## 3 Results and Discussion
### Physicochemical Analysis in Costeno-Type Cheese  
The reduction in NaCl content and the increase in the cooking temperature did not significantly affect the physicochemical composition of the costeno-type cheese (Figure 1). Reduction in the salt content of cheese generally causes an increase in the moisture due to the higher capacity of water retention in the protein matrix [5; 7; 13]. [PERSON] and [PERSON] (2011) [34] attempted to produce reduced-salt cheese by standard processes and confirmed that moisture retention increases with salt reduction in cheese; this effect was observed in cheese Q\({}_{1}\).  
Conversely, the experimental cheeses Q\({}_{2}\) and Q\({}_{3}\) with NaCl addition of 5.0% and 2.5%, respectively, showed higher similarity with the physicochemical composition of the control cheese (Q\({}_{\text{C}}\)). This could be due to the increase in cooking temperature before draining the whey, which could increase hydrophobic interactions. This would cause more syneresis and contraction of the curd, decreasing the amount of moisture retained in the matrix of cheese [14; 22; 23].  
The effect of temperature on moisture retention has been previously reported by [PERSON] et al. [5]. They achieved the same moisture content in mozzarella production by decreasing the temperature during stretching with reduced salt.  
The fat content tends to decrease in Q\({}_{1}\) cheese (\(p\)-value \(<\) 0.01) made through the standard process and reduced NaCl content. This tendency contrasts with the cheeses made with increased cooking temperature and salt mixtures. Salt reduction increases the moisture content, thus decreasing the  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c} \hline \hline
**Composition** & **Raw Bovine Milk** \\ \hline Density (g/cm\({}^{3}\)) & 1.027 \(\pm\) 0.010 \\ Titratable acidity (\({}^{\text{C}}\)D) & 14.20 \(\pm\) 1.17 \\ pH & 6.70 \(\pm\) 0.12 \\ Fat (\%, _w/w_) & 3.20 \(\pm\) 0.32 \\ Total Solids (\%, _w/w_) & 10.70 \(\pm\) 0.44 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular} Mean values \(\pm\) standard deviation.  
\end{table}
Table 2: Physicochemical composition of milk used in the production of costeno-type cheese.  
fat content [31]. Moreover, within the standard cheese-making process, fat reduction also increases moisture content [32].  
Cheeses with mixtures of NaCl and KCl showed an increase in fat content compared to cheeses with only NaCl. This behavior indicates a possible interaction between the added KCl and the amount of fat trapped in the Q4 and Q5 cheeses' protein networks. This phenomenon requires further research outside the scope of this study because several studies indicate that the fat content is not affected by the different salt mixtures in the cheeses compared to the control cheese and the cheeses made by standard process [7; 13; 35].  
All the experimental cheeses could be classified as semi-fat, because their FDM content \(<\)25%, and hard cheese, because the MNFS content was between 49 and 56% [36]. In hard cheeses like cheddar, FDM content decreases when the moisture increases; this behavior is similar to the one observed in Q1 cheese [26; 36].  
Overall, slight differences were observed in the chees' physicochemical properties, with changes in the salt content and the cheese-making process.  
Figure 1: Physicochemical composition in percent of the experimental costerño-type cheese: (**A**) Moisture; (**B**) Fat; (**C**) Fat-in-dry-matter (FDM); (**D**) Moisture-in-non-fat-substances (MNFS) in Q\({}_{\text{C}}\) (black bar), Q\({}_{\text{I}}\) (gray bar), Q\({}_{\text{2}}\) (diagonal striped bar), Q\({}_{\text{3}}\) (point bar), Q\({}_{\text{4}}\) (horizontal striped bar) and Q\({}_{\text{5}}\) (vertical striped bar). Error bars represent one standard deviation. Student’s t-tests were performed to assess significance compared to the control cheese (Q\({}_{\text{C}}\)), where (*) corresponds to a \(p\)-value \(<\) 0.05, and (**) to a \(p\)-value \(<\) 0.01.