Table 3.
Changes in CIELAB color and whiteness index of Mexican Manchego-style cheese made from hair sheep milk at different points of ripening.
| Parameters | Ripening Time (d) | SEM | p-Value | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 | 60 | 90 | 120 | 150 | 180 | |||
| L* | 88.65 a | 87.91 a | 86.32 a | 84.93 ab | 83.24 b | 81.32 b | 83.17 b | 0.545 | <0.001 |
| a* | −1.14 | −1.12 | −1.20 | −1.26 | −1.14 | −1.12 | −1.22 | 0.063 | 0.655 |
| b* | 17.40 | 17.56 | 17.43 | 16.19 | 17.40 | 16.69 | 16.81 | 0.378 | 0.316 |
| C* | 17.44 | 17.59 | 17.48 | 16.54 | 17.44 | 16.73 | 16.85 | 0.376 | 0.316 |
| h* (°) | 93.77 | 93.67 | 93.95 | 94.37 | 93.77 | 93.85 | 94.16 | 0.238 | 0.404 |
| WI | 36.45 a | 35.24 a | 34.02 ab | 35.47 a | 31.04 b | 31.25 b | 32.73 b | 1.200 | 0.042 |
| ∆E* | − | 0.99 d | 2.38 cd | 3.85 bc | 5.42 ab | 7.42 a | 5.55 ab | 0.523 | <0.001 |
L*, lightness or whiteness; a*, greenness or redness; b*, blueness or yellowness; h*, hue angle; C* chroma; WI, whiteness index (L* − 3b*); ∆E*, total color difference relative to color obtained at 1 d of ripening; SEM, standard error of the mean. Data are means of three replicate trials; means within a row with different superscripts show significant (p < 0.05) differences between ripening times.