A study on the manufacture of traditional mengen cheese, chemical, biochemical, textural and microbiological properties

In this research, it was aimed to bring Mengen cheese –one of our traditional cheeses- into the literature, to define its chemical, biochemical, textural, microbiological properties, to determine some of its volatile compounds and to present the production type of the cheese. For this purpose, 50 Mengen cheese samples were purchased from Gökçesu and Mengen bazaars throughout the summer season, and also the production of Mengen cheese was performed in Softalar Village of Mengen, Bolu, Turkey. In purchased Mengen cheese samples, chemical (dry matter, ash, protein, fat, salt, pH, acidity), biochemical (ripening index, lipolysis value), textural, microbiologic (total mezofilik aerobic bacteria (TMAB), lactic acid bacteria (LAB), yeast-mould, koliforms, E. coli, S. aureus, Listeria spp., Salmonella spp., coagulase positive S. aureus, E. coli 0157:H7 and water activity) and volatile compounds profile were analysed. In the average results obtained from chemical and biochemical analyses on Mengen cheese samples, dry matter 51.4±5.34%, ash 3.57±0.73%, protein 24±3.29%, fat 19.05±4.99%, salt 2.19±0.85%, pH 5.72±0.44, acidity 0.36±0.21%, ripening index % 2.94±1.25, lipolysis value (ADV) 0.87±0.73% were found. In microbiological analyses made on Mengen cheese samples average TMAB 8.15±1.14 log cfu/g, average LAB 7.19±1.42 log cfu/g, average yeast-mould 4.97±1.15 log cfu/g, average coliform 6.09±1.36 log cfu/g, average E. coli 3.79±1.87 log cfu/g, average S. aureus 3.96±1.6 log cfu/g were determined., Listeria spp., Salmonella spp., coagulase positive S. aureus, E. coli 0157:H7 pathogens were not observed. It was detected that the results obtained from textural analyses had a wide range. More than 100 volatile compounds were determined in Mengen cheese samples. While esters and alkanes constituting the main volatile compounds, it is seen that alcohols, aldehydes and ketones were at considerable levels. On the contrary, lactones, acids and terpenes were found in low levels.