Utilización de diferentes niveles de quinua (Chenopodium quinoa willd) en la elaboración de queso fresco.

Abstract

This research aimed to use different levels (1%, 1.5%, and 2%) of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa wild) in producing fresh cheese. For this purpose, 16 experimental units distributed in four treatments with four replicates were used. These were subjected to physicochemical tests where moisture was determined using the thermobalance, fat in a dry extract with Gerber's methodology, and protein by the Kjeldahl method and microbiological tests. Seeding by dilutions and the use of 3M Petrifilm Enterobacteriaceae was applied. Sensory tests were carried out using a hedonic scalar test with an untrained panel of 30 people. The economic tests were determined using the benefit-cost indicator. For the analysis of the physicochemical assessments, Infostat statistical software was used with a simple, completely randomized design and Tukey's test (P≤ 0.05) and Friedman's test for the analysis of sensory results. The results determined that the levels of quinoa used do not affect the % of moisture but increase the % of fat in dry extract showing significant differences between treatments and decreasing the % of protein with highly significant differences. The microbiological quality of the cheeses was not affected by the levels of quinoa used. It is concluded that the control treatment presented the best physicochemical (61.12% moisture, 12.93% fat in dry matter, 15.35% protein) and organoleptic characteristics. The benefit-cost ratio ranged from $1.20 to $1.22 among the four treatments. It is recommended that other methods of quinoa inclusion in fresh cheese be investigated.