Production and physicochemical, rheological, sensory analysis of " Lour" cheese

Iran has a long history in manufacturing a wide range of dairy products and cheese is one of the most important fermented dairy product which is high in protein. Lour cheese (Lour is similar to cottage cheese) is prepared traditionally in the mountainous region of Gilan province، north of Iran، using sheep or cow’s milk. This cheese is very well known cheeses in the region and is preferred by many locals. It is prepared through heating (up to the boiling point) the cheese whey with addition of milk (LCM) or Doogh (buttermilk) (LCB). In this study، batched of Lour cheese (with milk and with buttermilk) were produced in the traditional way and were examined for sensory، physicochemical and rheological properties. The results showed that the moisture content of LCM and LCB was 66/45% and 72/82 %، respectively. The amount of fat measured was 22/33% and 13/70 %، respectively. LCM contained less protein (8/77%) compared to LCB (9/73%). The study also showed significantly different preference for over LCB over LCM by 40 untrained panelists. These finding were backed up by the rheological analysis Overall، Lour cheese proved to be a healthy alternative for feta type cheese however، more work is to be done to commercialize it.