Nutritional and energetic value of hard cheese

Abstract

Insufficient intake of dairy product, especially of hard cheese, in Serbia is a nutritional problem of concern. It is caused not only by income but also with low commercial availability of the product and consumer knowledge and preferences. This study assesses nutritional and microbiological parameters of hard cheese made from pasteurized cow milk. Standard chemical analyzes were performed and cheese were analyzed on the 1st, 30th and 60th days of ripening. The following microbiological indicators were monitored: Listeria monocytogenes, coagulase-positive Staphylococci, Escherichia coli and Enterobacteriaceae. Furthermore, ripened cheeses were analyzed on amino and fatty acid profile. All cheese samples presented satisfactory microbiological and nutritional characteristics for most of the assessed parameters. Ripened cheese contained on the average 29.08% milk fat, 25.29% proteins, 0.98% lactose and pH value was 5.23. The fat content on dry matter basis (FDM) and moisture in non fat substance (MNFS) were 49.11% and 55.84 %, respectively. The energy value of cheeses amounted to 366.80 kcal /1523.22 kJ. Mean values of fatty acids content (g/100 g) showed that cheese most contained saturated fatty acids, following with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids: 66.92%, 30.13% and 2.95%, respectively. The most common essential amino acids were leucine, lysine and isoleucine. This paper confirms that hard cheese is an important source of valuable nutrients and energy and should possess priority in human diet.

Keywords

• hard cheese
• nutritional value
• microbiological quality