Spatiotemporal Characterization of Texture of Crescenza Cheese, a Soft Fresh Italian Cheese

Crescenza cheese is a soft fresh cheese without rind, typically manufactured using a high amount of rennet. It is characterized by a fast proteolysis that causes changes in texture and leads to the so-called defect of "colatura" that is the tendency of the matrix to freely flow in the outer part of the cheese and generate spatial inhomogeneities into the cheese. In this paper, the textural properties of Crescenza were evaluated for cheeses manufactured using two types of rennet and starter cultures. Cheese texture was monitored during a 3-week shelf life considering a possible spatial variability of the matrix. At the beginning of the shelf life, a certain spatial inhomogeneity was observed from the center to the edge of the cheese block for all the trials. The firmness decreases from the center to the outer part of the block. During storage, hardness showed a decrease during 1st wk of storage; moreover, from days 7 to 21, cheese increased its hardness in the center and decreased it in the outer part of the block, resulting in a higher spatial inhomogeneity of the cheese. The textural measurements can be a useful tool to define the quality of Crescenza cheese during shelf life.