Prato Type Cheese of Ewe Milk Fed with Diet Containing Protected Fat

Abstract

The aim was to evaluate the effect of protected fat 3.3% (35 g) added in the concentrated of Bergamasca ewes on milk and cheese composition and Prato Type cheese yield and sensorial analysis. It was used 77 ewes allocated in 2 groups: control diet (C – n=37) and protected fat diet (GP – n=40). Diets were isoenergetic and isonitrogenous, containing 16% CP and 70% TDN on a dry-matter basis. For both treatments, it was used mix milk production system (lambs housing at night and kept with their mothers after the morning milking) and once daily milking. Milk was identified and frozen up to 6 months. After cheese ripening cheese yield was calculated and samples were collected for analysis. Acceptance test was performed to obtain the acceptability index (IA). The cheese processed with milk from treatment C presented higher protein content (25.97 vs 23.31%) and lower fat content and caloric value (18.25 vs 20.68% and 361.99 vs 366.15 Kcal/100g, respectively) than cheese from treatment GP. No differences were observed for milk fat content (5.53 vs 5.75%) neither for protein content (5.21 vs 5.33%) for treatments C and GP, respectively. Both treatments have presented IA higher than 70%, which represented cheese acceptance. Protected fat increases cheese fat content without changes its acceptability index.