Eyes in cheese: reasons for formation and methods of assessment

The results of scientific research of the process of eyes formation in cheeses depending on the molding method and modes of pressing the cheese mass; the type of gassing microorganisms that make up the starter culture; rheological properties of curd; the presence in the cheese mass of “germs” — the centers of the formation of eyes — are considered. It is noted that the most studied in terms of the formation of the pattern are large cheeses of the Emmental or Swiss type with eyes up to 3 cm in diameter, which can be easily estimated by calculating their quantity and volume. For this, there are methods for visualizing eyes in the volume of cheese: X-ray, computed and magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound and acoustic sounding. The least studied is the process of pattern formation in cheeses like Tilsiter and Russian, molded in bulk, with a large number of irregular, angular eyes. In connection with the observed tendency to the loss of the distinctive features of this type of cheese (rare, insufficiently pronounced eyes), great importance is attached to objective methods for assessing the pattern in these cheeses as one of the most important indicators of the product quality. Since computed tomography, X-ray and magnetic resonance imaging are methods that require expensive equipment, the need for a simpler procedure, suitable for production laboratories of cheesemaking enterprises, is justified for use in routine examinations. Based on the assumption that cheeses with a frequent pattern of angular, irregular shape can be considered as porous bodies, an assumption was made about the advisability of developing a method for measuring the porosity coefficient, which could supplement the organoleptic assessment of the pattern with an objective indicator that would allow the rejection of cheeses on this basis.