PRODUCTION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF A FERMENTED FRESH CHEESE USING KEFIR MICROORGANISMS AS STARTER CULTURE: A BACKSLOPPING METHOD

Kefir is a probiotic food that presents great potential for application and development of new products, due to being an easily prepared and low-cost raw material. In addition, its consumption is associated with various health benefits. The food market is striving to meet the increasing demand for more nutritious foods. In search of a healthy diet and its benefits, consumers show interest in the use of a functional product derived from kefir fermentation. Kefir emerges as an alternative with the potential to be profitable and probiotic. Therefore, the present study aimed at developing a fresh cheese with the addition of kefir. The cheese was produced from raw milk with rennet and a natural starter culture of fermented whey, using the backslopping method. Physicochemical analyzes were performed, including pH, acidity, and water activity, followed by enumeration of lactic acid bacteria and yeast populations. Sensory acceptance tests were conducted using a hedonic scale and intention to consume. The cheese showed an average acidity of 0.9%, pH ranging from 4.4 to 5.8, water activity above 0.965, and populations of lactic acid bacteria and yeasts above 7.8 and 5.1 log (CFU/g) of cheese, respectively. The level of statistical significance for all analyzes was 0.05. The Student's t test was used to compare the means of the physical-chemical and microbiological variables in relation to the origin of the kefir grains and also in relation to the fermented milk and cheese produced.The cheese meets the parameters recommended by the Codex Alimentarius for kefir-fermented milk. The study suggests the possibility of developing innovative products in the food industry using kefir as an ingredient, thus expanding the consumption options of this probiotic by the population and potentially contributing to health promotion.