The effects of natural smoke and liquid smoke applications on the quality factors of kashar cheese

This study was carried out to determine the effects of natural smoking and liquid smoke applications on the chemical, microbiological and sensory properties of kashar cheese. Experimentally, three groups of kashar cheese were produced. Natural smoking at 20 +/- 5degreesC for an hour was applied to the samples of the first group. The samples of the second group were dipped into 0.5% of smoke cheese solution for 5 min. The third group was the control group and it was not smoked. Samples were examined on days 1, 15. 30, 60 of the ripening period for chemical, microbiological and sensory properties. It seemed that natural smoking decreased moisture and fat in the dry matter content of kashar cheese, but liquid smoke did not affect chemical properties. Microbiologically, smoking applications decreased total mesophilic (viable) counts, though there was no effect on coliforms, Staphylococcus-Micrococcus, yeast or moulds. In sensory evaluations, liquid smoked samples and the control group were similar, but natural smoked samples gained lower points for flavor and color than the other groups.