Buffalo Bulletin 2013 Vol.

32 (Special Issue 1): 355-360

Buffalo Milk Cheese

Mohamed HOFI* Department of Food Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain-Shams University, Cairo, Egypt. *Corresponding email: prof.dr.hofi@hotmail.com ABSTRACT Buffalo milk cheeses are becoming increasingly popular throughout the world; buffalos milk is the preferred commodity in preparing many cheese varieties, namely soft, semi, hard cheeses and certain pickled cheeses. Buffalo milk cheeses display typical body and textural characteristics and unique in nature, the sensory qualities are far superior. Attempts have been made successfully to prepare other cheese varieties using buffalos milk. Pre-treatments are applied to buffalos milk for cheese making, with some cheese varieties simply made from raw milk, but most made from pasteurized milk of which the composition (e.g., fat: protein ratio) may have been standardized. However, there has been consistent interest in more novel and sophisticated strategies for pre-treatment of cheese-buffaloes milk. Approaches explored include the use of alternative processing technologies (e.g., membrane filtration, high-pressure treatment, homogenization, heat treatments more severe than pasteurization) or addition of either whey protein products, enzymes or emulsifying salts. Such additions to cheese milk seem to provide some definite advantages. New approaches have been attempted to accelerate the cheese ripening process. This article will review the key principles for pre-treatment of cheesebuffaloes milk. Aspects of using buffalos milk and its significance with respect to the quality and safety of the final products are discussed in this review. Keywords: buffalo, challenges, cheese, opportunities, quality, safety INTRODUCTION Tradition and habits of buffalo milk consumption are quite diverse in different parts of the world. There is however an increasing demand for buffalo milk and buffalo milk products. More than 5 percent of the world's milk comes from water buffaloes. Buffalos milk is ranked second in the world after cows milk being more than 12% of the world, milk production (Ahmed et al., 2008). Buffalo milk is used in much the same way as cow's milk. It is high in fat and total solids, which gives it a rich flavor. Cheeses are becoming increasingly popular throughout the world. Demand is rising at a rate that is among the highest for any food product. The preference of population, more so in Western Europe, to cheese varieties made from buffalo milk has given a new dimension to the growth and development of buffalo milk cheese industry. Cheese from buffalo is highly priced in the most of the world, it displays typical body and textural characteristics and unique in nature. Buffalo milk is the preferred commodity in preparing certain pickled cheeses of Middle East and traditional cheese varieties of India like Paneer. The yield of Cheddar, Swiss,
Accepted April 10, 2013; Online November 11, 2013. 355

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Cottage, Mozzarella and other types of cheeses is higher when prepared from buffalo milk and the sensory qualities of cheese (more so with cottage and Mozzarella cheese varieties) made from buffalo milk is far superior. World over, dairy technologists are tirelessly working to find ways to prepare other cheese varieties with buffalo milk. Another area where buffalo milk has made strong inroads is in the preparation of cheese spreads. They are popular for their mild flavor and the ease of use. Cheese spreads were successfully prepared from buffalo milk cheddar cheese. Pre-treatments are applied to buffalos milk for cheese making, with some cheese varieties. However, there has been consistent interest in more novel and sophisticated strategies for pre-treatment of cheese-buffaloes milk. Approaches explored include the use of alternative processing technologies (e.g., membrane filtration, high-pressure treatment, homogenization, heat treatments more severe than pasteurization) or addition of sources of protein (e.g., whey protein products) or enzymes or emulsifying salts. Such additions to cheese milk seem to provide some definite advantages. New approaches have been attempted to accelerate the cheese ripening process. This article will review aspects of using buffalos milk and its significance with respect to the quality and safety of the final products BUFFALOS MILK AND CHEESE QUALITY Organoleptic quality A sensory quality of cheese (more so with Domiati, Kariech, Feta, Cottage and Mozzarella cheese varieties) made from buffalo milk is far superior. It is known for its unique body and texture characteristics. The appearance of cheese has great value in its acceptability. Fresh and pickled buffalos milk white cheeses with high solids and protein had improved appearance and texture due to more stability resulted by protein fat interlacing and calcium links to casein. (Hofi 1984), while in case of low fat cheeses, the appearance was poor, rough and lacking lust (Sameen et al., 2008). Nutritional Quality Mozzarella cheese from buffalos milk had higher nutritional value (Sameen et al 2008).The same has been proved for other cheese types made from buffalos milk. Buffalos cheddar cheese was found superior in nutritional profile compared with cow cheddar (Murtaza et al 2008). Yield The richness of buffalo milk makes it highly suitable for processing. The yield of Domiati, Kariech, Feta, Cheddar, Swiss, Cottage, Mozzarella and other types of cheeses is higher when prepared from buffalo milk. Because of these high yields, processors appreciate the value of buffalo milk. One of the obvious advantages derived from the increased yield is the lower cost for the manufacture of the cheese. Obviously, the more cheese derived from the raw material, the less expensive it is to manufacture the cheese. Another advantage gained from increased yield relates to the disposal of the whey which is left after the cheese is formed. This byproduct is one for which few uses have been found and therefore is frequently disposed of through the sewage waste system. With increased yield from the milk, less whey is formed with a resulting reduction in pollution to our environment.
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Advantage and disadvantage of using buffalos milk in cheese making Advantage and disadvantage of using buffalos milk in selected cheese varieties are summarized in Table 1. Approaches explored to enhance buffalos milk cheese quality Several attempts have been tried to enhance cheese quality, when dealing with buffalos milk. A summary of such approaches attempts are listed in Table 2. CONCLUSIONS It is concluded that buffalo milk because of its chemical composition, offers excellent opportunities for the development of different dairy products. Substantial effort is still needed to the conventional methods for improvements hard cheese quality. An economical study should, however, be accomplished for a better evaluation of any new proposed approaches. REFERENCES Abou-Donia, S.A. 1986. Egyptian Domiati soft white pickled cheese (Review) New Zealand. J. Dairy Sci. Technol. 21: 167-190. Ahmad, S., I. Gaucher, F. Rousseau, E. Beaucher, M. Piot, J.F. Grongnet and F. Gaucheron. 2008. Effects of acidification on physico-chemical characteristics of buffalo milk: A comparison with cows milk. Food Chem. 106: 11-17. Ahmed, S.I., F. Gaucher, E. Rousseau, Beaucher, M. Piot, J.F. Grongnet and F. Gaucheron. 2008. Effects of acidification on physico-chemical characteristics of buffalo milk: A comparison with cows milk. Food Chem. 106: 11-17. Aly, S. and A. Galal. 2002. Effect of Milk Pretreatment on the Keeping Quality of Domiati Cheese. Pak. J. nutr. 1(3): 132-136. El-Chabrawy. 1973. Studies on cashcaval cheese from buffaloes milk. Msc. D. Thesis , Ain Shams University ,Cairo, Egypt. Ghosh, B., A. Steel and H. Kessler. 1999. Effect of heat treatment and homogenization of milk on camembert cheese. Egyptian J. Dairy Sci. 27: 331-343. Hofi, A.A., A.E. Shehata, M.N.I. Magdoub and M.A. Hofi. 1979. Effect of hydrogen peroxidecatalase treatment on the chemical quality of Ras chees. J. Res. Bull. No. 97, Ain Shams Univ., Fac. Agric. Egypt. Hofi, A.M. and E.A. Fayed, 1987. Evaluation of some lactic starters for ultrafiltration Domiati cheese production. 1st Conf. Agric. Develop. Res., Ain shams Univ. 4: 50-59 Hofi A., Abdel-Hamid, Nawal, S. Ahmcd and M.A. Hayam. 1989. Acceleration of Ras cheese ripening by relevant slurry. The 4th Egypt. Conf. Dairy Sci. Technol. Egypt. Soc. Dahy Sci. (Abstr.) Hofi, M., M.B. El-Alfy and M.Z. El-Abbassy 1992. Ultrafiltration of buffalos milk. Egypt. J. Appl. Sci. 7(5): 430 436. Hofi, M. 1984. Manufacture of Domiati cheese by ultrafiltration. Ph.D. thesis, Justus Liebig. University, Giessen, FRG

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Hofi, M., H.M. Ali, Y.A. Heikal and A.R. El-Beialy. 2004. Microstructure and rheological properties of ultrafiltered Kariesh cheese made by direct acidification. The 9th Egyptian conference for dairy science and technology, Cairo, Egypt. Hofi, M.A., A.A. Hofi, Y.M. El-Kanany and R. El-Beialy Amany. 2001. Development of ultrafiltration Domiati cheese making. The 8th Egyptian conf. for Dairy. Sci. & Tech. Cairo, Egypt. Mahran, G., H. Haggag, M. Hofi and S. Mohamed. 1989. Ras cheese manufacture using ultrafiltration technique. The 4th Egyptian conf. for Dairy Sci. & Tech. Cairo, Egypt. P.15, 45. Jabbar, K., N. Huma, U. Bjawa, B. Ehsan and A. Khurram. 2003. Preparation and evaluation of gouda cheese. Int. J. Agri. Biol. 5: 4. Katsiari M.C., L.P. Voutsinas, E. Kondyli and E. Alichanidis. 2002. Flavour enhancement of low-fat Feta-type cheese using a commercial adjunct culture. Food Chem. 79: 193-198 Madadlou A., A. Khosroshahi and M.E. Mousavi. 2005. Rheology, microstructure, and functionality of low-fat Iranian white cheese made with different concentrations of rennet. J. Dairy Sci. 88(9): 3052-3062. Mahran, G., H. Haggag, S. Abdel Rafee and M.M. Hofi. 1994. Ripening characteristics of Ras cheese made by ultrafiltration. Menofiya. J. Agric. Res. 6(2): 3181-3192.

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Table 1. Advantage and disadvantage of using buffalos milk in selected cheese varieties.

Cheese type Mozzarella

Advantage white color, high yield more piquant & aroma flavor

Casckawal, increase in cost, flavour development is slower Hofi, 1984 Aly and Galal, 2002 Hofi el al., 2004

high yield

Disadvantage Reference Harder body, less watery, Patel, 1986 lower metability, higher Bikash et al.,1996 oiling off Mostafa et al., 1996 Sameen, 2008 Hard body, sandy texture El-Chabrawy, 1973

Pickled Domiati, Feta

Fresh Domiati

Kariech

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Ras, Rommi

white color, high yield, easy to handle high yield, easy to handle & cut, less whey drainage high yield, pure white shiny color, easy to handle, cut, preferred & shape, less whey drainage high yield Hard body, sandy texture Hofi, 1979

Paneer

high yield

Aneja et al., 2002 Murtaza et al., 2008 Hard body Jabbar, 2003

Cheddar

Gouda

rich flavor, superior in nutritional profile 40% of fat at the end of 90th day

Table 2. Selected approaches explored to enhance cheese quality of cheeses made from buffalos milk. Cheese type Casckawal, Mozzarella

Approaches Addition of emulsifying salts Sodium citrates Sodium Polyphosphates Mozzarella Mozzarella Kariech Domiate

Addition of sodium and potassium chlorides Direct acidification

References El-Chabrawy, 1973 Teama et al., 1979 Mostafa et al., 1996 Mansour, 2005 Paulson et al., 1998

Ultrafiltration

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Diafiltration Addition of fermented whey protein concentrate Addition whey protein concentrate Domiate Mozzarella Feta Casckawal, Mozzarella

Domiate Iranian white

Metzger et al., 2000 Ahmed, 2008 Hofi el al., 2004 Hofi,1984 Hofi and Fayed, 1987 Hofi el al., 2001 Hofi, 1984 Madadlou et al., 2005

Adding adjunct cultures Casein /Fat ratio standardization

H2O2/ catalase treatement

Heat treatment Casein micelles size Homogenization

Ras cheese Casckawal, Domiate Mozzarella Camembert

El-Sheikh et al., 2001 Rudan et al., 1998 Katsiari et al 2002 El-Chabrawy, 1973 Teama et al.1979 Sameen,2008 Hofi, 1975 El-Chabrawy, 1973 Aly and Galal, 2002 Mansour, 2005 Ghosh, 1999