EFFECT OF FREEZING AND FROZEN STORAGE ON THE PHYSICOCHEMICAL, ORGANOLEPTIC AND MICROBIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF A SEMIHARD EWES MILK CHEESE

Physicochemical, organoleptic and microbiological characteristics of s emi-hard ewes' milk. cheeses, frozen immediately after manufacture und er two different conditions at - 35 and - 80 degrees C and stored at - 20 degrees C for 4 months. were studied during subsequent ripening. Fr ozen storage after either freezing condition did not result in marked alterations in overall composition or theological and sensory properti es of the cheeses after 45 d ripening. Water activity decreased over t he ripening period and this decrease was more pronounced in the frozen batches. The water-holding capacities of the protein in the frozen ch eese batches were higher than for the control batch. The level of prot eolysis, estimated from the level of amino groups, was higher in the p reviously frozen cheese. Freezing also reduced the viability of the mi crobial flora in the cheese. The differences in these characteristics for the two freezing conditions were not significant.