Suitability of the infrared spectroscopy and the rheological method for distinguishing traditional cheese from industrial Turoš cheese

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to determine suitability of the infrared spectroscopy and the rheological method for distinguishing traditional cheese from industrial Turoš cheese. Turoš cheese belongs to the group of sour, dried, cone shaped cheeses with added salt and red dry pepper. Cheeses were sampled from 15 family farms and from market (industrial cheeses from five different batches). The rheological parameters of analysed cheeses were in accordance with the chemical composition of the same samples. Infrared spectroscopy of cheeses show good relation with the chemical composition and it has been proved to be a fast and effective method when compared to textural and standard chemical analysis for monitoring the standard procedure of production of sour, dried cheeses such as Turoš cheese. The extensive variability of all the parameters was a result of unbalanced production of Turoš cheese among family farms. Industrial production of Turoš cheese demonstrates more uniformity in relation to traditional on-farm cheese production.