Nutritional and Rheological evaluation of West African Soft cheese made from plant coagulant ( Calotropis procera  ) during storage

Storage of West African soft cheese "Warankasi" for up to 15 weeks in a refrigerator was examined for the composition, protein fractions (non casein nitrogen, non protein nitrogen, casein nitrogen, total nitrogen) hardness, cohesiveness, gumminess, elasticity, chewiness, adhesiveness and pH. Whereas cheese hardness, gumminess, elasticity, chewiness and adhesiveness decreased as the storage day progressed, the protein fractions (NCN, NPN, CN, and total nitrogen) increased slightly. Each of the textural measurement correlated significantly (p<0.05) with the pH. The correlation coefficient (0.68) indicates that increased total nitrogen content and pH will result in higher cheese hardness, gumminess and adhesiveness. It is then concluded from this study that the quality control system of west African Soft Cheese could be based on the rheological measurement.

Keywords
West African soft cheese, casein nitrogen, protein fractions and rheological properties