fatemeh shahdadi

In this study, the effect of an edible aloe vera gel-coating containing lemon peel essential oil (0, 100, and 150 ppm) on the qualitative characteristics of cheese samples was examined. Treatments included 4 groups: control (without coating), Aloe Vera Gel (AVG), AVG+100 ppm lemon peel Essential Oil (EO), and AVG+150 ppm lemon peel EO. These treatments were evaluated for 60 days in terms of physicochemical, textural, sensory, and microbial counting properties. The findings revealed that, as storage duration increased, the acidity and salt increased while pH and moisture content decreased. In evaluating the sensory properties, the effect of treatments on all sensory properties, except color scores, was significant. Samples coated with AVG and 100 ppm lemon peel EO received the highest flavor scores (4.97). As the storage time increased, the hardness, chewiness and springiness of the cheese samples increased. The samples' adhesiveness was not affected by the storage duration. At the end of the storage time, the highest total microbial, mold, and yeast counts were associated with the control cheese samples (5.37 and 4.62 log CFU g-1, respectively). The lowest amount was related to the samples coated with AVG and 150 ppm of lemon peel EO (3.92 and 3.76 log CFU g-1, respectively). In general, the use of edible coating produced with AVG and lower concentrations of lemon peel EO (100 ppm and less) improved the appearance and the flavor of cheese samples during 60 days of storage.