Microbiological, biochemical and technological properties of Turkish White cheese 'Beyaz Peynir'

Turkish White cheese is a brined (or a pickled) cheese variety with a soft or semi-hard texture and a salty, acid taste. Some aspects of this cheese are reviewed: e.g., milk supply, use of starters and enzymes, manufacturing technology, chemical composition and microflora, chemical and biochemical changes during ripening in brine. Several characteristics of Turkish White cheese are compared to other White brined cheese varieties such as Feta and Domiati. The findings of this review suggest that future research on Turkish White cheese should characterise the changes in microflora, biochemistry and texture during ripening. Previous studies tended to focus on the chemical composition of Turkish White cheese, and little attention was directed towards the detailed characterisation of nitrogen fractions, flavour compounds, theological and microbiological properties and their effects on the quality of the end-product. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.