nutrition, studies on food fortification have intensified. In this study, three geographically marked cheeses with different fat ratios, namely Çanakkale Ezine (49-59%, full fat), Kırklareli old kashar (27,75-29,75%, half fat) and Sakarya Abkhaz cheese (20-25%, low fat), were selected from the Marmara Region and enriched with 10%, 20% and 30% of plain eriştes by lyophilisation (freeze drying) method. These eriştes were then subjected to sensory, physical and chemical analyses. According to the cooking tests, the optimum cooking times of the eriştes were 11-14,5 min, volume increases ranged from 0-233.3% and weight increases ranged from 100%-137%. According to the colour analysis results, the brightness value (L*) of the eriştes with 30% Kırklareli old cheddar cheese was significantly higher than the eriştes with 20% addition and the yellowness value (b*) was significantly higher than the eriştes with 10% addition. Of the nine different eriştes obtained, the eriştes with 30% Çanakkale Ezine, 30% Sakarya Abkhaz and 10% Kırklareli old kashkaval cheese were the most liked by the trained panellists, and these eriştes were then presented to consumers (84 people) and asked to evaluate them in terms of sensory and purchase intention. Of the three eriştes presented to the consumers, 30% Çanakkale Ezine cheese added eriştes scored significantly higher than both 30% Sakarya Abkhaz and 10% Kırklareli old cheddar cheese added eriştes in terms of colour, smell, flavour, general liking and purchase intention. According to the protein content, eriştes with 30% Çanakkale Ezine and 10% Kırklareli old kashkaval cheese were categorised as 'food with increased protein', while eriştes with 30% Sakarya Abkhaz cheese were categorised as 'food with high protein'. With the eriştes developed, it can be ensured that the recognition and consumption of geographically marked cheeses increases as well as the increase in protein consumption. Keywords: Geographical indication, Kırklareli old kashar cheese, Sakarya Abkhaz cheese, Çanakkale Ezine cheese, erişte