Assessment of the technical viability of the use of resin for the rind treatment of the artisanal minas cheese from the "Canastra" area

Abstract

The artisanal Minas cheese "Canastra" is a traditional Brazilian product elaborated in small farms in Minas Gerais. The present work was carried out to assess the feasibility of the use of resin for the rind treatment of "Canastra" cheese from the "Serra da Canastra" area, made in a typical and traditional cheese factory. The factory had adequate installations to represent the actual manufacturing conditions of the product. Four fabrications of the cheese, each with milk volume of 100 liters, were performed. Two concentrations (0,2% and 0,4%) of "pingo" (the inoculum) based on the total volume of milk were also tested. Furthermore, two different treatments were given to the cheese rind and assessed: a resin treatment or plastic packaging. The physicalchemical analysis could not show significant changes in cheese pH due to the different levels of "pingo" used during manufacturing. The treatment of the cheese rind with resin showed a good performance, maintaining a good appearance of the cheese, and prevented growth of fungi and did not alter the distinctive taste of the product.