SUMMARY
The most common process that Mexican artisanal cheese industry applies to whey to add value, is the production of requesón (whey cheese). However, the technological profile of the whey depends on its physicochemical characteristics. The objective of the present study was to characterize the primary (LPQC) and secondary (LSQC) whey from the production of artisanal “coccid cheese” (asadero), and the properties of requesón cheese made from these types of whey. The LPQC had 6.6% of solids content similar (p=0.05) to sweet whey from fresh cheese manufacture (LQF, control), although a lower pH (5.3 vs 6.5) and protein content (0.4 vs 0.7 %). On the contrary, the LSQC had a high content of solids, protein and fat (9.4, 1 and 4.2 %, respectively), characteristic that was reflected in a higher content of solids and fat in requesón made from this whey, in comparison with the composition of requesón made with LPQC and LFC. Firmness (N), adhesiveness (- N) and cohesiveness parameters of requesón samples were in a range of 0.050-0.18 (N), 0.07-0.26 (-N) and 0.40-0.84, respectively, obtaining lower values of hardness and adhesiveness in requesón from LPQC, and a greater cohesiveness in requesón from LSQC (p<0.05). In conclusion, the physicochemical characteristics of whey from cheesemaking determined the chemical composition as well color and textural properties of requesón (whey cheese).