Investigation of the effect of addition of capia pepper spice on the ripening of Turkish white cheese curd produced using cow and sheep milk

Abstract In this study, five types of white cheese, with one serving as the control sample, were produced. While the control cheese was produced without adding any spices, the others were processed by adding capia pepper at concentrations of 0.1 %, 0.2 %, 0.3 %, and 0.4 % (w/w) relative to the milk used. Then, all cheeses were vacuum-packed and ripened at 6 ± 2 °C for a period of 3 months. Analyses, including measurements of dry matter, fat, pH, titratable acidity, salt, total protein, ripening rate, nonprotein nitrogen rate (NPN), amino nitrogen rate, electrophoretic casein fractions, color properties, and sensory evaluations, were conducted on cheese samples taken at the 3rd, 30th, 60th, and 90th days of ripening. Additionally, it was observed that cheeses with 0.4 % capia pepper added were more favored than the other cheeses. Due to the sensory evaluation made by the panellist, ripened cheeses were more highly appreciated than fresh cheese, but the sheep milk flavor was not consistently cited as the reason for preference. The extra aromatic taste from sheep milk was detected by the panelists and not perceived as irritating. The use of capia pepper in white cheese changed the color and sensory properties, but it was not statistically significant.