[Objective evaluation of the aroma and taste of Bulgarian sour milk]

The purpose of the study was to discover the correlation between a subjective organoleptic evaluation of the samples of Bulgarian sour milk and the results of microbiological assays of the amount of and correlations among lactic bacteria, of yeast, and other foreign microflora. A total of 135 samples of milk supplied by different milk factories for tasting were examined. The mean arithmetic value of the percentage of S. thermophilus was found to be different for the samples of sour milk classified with different groups according to the aroma and taste. The data obtained were treated by the passive experimental-statistical method with the use of the REGR program for multiple regression analysis. Based on the theoretical conceptions several experimental models were suggested. The mathematical-statistical treatment allowed the most significant model to be selected for practical use. Control of the adequacy of the suggested models has shown that the model selected may be used for the characteristics of the aroma and taste of Bulgarian sour milk, enabling the tasters to objectively confirm the results of their assessment.