RHEOLOGY AND TEXTURE APPLIED TO GOAT AND SHEEP MILK CHEESES: PRINCIPLES, APPLICATIONS AND FUTURE TRENDS

Background: There are several types of goat and sheep cheeses around the world, with a relative emphasis on Europe and Asia. The cheese diversity is possible by many factors, including the type of milk, different ingredients and technological process, which can influence the texture and rheology characteristics of these dairy products. Instrumental measures of rheology and texture can be carried out to understand and characterize this variety of cheeses. However there is a lack of a compilation that brings texture and rheology information about goats and sheep cheeses. Scope and Approach: This review tackles the most relevant aspects and concerns of instrumental rheology and texture of goat and sheep milk cheese. Moreover, the main factors that influence cheese rheology and texture, as well as the comparison between these two species (goat and sheep). Key Findings and Conclusions: The texture is the most critical characteristics of cheese, which determines its acceptability by consumers. The differences in the rheological properties of cheeses made with different types of milk may be due to different casein structures or their concentrations in milk. Rheology deals with the relationship between three variables: strain, stress and time. One of the most popular tests to evaluate the mechanical and rheological properties of cheeses is the uniaxial test and the rheological behavior of the cheese is viscoelastic. All stages of technological processing cheese can influence the rheological and textural characteristics of the cheeses, either improving or damaging them. Studies with sheep cheeses are scarcer than in goat cheese.