Research on the possibility of extending the shelf life of cheese raw material and heat-treated cheese by their freezing

The article presents the results of a study of the regularities of changes in the functional properties and quality indicators of heat-treated cheeses made from frozen cheese raw material or frozen after thermomechanical processing for further use in HoReCa. The objects of the study were: Caliatta cheese — a semi-hard ripening cheese intended as the main raw material in the production of heat-treated cheese, as well as heat-treated «pizzacheese», subjected to freezing at temperatures of minus 14 ±2 °Cand minus 55 ±2 °Cand low-temperature storage at a temperature of minus 14 ±2 °Cfor 270 days, followed by defrosting at a temperature of 20 ±2 °C. To confirm the possibility of using the freezing technique in order to increase the shelf life of both the original cheese raw material and heat-treated cheese, their microbiological and physicochemical indicators were determined by standardized methods. Studies of structural and mechanical (rheological) properties were carried out on a Weissenberg rheogoniometer, recording changes in the elastic modulus (G') and dynamic viscosity (h'). The length of the cheese thread, as one of the main functional properties of the «pizza-cheese», was assessed with a fork test after baking. Organoleptic characteristics were assessed by flavor, texture and appearance. Research results have shown that low-temperature storage of frozen cheese can be considered as a way to retard biological and physicochemical changes, which is a safe way to increase shelf life. Freezing cheese raw material increases the length of the cheese thread in proportion to the temperature and duration of the low-temperature storage. When obtaining heat-treated cheese from both unfrozen and frozen cheese raw material, a significant deterioration in the desired functional properties is observed. Thus, the receipt of heat-treated cheese from the original cheese raw material for further use in the production of pizza is justified only by economic feasibility. Freezing «pizza-cheese» at a temperature of minus 55 ±2 °C, made from unfrozen cheese raw material, ensures the preservation of functional properties and increases the shelf life up to 150 days.