Mascarpone cheese from sheep's milk - a new option for the consumer

Abstract Dairy sheep farming, as well as processing of dairy products, are consolidated activities in Brazil, mainly for the production of cheese and yogurt. Considering that sheep milk has high levels of fat and the need for product diversification, this work aimed to develop a new formulation of mascarpone cheese using sheep's milk, since the basis for this type of cheese is milk cream. The quality of this derivative was monitored for 120 days of storage under refrigeration to evaluate microorganisms that indicate quality and safety, in addition to physical-chemical parameters. The ovine mascarpone cheese showed adequate microbiological results, in accordance with the Brazilian legislation, in addition to high total fat, fat content in the dry extract and protein. The physical-chemical and microbiological parameters remained adequate throughout the storage period under maximum temperatures below 7 °C. Mascarpone cheese was classified by its moisture and fat content in the dry extract as medium moisture or semi-hard cheese and as extra fat or double cream cheese, respectively. The processing, packaging and storage conditions proved to be adequate and provided product stability. In this study a new sheep milk derivative was successfully developed, characterized, tested and proved to be adequate for the market.