Quality Characteristics of Cheese Produced from Three Breeds of Cattle in Nigeria

Quality characteristics of cheese produced from milk obtained from three Nigeria breeds of cattle (White Fulani, Muturu and Red Borori) were evaluated. The experiment was conducted at the Animal product laboratory of the College of Agriculture, Kabba, Nigeria. Fresh milk samples were collected from three Nigeria cattle breeds (White Fulani, Muturu and Red Borori) into three different containers. Eight cattle of a single breed were used making a total of 24 samples. The results showed that there was no significant difference in the pH, cheese and whey yield of the cheeses used for this experiment. White Fulani, Muturu and red Borori cheese had moisture content of 72.51%, 70.03% and 63.42% respectively. There was a significant difference in the moisture content of the cheeses. Cheeses from the three breeds of cattle were stable upon storage for the first 24 hours but further refrigeration slightly decreases the weight of white Fulani and Muturu cheese. The sensory evaluation of the cheeses showed that the three cheeses have good acceptability by consumers but red Borori cheese is mostly preferred for all the properties considered. Hence, milk from these cattle varieties should be produced in commercial quantity in Nigeria adopting the best modern technologies.