A physicochemical study on the process of sheep cheeselet production

Abstract

The cheese industry in Malta has moved from the traditional small farm of one to maybe six sheep to small farm industries. These farm industries are now equipped with better management and modern technology to produce the Maltese cheese. This research project focuses on cheese-making from the sheep milk. The work was carried out alongside a sheep milk producer, who is interested in bringing back the original Maltese sheep. The main investigation was the conversion of sheep's milk into cheeslets. Temperature, pH, conductivity and protein content were studied to determine the physicochemical changes that occur during this process. It was observed that temperature increased during the first ten minutes but then fell by 2.5°C when the milk curdled into the cheeselet. Conductivity and pH increased slightly during the process indicating the flow of ions between the semisolid cheeselet and the whey. The protein content indicated the flow uptake of protein in the semisolid cheeselet from the surrounding milk. Although most of the protein ends up in the final cheeselet, 13.82 % remains in the whey. These results demonstrate that the process of in tenns of flow of ions and protein between the semisolid cheeselet and the whey. Further studies are required to demonstrate whether these parameters change when herbs and other flavourings are added to the cheeselet during its making.