Chemical and microbiological changes in the ripening of Sainte-Maure type cheese made from pasteurized goat's milk

We made Sainte-Maure type cheese from pasteurized goat's milk and ripened i t at 12 degrees C and 93% relative humidity. The number of starter lactococ ci was approximately 5.8 x 10(8) per gram of cheese in the beginning and de creased to 4.1 x 10(7) at the 31st day of ripening. It was confirmed that g oal's milk cheese differed from cow's milk in cheese made under the same co nditions in the pattern of protein degradation. The total free amino acid a nd the total free fatty acid contents increased remarkably after 10 days of ripening. Judging from the extent of proteolysis and lipolysis and from th e results of a sensory test, the optimum ripening period seemed to be 15 si milar to 20 days after the start of ripening under the present conditions.