Efficiency of Manchega Sheep Milk Intended for Cheesemaking and Determination of Factors Causing Inefficiency

SIMPLE SUMMARY: As payment systems currently do not reflect the quality of raw milk intended for cheesemaking, the industry demands tools to estimate an economical value of milk based on its performance during the coagulation process. This study develops algorithms that aim to improve the overall efficiency of the cheese sector through a more adequate connection between the demands of the industry and the technological profiles of raw milk, as well as to establish an objective method to set prices, which particularly consider the usefulness of milk to make cheese. Taking into account that the few studies available on this topic only focus on fresh cheese yield, we also evaluated the moisture of the curd, which led to an algorithm based on dry extract, which is more suitable considering the wide range of cheeses available in the market, and thus, better adjusts to the reality of the industry. ABSTRACT: Understanding the factors that determine and regulate cheese yield would allow, through deterministic parametric efficiency models, the determination of the most appropriate milk characteristics for the industry, and the estimation of a technological value for these characteristics. The present study aims to evaluate coagulation performance of Manchega sheep milk intended for cheesemaking and explores two models to determine milk technological efficiency. For this purpose, 1200 Manchega sheep milk samples were collected, and analyses were performed for composition, milk coagulation properties (MCP), somatic cell count (SCC), and milk color values. A first model was built based on curd yield (CE) and a second one based on dry curd yield (DCE). GLM and MANCOVA analyses were used to identify the factors that determine curd yield efficiency, which mainly depended on pH, casein, and lactose content and, to a lesser extent, on the speed of coagulation and curd firmness. When comparing both models, differences were linked to the water retention capacity of the curd. Based on this, the DCE model was considered much more accurate for prediction of coagulation efficiency in a wider variety of cheeses, as it does not seem to be affected by moisture loss.