Caracterização dos queijos de cabra tipo boursin, feta e Minas

Abstract

Goat milk cheese, despite being manufactured since the dawn of civilizations, is still a little explored product in Brazil, even though it can have a variety of textures and flavors, in addition to high nutritional value. As the product has a growing market and consumption potential, the objective of this study was to characterize physical-chemically the artisanal goat cheeses of the Minas, Feta and Boursin types. Samples of Minas and Feta cheeses had lower moisture than Boursin cheese, but all of them complied with the parameter established by Brazilian legislation. The Boursin-type cheese had lower levels of ash, pH, acidity, and protein when compared to the other two types evaluated. The lipid content remained between 15.7 and 16.9%, with no difference between the cheeses. No galactose was found in any of the samples, and very low values were obtained for lactose in the three cheeses studied. About color aspects, the lowest luminosity value was found for the Boursin type, and all samples tended towards yellow coloration. Boursin cheese also differed from the others in virtually all evaluated texture parameters. Given the scarcity of information about this study, the results obtained in the development of this work make it very important and may strengthen the research base for future studies in this area.