Study on the Ripening Characteristics and Storage Quality Changes of Camembert Cheese
Article
Figures
Metrics
Preview PDF
Reference
Related
Cited by
Materials
Abstract:
The changes in the quality characteristics of Camembert cheese during storage were investigated to determine its optimal maturity time. Camembert cheese was selected as the research subject, and the storage conditions were set to 12 ℃ and 95% relative humidity. The physicochemical properties, flavor changes, and textural characteristics at different ripening stages (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 d) were measured. The results revealed that the moisture content, pH value, and free amino acid content of the cheese significantly increased with the increase in fermentation time (P<0.05). These changes stabilized after 20 days, with the moisture content at 61.34%, pH value at 6.68, and free amino acid content at 0.24%. Simultaneously, the protein content gradually decreased, while the soluble nitrogen/total nitrogen ratio significantly increased (P<0.05). The pH value 4.6 soluble nitrogen/total nitrogen ratio and its increasing rate from 0.06% on 0 d to 0.49% on 25 d were particularly notable. GC-MS analysis revealed that despite no significant differences in the types of fatty acids, the relative content of long-chain fatty acids (such as palmitic acid and oleic acid) was higher and more dominant. In contrast, the content of caproic acid, a short-chain fatty acid, decreased from 1.33% to 0.98%. Furthermore, it was observed that the textural characteristics of Camembert cheese was optimal on the 20th day of storage, with its hardness stabilizing at 3230.17 g and springiness reaching a maximum of 0.83. Therefore, the optimal ripening time for Camembert cheese was determined to be 20 days, at which its physicochemical properties, flavor changes, and textural characteristics reached optimal levels. The findings of this study may provide theoretical support for storage quality control of Camembert cheese.
