%0 Journal Article %T Effect of Pasteurization Temperature, Starter Culture, and Incubation Temperature on the Physicochemical Properties, Yield, Rheology, and Sensory Characteristics of Spreadable Goat Cheese %A Florencia Frau %A Graciela Font de Valdez %A Nora Pece %J Journal of Food Processing %D 2014 %R 10.1155/2014/705746 %X The local cheese factories currently use bovine commercial starter cultures, and the spreadable cheese process is not standardized. A detailed understanding of the effect of pasteurization temperature, starter culture, and incubation temperature must allow producers to optimize the process, increase cheese yield, and improve the quality of the final product. The main objective of the study was to describe the preparation method of spreadable goat cheese and investigate the effects of specific processing conditions (pasteurization temperature, starter culture, and incubation temperature) on the composition, yield, rheology, and sensory characteristics of the final product. Results showed the impact of pasteurization temperature, starter culture, and incubation temperature on spreadable goat cheese. The results indicated that it is possible to improve cheese yield, rheological properties, and sensory analysis when milk is pasteurized at 75¡ãC for 30 minutes; cheese yield can also be improved by lowering incubation temperature to 37¡ãC. Cheeses made with autochthonous starter culture showed better sensory characteristics and higher pH compared to the cheeses made with commercial culture. 1. Introduction Fresh acid-curd cheeses refer to those varieties produced by the coagulation of milk, cream, or whey via acidification and those which are ready for consumption once the manufacturing operations are complete. They differ from rennet-curd cheese variety in that coagulation occurs close to the isoelectric point of casein; a very small amount of rennet may be used in the production of quarg, cottage, or spreadable cheese [1]. The production of spreadable cheese generally involves milk pretreatments, slow acidification and gelation, whey separation, and/or curd treatment. Many processing conditions influence coagulum structure and hence the rheological and physicochemical stability of the product [1]. In recent years, the manufacture of various cheese varieties has received considerable interest, mainly because of the potential to improve cheese yield, through incorporation of whey proteins into cheese curd. There are only a few studies in spreadable cheese and fewer in spreadable goat cheese [2]. However, the cheese-making characteristics of heated milks (>65¡ãC) differ markedly from those of typically pasteurized milk (63¨C65¡ãC). Milk that has been heat-treated at higher temperatures shows longer coagulation times and forms weaker and finer curd which retains more water. These effects are considered to arise mainly from the formation of complexes between %U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jfp/2014/705746/