APPLICATION OFTHE RESPONSE SURFACE ANALYSIS METHOD TO THE STUDY OF SALT ANDWATER PROFILES IN GOAT’S CHEESE SALTED IN LAYERS J. SANTAPAOLA 1,3 , A. ANDRÉS 2 , S. MALDONADO 1 and M. FERNÁNDEZ 1 1 Laboratorio de Ingeniería para el Desarrollo de la Agroindustria Regional Centro de Investigación de Tecnología de Alimentos Facultad de Ingeniería Universidad Nacional de Jujuy Avenida Italia y Martiarena, 4600, San Salvador de Jujuy, Argentina 2 Instituto Universitario de Ingeniería de Alimentos para el Desarrollo Departamento de Tecnología de los Alimentos Universidad Politécnica de Valencia Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, España Accepted for Publication January 8, 2010 ABSTRACT With the purpose of determining sodium chloride and water distribution profiles, a series of analyses were carried out on goat’s cheese that had been salted by a traditional method from the province of Jujuy (Argentina). This process consists of distributing layers of dry salt between layers of curd of a constant height during the moulding operation. The sodium chloride and water concentration profiles were analyzed in relation to the height and distance of the cheese samples from the center. The response surface analysis methodology was used to interpret the results. The highest water concentration was obtained in the lower external zone, this being connected to the gravita- tional effect of syneresis and its contact with the cheese inside the container. In the sodium chloride profile, it was observed that the upper zone of the cheese presented the concentration furthest from the average value. This indicates that salt and water distribution can be improved by increasing the frequency of turning the cheeses after salting. 3 Corresponding author. TEL: +54-0388-4221590, FAX: +54-0388-4221528; EMAIL: jsantapaola@ fi.unju.edu.ar Potential reviewers of the manuscript: Antonio Vega: avega@userena.cl Lilia Ahrne: lilia.ahrne@sik.se Journal of Food Process Engineering •• (2011) ••–••. All Rights Reserved. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. DOI: 10.1111/j.1745-4530.2010.00593.x 1