Evaluation of a method for accelerating the maturation of goat cheeses using high hydrostatic pressure

High hydrostatic pressurization is proposed for cheese ripening acceleration. Several treatments were used for accelerating ripening of goat's milk cheese: 50 MPa / 72 h, 400 MPa / 5 min and 400 MPa / 5 min followed by 50 MPa / 72 h all at 14 °C. Moisture content and pH were higher in 400 MPa treatments compared to the others. By measuring proteolysis indexes, 400 MPa treatments were found to accelerate ripening (14 d in contrast to 28 d conventionally) due to enhanced enzyme activity from inoculated starter culture. Sensory analysis indicated bitter notes in the accelerated ripened cheese. Pressurized cheeses were less crumbly and more elastic than control.