Compositional Differences of Greek Cheeses of Limited Production

Area of Science:

• Food Science
• Dairy Science
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Greece boasts a rich cheesemaking heritage with numerous Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) cheeses.
• Many local cheeses are produced without official registration, yet significantly contribute to the Greek economy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the proximate composition, color parameters, and oxidative stability of unregistered Greek cheeses.
• To identify key analytical markers for differentiating milk and cheese types within these unregistered products.
• To highlight the potential for valorization and further study of these economically important, yet overlooked, cheeses.

Main Methods:

• Discriminant analysis was employed to classify milk and cheese types.
• Analysis included proximate composition (moisture, fat, salt, ash, protein), color parameters (L, a, b), pH, and malondialdehyde content.
• Key discriminating factors for milk and cheese types were identified.

Main Results:

• Milk and cheese types were correctly assigned with 62.8% and 82.1% accuracy, respectively.
• Color attributes (L, a, b), salt, ash, fat-in-dry-matter, moisture-in-non-fat-substance, salt-in-moisture, and malondialdehyde were crucial for milk type discrimination.
• Color attributes (a, b), moisture, ash, fat, moisture-in-non-fat-substance, and pH were influential in cheese type discrimination.
• Differences in milk composition and manufacturing processes likely explain the observed variations.

Conclusions:

• The study provides the first proximate analysis of unregistered Greek cheeses, offering valuable data for their characterization.
• Identified analytical markers can aid in authenticating and differentiating these cheeses.
• The findings underscore the potential for increased study and economic valorization of these traditional products.