Reducing the salt in Urfa cheese with gel brine technique

In this study, the production possibilities of a safer Urfa cheese with a lower salt content without distrupting its traditional properties were investigated. For this purpose, gel brine technique, which is a new salting method, was used. In the study, brine water was turned into gel by adding two different stabilizers (gelatin, carrageenan gum). In this study, three different carrageenan gum (0. 0.5, 1%), three different gelatin (0. 1, 2%) and three different salt (6, 12, 18) ratios in brine were used for 120 days of storage (1, 15, 45, 90 and 120 days). Experimental design was created using the surface response method. pH, acidity, chemical composition and microbiological analyzes were performed on cheese samples during storage. When we evaluated the results of the research, it was seen that the used stabilizers, especially gelatin, could reduce the water transfer from the brine to the cheese during the storage process, and this effect prevented the cheese from softening and dissolvation towards the end of storage in brines containing low salt concentration. In the samples with 6% salt without adding stabilizer, softening started from the 15th day of storage and these samples completely dissolved on the 45th day and could not be analyzed. A similar situation was observed in samples containing 12% salt. However, even at 6% salt content, at the presence of 2% gelatin and 0.5-1% carrageenan gum, the cheese samples, even if there was some softening, were able to complete their 120-day storage life without dissolving. When we look at the effect of the stabilizers used on the microbial growth in cheese samples, gelatin promoted coliform and total aerobic mesophilic bacteria (TAMB) development. It was observed that the use of carrageenan gum does not provide a microbiological advantage.