The Effect of Mustard Powder Percentage on the Physicochemical, Microbial Load, and Sensory Analysis of Artisanal Ethiopian Cottage Cheese

Cottage cheese quality and shelf life are global challenges, but natural preservatives like mustard seed powder are used due to their antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. This study examines different percentages of mustard powder ( C [0%], B 1 [0.05%], B 2 [0.1%], and B 3 [0.15%]) and storage times ( T 0 [0], T 1 [4], T 2 [8], T 3 [12], and T 4 [15] days) on artisanal Ethiopian cottage cheese′s physicochemical, microbial load, and sensory analysis. The addition of mustard powder to the cheese reduced its pH from 4.46 to 3.78 but increased its fat content and titratable acidity from 0.05 to 0.46 and 0.22 to 6.25, respectively. As the finding indicated that with increasing mustard powder percentages, the total microbial count (TMC), coliform colony count (CC), and yeast and mold count (YMC) were decreased compared to the control sample up to 15 days of storage. The progressive addition of mustard powder to artisanal Ethiopian cottage cheese resulted in a reduction of sensory attributes. Therefore, this investigation suggested that adding mustard powder can be a promising natural preservative.