Sodium chloride distribution in Reino cheese along the ripening

Abstract

The aim was to determine the minimum time necessary for equal distribution of salt in all parts of Reino cheese, from surface to center, and check if there was significant difference in this distribution in different ripening conditions. The cheeses of the same lot were subjected to two treatments, with different temperatures, relative humidity and with and without packaging. In the first treatment the cheese was ripened without heat-shrinkable packaging at a temperature of 18 °C to 22 ° C with 55% - 65% relative humidity. In the second treatment, the cheese was initially ripened without packaging (only the first five days) and under the same conditions as the first treatment and after this period was packaged in heat-shrinkable packaging and ripening at 5 °C - 10 °C with 70% - 80% relative humidity, until completing all the prescribed time maturation. The characterization of the salt distribution profile in Reino cheese was conducted by determining the percentage content of sodium chloride (w/w) in the central, intermediate and superficial portions. Analysis of variance indicated that there was no difference between treatments in the distribution of salt in Reino cheese, however, there were differences between cheese portion analyzed and maturation time, which showed dependence of the distribution of salt depending on these variables. It follows that from the 27th day after manufacturing, salt is distributed equally in all parts of the Reino cheese, regardless of different ripening conditions used.