VIABILIDADE DO PROCESSO DE PRODUÇÃO DE QUEIJO MATURADO RALADO

Abstract

Dried grated cheese is a product ready for consumption and used as an industrial ingredient produced through the fine comminution of hard cheeses and drying in a fluidized bed, composed of one type of cheese or a mixture of up to four types of low moisture cheeses. Fat exudation, production of fines and adhesion to the blade during grating varies according to rheological and composition characteristics. The objective of this experiment was evaluate the influence of instrumental texture characteristics and freezing on size reduction and drying in forced air oven of the ripened cheeses Reino, Minas Padrão and Provolone. The instrumental texture of the cheeses was done by uniaxial compression and stress relaxation tests. The samples were frozen and comminuted in an industrial bench processor with a shredding disc with 3mm apertures and were dried in a forced air oven at 30°C. After drying, moisture content, fat content, total protein content, aw and pH were analyzed. Reino had the highest breaking stress, followed by the Minas Padrão and Provolone. Provolone was the most elastic, expect characteristics of a stretched curd cheese. Reino was the firmest cheese analyzed. The Reino also had a high elastic component and a high relaxation time, which may explain its high firmness and hardness, and Minas Padrão showed the lowest values for being a soft cheese. The shredding produced regular size and shape particles, without production of fines and matting or adhesion to the blade. The samples required approximately 16 hours to reach equilibrium moisture content during drying, and the Reino had the least loss of water and fat in the process. Minas Padrão had the greatest reduction in moisture content and Provolone in fat content. The period of constant drying rate was not easily observed, which can be caused by the characteristics of each cheese and by the exudation of fat during the process, which creates a layer on the surface of the particle and makes it difficult for steam escapes. It was possible to conclude that the pre-freezing optimized the grating process of ripened cheeses and that the forced air oven drying process needs to be improved to enable the production of dried ripened grated cheese by this process.