Composition and sensory profiling of probiotic Scamorza ewe’s milk cheese

The present study aimed to assess the effect of the addition of different usually recognized as probiotic bacterial strains on chemical composition and sensory properties of Scamorza cheese manufactured from ewe milk. To define the sensory profile of Scamorza cheese, a qualitative and quantitative reference frame specific for a pasta filata cheese was constructed. According to the presence of probiotic bacteria, cheeses were denoted S-BB for Scamorza cheese made using a mix of Bifidobacterium longum 46 and Bifidobacterium lactis BB-12, and S-LA for Scamorza cheese made using Lactobacillus acidophilus LA-5. The designation for control Scamorza cheese was S-CO. Analyses were performed at 15d of ripening. The moisture content of Scamorza ewe milk cheese ranged between 44.61 and 47.16% (wt/wt), showing higher values in S-CO and S-BB cheeses than in S-LA cheese; the fat percentage ranged between 25.43 and 28.68% (wt/wt), showing higher value in S-LA cheese. The NaCl percentage in Scamorza cheese from ewe milk was 1.75 ± 0.04% (wt/wt). Protein and casein percentages were the highest in Scamorza cheese containing a mix of bifidobacteria; also, the percentage of the proteose-peptone fraction showed the highest value in S-BB, highlighting the major proteolysis carried out by enzymes associated with B. longum and B. lactis strains. Texture and appearance attributes were able to differentiate probiotic bacteria-added cheeses from the untreated control product. In particular, S-BB and S-LA Scamorza cheeses showed higher color uniformity compared with S-CO cheese. Furthermore, the control cheese showed higher yellowness and lower structure uniformity than S-BB. The control product was less creamy and grainy than S-BB; conversely, the inclusion of probiotics into the cheese determined lower adhesivity and friability in S-BB and S-LA than in S-CO. This study allowed the definition of the principal composition and sensory properties of Scamorza ewe milk cheese. The specific quantitative vocabulary for sensory analysis and reference frame for assessor training also established in this study should be implemented to systematically monitor the quality of this new typology of ewe milk cheese.