EVOLUTION OF PHYSICOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIST ICS AND RENNETING PROPERTIES OF EWES MILK COLLECTED IN THE ROQUEFORT AREA

In the present work, we studied the composition of ewe's milk collecte d in the 'Roquefort area: Results show real evolutions of milk composi tion throughout the lactation period. The study of the partition of ca lcium and inorganic phosphorus between the aqueous and colloidal phase s shows that the concentration of colloidal components decreases durin g the lactation period. An increase of the mean diameter of casein mic elles is observed whereas the micelle mineralization decreases. The mi celle solvatation and the proportions of alpha(s1), alpha(s2), beta an d kappa caseins show little evolutions. Variations of the coagulation parameters throughout the lactation suggest that the rennet coagulatio n time rises while the gel firming rate becomes slower with advancing lactation time. The curd firmness increases weakly and the whey draini ng capacity of the curd decreases.