Production of low-fat Chanco cheese using homogenized milk and adjunct lactic culture

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of the partial homogenization of milk and the use of an adjunct lactic culture on the processing, quality and yield of low-fat Chanco cheese.
  Treatments were: T1 normal-fat control and T2 low-fat control. The low-fat treatments were: T3 using homogenized milk, T4 with adjunct lactic culture and T5 both variables.
   It was concluded that the homogenization slightly increased the time of rest after cutting of the curd, and the addition of adjunct lactic culture increased the acidity of whey during a second agitation. Nevertheless, the total time and pH at the end of the process were normal and without significant statistical difference ( P  > 0.05) between treatments. When using homogenized milk the losses of fat in whey decreased by 50% with respect to the low-fat control and nearly 80% in relation to the full fat control. Consequently, the yield was increased. The physical and chemical characteristics of the Chanco cheese were not affected by the studied variables. With respect to the sensory evaluation, significant differences in colour and aroma did not appear, but there were statistically significant differences (P <  0.05) in taste, hardness, adhesiveness, cohesiveness and elasticity between the full-fat control and all the low-fat treatments. In the case of general acceptance, the treatment with adjunct lactic culture was similar to the full-fat control. In addition, it showed the least difference (mild) in elasticity and taste in relation to this control .