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The influence of two natural different hydrocolloids (apple and citrus pectin) on physical, rheological and textural parameters, bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity of the courgette (Cucurbita pepo) puree was studied. The experiment aimed the development of dysphagia-oriented food products, which need to meet special requirements as a challenge for food rheology and novel ready-to-eat products. The pectin was added in the range of 0.1–0.3%. The courgette puree was ohmically heated at 20 V/cm for 3 min. The ohmic heating was used to improve and preserve the main properties of the purees. The antioxidant activity is stimulated by the ohmic heating, the values ranging up to 58% compared with the control sample. The courgette purees with apple or citrus pectin has registered a pseudoplastic rheological behaviour. The hardness increases with 22% once with the application of the thermic treatment. FT-IR spectroscopy and confocal microscopy reveal the benefits of using the ohmic heating as a processing method for courgettes puree. The results demonstrated the importance of using ohmic heating in the obtaining of courgettes puree for people with dysphagia.

Given that approximately 130 million babies are born worldwide each year, this study aims to help both, pregnant and breastfeeding women, to overcome the first impasse, namely the decrease or lack of lactation. To sustain this purpose, over the years were used many methods to improve lactation. A galactogogue is a substance, a food or a plant that has the ability to stimulate or increase lactation. Plants as fenugreek, fennel, anise, lemon balm, thyme, cumin, milk thistle and many others are widespread all over the globe and known as galactogogues. These plants can be used as ingredients in food or consumed in the form of herbal teas, which in turn can be obtained by different extraction methods. Even though these herbs possess many other beneficial properties for the human body, the main purpose of their use, alone or in combination, is to maintain or increase breast milk production. The purpose of this paper is to review and summarize data regarding the efficacy of galactogogues available worldwide for increasing breast milk production in food and feed nutrition.

In this work, the optimization of two extraction methods, conventional CE and ultrasound-assisted UAE, to obtain extracts from cornelian cherry fruit with high antioxidant activity, which can be used to produce healthier jelly candies, is presented. In the CE process, the effects of temperature (30–50 °C), time (15–45 min), and hydroalcoholic mixtures (60–100% ethanol, v/v) were studied. The highest antioxidant activity (29.83 ± 0.85 mg TE/g dw) was found in the extracts obtained using 60% ethanol at 40 °C for 15 min. The UAE process led to comparable values of 26.60 ± 0.53 mg TE/g dw at 40% amplitude and pulsed sonication (5 s on and 5 s off) for 12.5 min. Under these experimental conditions, the specific energy consumed was 1.91 kJ/g. The vitamin C content and its inhibitory activity against metabolic enzymes were evaluated in extracts with different antioxidant activity. A significant inhibitory effect against carbohydrate-metabolism-associated enzymes was identified for all the tested extracts, with an inhibitory effect against α-glucosidase higher than 75%, but with a lower effect against α-amylase. The extract obtained by CE (60% ethanol, 40 °C, 15 min) provided the highest vitamin C content of 39.9 ± 1.2 mg ascorbic acid/100 g dw. Four variants of the healthier jelly candies were formulated, with a vitamin C content of 0.34 mg ascorbic acid/100 g dw in samples with agar-agar and 0.70 mg ascorbic acid/100 g dw in samples with gelatin., Romanian Ministry of Research and Innovation, CNCS-UEFISCDI, project numbers PN-III-P1-1.1-MC-2019-1905 and PN-III-P1-1.1-MC-2019-1908, within PNCDI III. The APC was funded by M.T.S. The authors are also grateful to Junta de Castilla y León (Spain) and ERDF for the financial support of project BU050P20. The Ó. Benito–Román post-doctoral contract was funded by Junta de Castilla y León (Spain) and ERDF through project BU050P20 and by Agencia Estatal de Investigación through project PID2020-116716RJ-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033.

This study was focused on multigrain flours consisting on wheat-rye-triticale and wheat-rye-hulled oat, obtained by using an experimental Buhler roller mill after blending the cereals at different levels. For all investigated multigrain blends the extraction yield of the first reduction passage was lower compared to wheat. The flour yields at the break roll passages decreased in the flowing order: blends with triticale, wheat and blends with hulled oat. The multigrain milling resulted in increased ash, crude fiber and fat contents, and decreased protein content compared to wheat. The solvent retention capacity profile varied with the type of blend, and important correlations were established with Mixolab parameters, mainly related to starch gelatinisation and breakdown. Texture measurements performed on breads prepared with multigrain flours indicated increased hardness and decreased springiness values with increasing the wheat substitution level. These results might allow better exploitation of different cereals through the efficient milling of multigrain blends. Industrial relevance text Multigrain milling could be a way to improve the milling quality and performance of some cereals like triticale, hulled oat and hulled barley. Blending these cereals with wheat in different ratio followed by milling with roller mill can result in multigrain flours with different extraction rate and functional profile. Multigrain flours or some mill streams can be used for obtaining particular baked products.

Galactagogue herbs, also known as natural lactation adjuvants, are frequently used to stimulate breast milk production. Due to their antioxidant activity and phenolic content, anise (Pimpinella anisum L.) and fennel (Foeniculum vulgare L.) were chosen to increase the added value of zucchini (Cucurbita pepo L.) purees. At the same time, this work aimed to determine the influence of heat treatment on various characteristics of the final product. The phytochemical content, color parameters, and rheological and textural parameters of zucchini purees enriched with herbal aqueous extracts were determined after processing and after one week of storage (4 °C). In the case of antioxidant activity, samples registered a variation between 6.62 ± 1.71 and 38.32 ± 3.85 µM Trolox/g DW for the samples processed by steam convection. The total difference color parameter (ΔE) increased seven times after one week of storage compared to samples at T0. Fennel and anise aqueous extracts helped improve the rheological behavior of zucchini samples both by steam and hot air convection. This study may serve as a springboard for future investigations and clinical trials into the scientific validity and safety of ready-to-eat foods with special destinations.

Sea buckthorn (Hippophaė rhamnoides L.) is recognized as a valuable source of vitamin C and antioxidants, frequently used as nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals. In the present study, attempts are made to produce and characterize a novel type of marmalade using sea buckthorn berries processed at 102 °C into marmalade in two combinations, with whole cane or stevia sugar. Changes in the phytochemical profile, antioxidant activity, color, shelf-life, texture, microbiological, and sensorial characteristics were determined. The total carotenoids content in the marmalades were significantly different, with values of 0.91 ± 0.03 mg/g dry weight (DW) in the sample with whole sugar cane (Cz) and 2.69 ± 0.14 mg/g DW in the sample with Stevia sugar (Cs). Significant values of polyphenols were found, of 59.41 ± 1.13 mg GAE/g DW in Cz and 72.44 ± 2.31 mg GAE/g DW in Cs, leading to an antioxidant activity of 45.12 ± 0.001 μMol Trolox/g DW and 118.07 ± 0.01 μMol Trolox/g DW, respectively. Accelerated storage study showed a decrease in all the phytochemicals, however no significant changes were found in antioxidant activity. Values of &lt, 100 CFU/g for yeasts and molds and &lt, 5 CFU/g for Enterobacteriaceae after 21 days of storage at the room temperature of the marmalades were determined. The sensorial and color results were more than acceptable. Overall, the results highlighted the potential of using sea buckthorn as a potential rich source of bioactive compounds to be used in the sugar-based products manufacturing.

In the context of the increasing lactation problems among breastfeeding women, the development of a healthy lifestyle is needed. Different variants of pork, turkey, and beef meatballs, with added lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) and wild thyme (Thymus serpyllum L.) aqueous extract (6%), were obtained. These herbs were selected and used due to their antioxidant, antimicrobial, and lactogenic potential. Two thermal treatments, hot air convection (180 °C) and steam convection (94 °C), were applied for meatballs processing. The obtained meatballs were further subjected to a complex characterization. The functionality of the plant extracts was proved by the values of total content of polyphenols (2.69 ± 0.02 mg AG/g dw) and flavonoids (3.03 ± 0.24 mg EQ/g dw). FT-IR analysis confirmed the presence of trans-anethole and estragole at 1507–1508 cm−1 and 1635–1638 cm−1, respectively. Costumers’ overall acceptance had a score above 5.5 for all samples, on a scale of 1 to 9. Further analysis and human trials should be considered regarding the use of lactogenic herbs, given their health benefits and availability.

The influence of two natural different hydrocolloids (apple and citrus pectin) on physical, rheological and textural parameters, bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity of the courgette (Cucurbita pepo) puree was studied. The experiment aimed the development of dysphagia-oriented food products, which need to meet special requirements as a challenge for food rheology and novel ready-to-eat products. The pectin was added in the range of 0.1–0.3%. The courgette puree was ohmically heated at 20 V/cm for 3 min. The ohmic heating was used to improve and preserve the main properties of the purees. The antioxidant activity is stimulated by the ohmic heating, the values ranging up to 58% compared with the control sample. The courgette purees with apple or citrus pectin has registered a pseudoplastic rheological behaviour. The hardness increases with 22% once with the application of the thermic treatment. FT-IR spectroscopy and confocal microscopy reveal the benefits of using the ohmic heating as a processing method for courgettes puree. The results demonstrated the importance of using ohmic heating in the obtaining of courgettes puree for people with dysphagia.

The importance of bioactive compounds such as betalains and anthocyanins was highlighted in the present study by the valorization of red beetroot and sour cherry as an attempt to develop healthy products. The aim of the study was to obtain and characterize three types of marmalade based on red beetroot, sour cherry and both in 1:1 combination, obtained by heating at 95 &deg, C for 30 min. Changes in total phenolic content, total flavonoids, betalains, anthocyanins and antioxidant activity were evaluated before and after the thermal treatment. Several other analyses such as color, rheological and textural analyses and confocal laser microscopy were performed to provide further information about the quality of the added-value food products. A significant decrease of 34% in betalains content was registered in the red beetroot marmalade due to the chemical changes in bioactives induced by the temperature. A satisfactory ABTS radical scavenging activity of 8.12 &plusmn, 0.38 mMol Trolox/g dry weight (dw) was obtained for the red beetroot and sour cherry based marmalade. The gelled structure was validated by the rheological and textural characteristics. The results highlighted the potential use of red beetroot and sour cherry as food raw materials, due to their particular profile of bioactive compounds.

Beetroot (Beta vulgaris L.) represents a very rich source of bioactive compounds such as phenolic compounds and carotenoids, among which the most important being betalains, mainly betacyanins and betaxanthins. The beetroot matrix was used in a fresh or dried form or as lyophilized powder. A 1012 CFU/g inoculum of Lactobacillus plantarum MIUG BL3 culture was sprayed on the vegetal tissue. The lactic acid bacteria (LAB) viability for all the products was evaluated over 21 days, by microbiological culture methods. The antioxidant activity of the obtained food products was correlated to the betalains content and the viability of LAB. The content of polyphenolic compounds varied between 225.7 and 1314.7 mg L&minus, 1, hence revealing a high content of bioactive compounds. Through the confocal laser scanning microscopy analysis, a large number of viable probiotic cells were observed in all the variants but especially in the fresh red beet cubes. After 21 days of refrigeration, the high content of Lb. plantarum (CFU per gram) of the food products was attributed to the biocompounds and the nutrients of the vegetal matrix that somehow protected the bacterial cells, and thus maintained their viability. The obtained food products enriched with probiotic LAB can be regarded as new functional food products due to the beneficial properties they possessed throughout the undertaken experiments.

Sodium chloride is an indispensable constituent of white brined cheeses. It is involved in flavor and hardness improving, water activity and bitterness reducing, controls the enzymatic activity and bacterial growth and contributes to cheese preservation. Several studies have shown the negative impact of high sodium chloride content from processed cheeses on the consumers health. The most common additive used to decrease the levels of sodium chloride without affecting the cheese quality is potassium chloride.The effectof total or partial substitution of sodium chloride by potassium chloride on the characteristics of Telemea cheese was evaluated. Proximate composition, sensory evaluation and texture profile were analyzed during ripening at 4°C for 28 days. Telemea cheese was salted using 4 brine solutions (20%, wt/wt) with different concentrations made from different NaCl/KCl combinations as follows: (NaCl (A), KCl (B), 1NaCl:1KCl (C) and 1NaCl:2KCl(D)). The obtained results indicate that potassium chloride is a viable alternative to total or partial replacement of the sodium chloride in Telemea cheese.

This study aimed at the extraction and encapsulation of the carotenoids from sea buckthorn fruits and obtaining value-added mayonnaise. First, the carotenoids from sea buckthorn fruits were extracted using ultrasound-assisted extraction. Then, they were microencapsulated through complex coacervation and freeze-drying techniques using different wall material combinations. Two powders were obtained and analyzed in terms of encapsulation efficiency, total carotenoid content, antioxidant activity, stability of phytochemicals and color, morphological structure, and in vitro digestibility. All results pointed out that the carotenoid molecules were successfully encapsulated within the mixture of alginate, agar, and chitosan, with a 61.17 ± 0.89% encapsulation efficiency. To probe the functionality, the powder was added into mayonnaise in 2.5% and 5% amounts. The obtained mayonnaise samples were characterized in terms of phytochemical and antioxidant activity properties with their storage stability and texture, color, and sensory characteristics. A significant increase of total carotenoid content and antioxidant activity compared to the control sample was observed. The addition of powder also led to improved texture by increasing the firmness and adhesion. In addition, the sensory evaluation indicated an improved color and overall acceptability of the value-added mayonnaise. Thus, sea buckthorn extracts may be considered as valuable ingredients for the development of added-value food products.

The aim of this research was to evaluate and compare the textural properties of four types of reformulated meatloaf. Textural characteristics were investigated using three instrumental tests (Texture Profile Analysis, Wire Cutting and Volodkevich Bite) and two sensorial methods (Acceptance Testing and Texture Profile Method). The meatloaf samples were reformulated by replacing one part of the pork backfat with emulsions containing powder milk, walnuts and different vegetable oils. When comparing the results of the instrumental and sensorial analysis, values between 0.84 and 0.96 for correlation coefficients were obtained. The partial substitution of fat in the reformulated meatloafs significanly influenced the textural parameters of sample.

The use of highly functional carotenoids from different sources in food industry is limited mostly because of their poor water-solubility and low thermal stability. To overcome these drawbacks, the sea buckhorn ( Hippophae rhamnoides L) carotenoids extract was encapsulated with whey proteins isolate and gum acacia by coacervation and freeze drying. Results from encapsulation efficiency, total carotenoids, confocal laser microscopy and FTIR indicated that the carotenoids molecules were successfully encapsulated within whey proteins isolate cages. The powder had a total carotenoids content of 2.82 ± 0.17 mg/g D.W. The confocal microscopy revealed the encapsulation of carotenoid compounds, with the formation of spheroids of 2–30 μm, whereas some of them merge together and generate coacervates that exceed 25 μm in diameter. Both the extract and the microencapsulated powder showed a significant antioxidant activity. The spectrum of the complex showed bands specific to the carotenoids, esters and dicarboxylic acids, but also bands specific for whey proteins. Also, formation of more hydrogen bonds within the coarcervates was suggested. The powder was tested further in muffins formulation. The products were characterized in terms of physico-chemical, microbiological, phytochemicals, antioxidant activity, texture, color parameters, sensory analysis and storage stability. The muffins had a total carotenoids content of 2.42 ± 1.29 mg/100 g D.W. and a corresponding antioxidant activity of 293.90 ± 2.07 μM Trolox/g D.W. A significant decrease in carotenoids content (up to 55%) and antioxidant activity was observed in the first 21 days of storage. A slight decrease in luminosity was observed, whereas no significant differences were found in a* and b* values.

There is an increased interest in preserving fruits and vegetables by drying. The novelty of this study consists in the combination of the following three drying methods: free convection (at 50, 60, and 70°C), forced convection at 40°C and 315W microwave power. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the drying conditions on red beetroot (Beta vulgaris L.) in terms of betalain variance, and polyphenol, microstructure changes (SEM). A strong thermal shock, provided by convection at 60° followed by microwave wattage 315W/9min, leads to a better preservation of bioactive compounds content (0.631±0.0042mg/g of betacyanin and 0.795±0.0019mg/g betaxanthin) when compared to convection at 50, 60 and 70°C. The results showed that combined drying methods led to a significant preservation of the phytochemical content as compared to the traditional methods.

Taking into account the new tendencies of a healthy nutrition, the issue of meat products and their effect on the overall health condition remains on the top list of the solutions to be found. Some of the most approached ideas consist in reducing the animal fat content from meat products and replacing them with vegetable oils. Moreover, many studies propose the substitution of NaCl with other chloride salts. In a wide study we aimed at combining the two proposed solutions and at observing their effect on quality characteristics of the product. In this short communication, the second part of the study is presented, where the effects of partial NaCl replacement with KCl on proximate composition, textural characteristic, microbiological analyses and sensory characteristics were studied. The new reformulated salami type product was well accepted by the panelists, with no bitter taste sensed. KCl determined a significant increase in firmness values while decreasing the oxidative process of lipids.

This work presents the changes in the physico-chemical properties of pumpkin puree, aiming to find the best drying technique to obtain pumpkin powder. For that, pumpkin purees were pretreated by microwave (210 W and 315 W) for 3 min or ohmically heated at 17.5 V/cm for 2 min, followed by different drying methods: combined microwave (210 W and 315 W) and forced convection (100 °C) drying simultaneously. The samples of pumpkin puree (Cucurbita maxima) with 92.82 ± 0.1% moisture content, were dried until powder moisture reduced to 8.0 ± 0.3%. Drying time decreases with increased microwave power from 18 min up to 16 min for the samples pretreated by microwave and ohmic heating. A thermal pretreatment such as microwave or ohmic heating is an essential operation in the processing of fruits and vegetables. It not only contributes to the inactivation of polyphenoloxidase, peroxidase, but also could induce some changes in: carotenoids, polyphenols or antioxidant capacity. The results of qualitative analysis showed a product improvement due to ohmic heating pretreatment as compared to microwave technique. Free radical scavenging capacity for samples pretreated by microwave is lower (20.64–28.32% DPPH inhibition) compared to the ohmic heating (36–40.32% DPPH inhibition).

While carrots are such a popular and cheap raw material, known for its importance in the human diet, as a source of carotenoids, it was chosen to be the object of this study. Since carrot consists of water, protein, cellulosic substances and pectin, the addition of apple pectin as a thickening agent it was a flawless choosing. Elderly people, which represents a growing part of Romanian population, suffer of many illnesses, especially related to the digestive tract, like dysphagia, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), which could induce malnutrition. The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of steamed coupled with ohmic heating or microwave in obtaining carrot purees. Minimal processing of purees is much more necessary than for other types of products, because of the preliminary processing of the carrots (grading, washing, sorting, peeling, slicing, grinding). The samples with or without pectin were analysed by physico chemical, rheological, textural and laser confocal microcopy point of view. The rheological properties reveal some expected results that the carrot puree is non-Newtonian fluid. The results demonstrated that the antioxidant activity of the carrot purees was not affected by the processing. Textural parameters such as cohesiveness, springiness and chewiness slightly increase with the hydrocolloids addition. So, this study could be a base to develop some new technologies in the field of the carrot puree making.

This study was carried to determine the influence of hot air drying process and combined methods on physicochemical properties of pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) samples. The experiments in hot air chamber were lead at 50, 60 and 70 °C. The combined method consists of a triple combination of the main drying techniques. Thus, in first stage the samples were dried in hot air convection at 60 °C followed by hot air ventilation at 40 °C simultaneous with microwave. The time required to reduce the moisture content to any given level was highly dependent on the drying conditions. So, the highest value of drying time in hot air has been 540 min at 50 °C, while the lowest time has been 189 min in hot air combined by microwave at 40 °C and a power of 315 W. The samples dried by hot air shows a higher rehydration capacity than samples dried by combined method.

Reduction of bioactive compounds sensitive to heat, light and oxygen could be attributed to drying. The effectiveness of microwave pretreatment at 525 or 420 W and the ohmic heating at 17.5 V/cm over the properties of beetroot powder were compared. This study aimed to develop novel hybrid drying methods. The effects of microwave and ohmic heating pre-treatment and subsequent microwave-convection drying were studied. Several investigations were performed, such as phenolic content, antioxidant activity, betalains content and color. The samples pretreated by microwave have registered higher polyphenols content and antioxidant capacity than those ohmically heated. The ohmic heating pretreated samples registered highest values for ΔL = 7.33–7.65 and ΔH = 8.18–10.02. Confocal microscopy reveals that the MW heating favors cellular lysis and cell content agglutinates. In conclusion, even if the MW preheating has certain disadvantages, in some cases it provides increased bioavailability generated by the vegetal cell disruption and the release of the bioactive compounds.

Effects of partial (50%) and total replacement of wheat flour with black rice flour on the phytochemical, physico-chemical, sensorial, and textural properties of muffins were studied. Partial or total replacement of wheat flour with black rice flour in muffins improved their nutritional and antioxidative properties with a positive effect on microbiological and color stability during the storage period in accelerated conditions. The low gluten muffins had an anthocyanin content of 27.54 &plusmn, 2.22 mg cyanidin-3-glucoside (C3G)/100 g dry weight (DW), whereas the gluten free muffins had 46.11 &plusmn, 3.91 mg C3G/100 g DW, with significant antioxidant values. Retention of 60% and 64% for anthocyanins and 72% and 80% for antioxidant activity after baking was found. The fracturability and hardness scores increased with the addition of black rice flour, whereas firmness and chewiness increased for gluten free muffins. The confocal analysis revealed a tendency of glucidic components to aggregate, with gathers of small bunches of black rice starch granules comprising anthocyanin. The results allowed designing two new value added bakery products, low and free gluten muffins, with significant high amounts of bioactive compounds, suggesting the functional potential of black rice flour.

The present study investigates the effects of the partial substitution of the pork back fat with different vegetable oils (sea buckthorn, walnut and sunflower) and walnuts on the chemical composition, texture profile and sensory characteristics of meatloaves. The dry matter and ash content of meatloaf with vegetable oils and walnuts were higher than the control sample (P < 0.05). The cooking loss, energy values and lipid oxidation for the samples with walnuts and vegetable oils were lower than the control sample. The meatloaf sample containing walnuts and sea buckthorn oil had the highest total antioxidant capacity. The partial substitution of pork back fat showed a positive effect on textural and sensorial characteristics. Results reveal that the incorporation of vegetable oils and walnuts has successfully reduced the animal fat content in the finite products while improving the quality characteristics.

The effect of ohmic treatment on some quality related characteristics of pear purée (cv. ‘Conference’) such as color, reducing sugars, total phenols, rheological behavior and microbial counts, was analyzed. The inactivation kinetics of pectin methyl esterase (PME) in pear crude extract and purée were studied by conventional thermal and ohmic treatments. Thermal inactivation of PME in crude extract was described by a first-order kinetic model. The activation energy values suggested the presence of two isoenzymes with different thermostability. The ohmic heating reduced PME activity by 96% at 25 V·cm-1. Minimal changes induced by ohmic heating on above quality related aspects were observed. Supporting this statement, there were no significant changes in the nutritional and sensorial attributes. It was reported an increase of 3% of reducing sugar content for the ohmic heated samples. The phenolic content of the treated samples registered a reduction of 59% in comparison with fresh pear purée. The pear purée presented a non-Newtonian pseudoplastic behaviour. The Ostwald de Waele model was fitted to rheograms and the consistency coefficient (m) and flow behavior index (n) were determined. Results obtained for the microbial charge were higher in the control samples. Thus, microbial counts showed complete inactivation of yeast and mold at voltage gradient higher than 17.5 V·cm-1.

Inactivation of pectin methyl esterase was evaluated using thermal and ohmic treatments. Kinetics of enzyme inactivation in crude extracts during thermal treatment was described by a first order model yielding an activation energy of 202.52±25.86 kJ/mol. Pectin methylesterase was inactivated more rapidly by an ohmic treatment than by heating. A gradient of 25 V/cm was used to evaluate ohmic induced changes in color, reducing sugar concentrations, mineral and total polyphenolic contents, and rheological and morphological properties. A pseudo-plastic behavior was observed and the Power law was considered adequate to describe apple puree behavior. Minimal changes in physico-chemical parameters occurred. Ohmic treatment can be used in food processing and bioengineering for inactivation of quality-degrading enzymes and retention of health-related compounds and extension of the shelf-life.

Two textural characteristics, elasticity modulus and firmness, were determined during the ripening process of Cascaval cheese, using both instrumental and sensorial techniques. Uniaxial compression was used to determine the textural characteristics and the results were compared with the ones obtained by sensorial analysis, revealing a good correlation. The chemical composition of cheese was also determined, including the nitrogen fractions (total nitrogen, water soluble nitrogen, non-protein nitrogen and phosphotungstic acid soluble nitrogen). The data thus obtained were statistically processed in order to find the differences between the samples, as well as to find the correlation between the techniques of analysis. The study showed that the ripening process of the Cascaval cheese is similar to the ripening of other pasta filata cheese. The moisture content decreases during maturation as a result of water evaporation. The concentration of nitrogen fractions increases during the ripening stage, and so do the firmness and elasticity modulus. The biochemical processes that occur during maturation largely influence the textural parameters and this is proved by both instrumental and sensorial analyses.