Effect of Clove Oil on Physicochemical and Microbiological Characteristics of Egyptian Ras Cheese (Romy) during Storage
Substances to fungal decontamination of Ras cheese during storage by using some natural substances. Egyptian Ras (Kefalotyri or Romy) cheese was manufactured from standardized buffaloes_ and cows_ milk (3.5% fat) with modified traditional method and dry salting around forty-five day. After complete salting process, the cheese wheels were painted on external surface of wheels (approximately 2–3 Kg) by clove oil and ripened at 59.9°F (15.5ºC) for three months. Weight and volume of Ras cheese wheel decreased gradually until the end of the storage period (3rd month) after salting. The untreated wheels decreased in the volume compared with the treated ones with clove oil. The moisture (M%) was gradually decreased for untreated and treated Ras cheese, in the end of the storage period, while the fat on dry matter (F/DM%), salt/cheese serum%, total nitrogen TN%, soluble nitrogen on total nitrogen SN/TN% and non-protein nitrogen on total nitrogen NPN/ TN% tended to increase with advanced storage. The total bacteria count (TBC), yeast and fungi (Y&F) were very high in the beginning of Ras cheese manufacture, while, after salting these values of (Y&F) were decreased in the wheels collecting from the surface and the middle of Ras cheese wheels, these values were decreased because of salting processing. The treatment with clove oil reduced the (TBC) and (Y&F) in the surface of both treatments after 1st, 2nd and 3rd month of ripening, while, the treatment without oil increased gradually of the (TBC) and (Y&F) in the surface of both treatments after the end of the storage. It was observed that, there were no observed fungi on the surface of both treatments which treated with clove oil during storage period. The texture and appearance scores were not significantly (p≤0.05) different in treated and untreated Ras cheese samples during ripening periods. Both treatment of both treatments have high significant (p≤0.05) of flavor after 3rd month of ripening in both treatments. This observation, encourage to use this oil for the further studies and it will be used in the commercial scale, as well as, this oil considered an antifungal edible coatings oil and improve the shelf life of cheese. Point of view study can recommend use of volatile oils of medicinal plants as natural substances to prevent and overcome the fungal contamination on Ras cheese during ripening period this is may be very useful from economic point of view.