Volatile compounds and proteolysis in traditional Beaten (Bieno sirenje) ewe's milk cheese

Beaten ewe's milk cheese is a traditional autochthonous type of cheese manufactured in Macedonia with a relatively high nutritional value and sensory characteristics. The objective of this study was to characterise the gross composition, proteolysis and volatile profiles of the cheese that is supplied from different retails. The ranges for gross composition were from 31.53% to 42.83% (w/w) for moisture, 41.99% to 50.98% (w/w) for fat-in-dry matter, 2.03% to 8.25% (w/w) for salt content and 20.74% to 33.35% (w/w) for protein. Proteolysis results showed various levels of soluble nitrogen ranged from 3.15 to 33.50 for water-soluble nitrogen (WSN) and from 1.11% to 6.79% for nitrogen soluble in 12% trichloroacetic acid (TCA-SN). The ranges for total free amino acids were from 1.65 to 8.06 mg Leu/g. Lower proteolysis was observed in the cheese samples due to high salt contents. In total, 65 volatile compounds were identified in Beaten cheese. As a conclusion, the variation of the peptide profile, electrophoresis and volatile contents of Beaten cheeses are due to the lack of standardised manufacture protocols.