APPLICATION OF THE RESPONSE SURFACE ANALYSIS METHOD TO THE STUDY OF SALT AND WATER PROFILES IN GOAT’S CHEESE SALTED IN LAYERS

摘要

With the purpose of determining sodium chloride and water distributionnprofiles, a series of analyses were carried out on goat’s cheese that had beennsalted by a traditional method from the province of Jujuy (Argentina). Thisnprocess consists of distributing layers of dry salt between layers of curd of anconstant height during the moulding operation. The sodium chloride andnwater concentration profiles were analyzed in relation to the height andndistance of the cheese samples from the center. The response surface analysisnmethodology was used to interpret the results. The highest water concentrationnwas obtained in the lower external zone, this being connected to the gravitationalneffect of syneresis and its contact with the cheese inside the container. Innthe sodium chloride profile, it was observed that the upper zone of the cheesenpresented the concentration furthest from the average value. This indicatesnthat salt and water distribution can be improved by increasing the frequencynof turning the cheeses after salting.