Evolution of physicochemical and texture parameters throughout an extended ripening on a goat surface mold cheeses made in a tropical region in Mexico

Mexican surface mold cheese manufactured with goat ' s milk in a traditional process with milk produced in a tropical region and ripened for 90 days was analyzed to evaluate the impact of ripening time over physicochemical and texture parameters. Changes in hardness, cohesiveness, springiness, chewiness, and gomosity were evaluated by texture profile analysis (TPA). Moisture was evaluated with official methods, whereas pH (center and rind) was measured directly. The lactic acid determination was carried out by high-performance liquid chromatography. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed significant differences between all parameters except center pH. Correlation analysis exposed significant correlations between all texture parameters evaluated and lactic acid concentration. There was no significant correlation between moisture and other parameters. By principal component analysis (PCA), an evolution in two steps was observed depending on the ripening time; this evolution was determined principally by hardness and chewiness for both eigenvectors followed by gomosity.