Physico chemical characterization and sensorial analysis of butter cheese made in Rio Grande do Norte – Brazil

Abstract

Butter cheese is a very popular and highly consumed product in Northeast region of Brazil. Lack of standardization in its processing steps and a great number of artisanal processing units and small industries lead to different products in relation to its composition and sensory characteristics. The aim of this work was to characterize artisanal and industrial butter cheese produced at Rio Grande do Norte state - Brazil by physicochemical analysis (moisture, fat content, fat in dry matter, protein, ash, water activity, pH, acidity and chlorides) and determination of its sensory profile by quantitative descriptive analysis. The studied samples showed significant differences (p<0.05) for all physicochemical parameters. In relation to sensory profile, ten attributes (yellow color, smooth surface, oiliness, butter aroma, rancidity aroma, butter flavor, rancidity flavor, salty, tenderness and crumbly texture) were determined. Sensory characteristics of artisanal samples were more related to the official description of butter cheese than the industrial one. All sensory attributes were significantly different (p<0.05) except “rancid aroma” for the samples. Differences among samples were due to the lack of standardization of raw milk used for processing and differences in processing parameters.