## 3 Results and Discussion
### Major Mineral Composition  
Tables 3 and 4 show the composition of the major minerals (Ca, Mg, K, and Na) in TC-/SST-ripened cheeses, and the respective brines, during their ripening-preservation. The different ripening-preservation containers did not statistically significantly (\(p>0.05\)) affect the concentration of mineral in both cheese groups and the respective cheese brines throughout the ripening-preservation process. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c c c} \hline \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**Composition**} & \multicolumn{6}{c}{**Ripening Time (Days)**} \\ \cline{2-9}  & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**10**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**60**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**90**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**180**} \\ \cline{2-9}  & **TC** & **SST** & **TC** & **SST** & **TC** & **SST** & **TC** & **SST** \\ \hline pH & 4.53 \(\pm\) 0.14  & 4.57 \(\pm\) 0.07  & 4.40 \(\pm\) 0.16  & 4.31 \(\pm\) 0.08  \\ \hline Protein & 1.36 \(\pm\) 0.17  & 2.21 \(\pm\) 0.58  & 2.23 \(\pm\) 0.52  & 2.23 \(\pm\) 0.65  & 5.67 \(\pm\) 0.55  & 4.63 \(\pm\) 0.52  & 4.56 \(\pm\) 0.59 [FOOTNOTE:]Footnote : Means in each parameter, with the same superscripts for TC and SST values, do not differ significantly (\(p>0.05\)) in each time interval. [ENDFOOTNOTE] & 5.10 \(\pm\) 0.52 [FOOTNOTE:]Footnote : Means in each parameter, with the same superscripts for TC and SST values, do not differ significantly (\(p>0.05\)) in each time interval. From the 60 th day onwards, the concentration of Ca and K was similar, for TC (223.96-313.67 mg 100 g\({}^{-1}\) and 48.65-86.95 mg 100 g\({}^{-1}\)) and SST (235.05-280.59 mg 100 g\({}^{-1}\) and 59.42-75.73 mg 100 g\({}^{-1}\)). The concentration of Mg did not have significant differences between the TC and SST cheees. This was observed throughout the ripening and preservation of the cheees, as shown in the Table 3. The concentration of Na was similar for both groups of cheees (1053.40-1215.50 mg 100 g\({}^{-1}\) for TC cheees and 1167.88-1266.06 mg 100 g\({}^{-1}\) for SST cheees) with the highest being noted at day 180, as was also observed with the salt concentration (Table 1). The composition of the inorganic elements in both TS- and SST-ripened cheees, throughout the ripening-preservation process, agrees with previous findings. The amount of Ca and Mg found in TC and SST cheees were slightly lower than those reported by [PERSON] et al. and [PERSON] et al. (2015); [PERSON] et al. (2015), while the concentration of K and Na agreed with those reported by [PERSON] et al. (2015). Regarding the brines, the concentrations of Ca and Mg were similar in both groups (with the exception of the 10 th day, when Ca was statistically significantly higher in SST, \(p\)-value = 0.042). In the TC brine, Ca and Mg ranged between 372.33 and 450.60 mg 100 g\({}^{-1}\) and 27.85 and 29.91 mg 100 g\({}^{-1}\), respectively, while, in SST brine, Ca and Mg ranged between 354.97 and 413.09 mg 100 g\({}^{-1}\) and 24.60 and 28.42 mg 100 g\({}^{-1}\). The concentration of K ranged from 104.80 to 120.09 and 92.73 mg 100 g\({}^{-1}\) to 130.12 for TC and SST brines, respectively, with the highest values being noted on the 180 th day. Finally, the concentration of Na was similar in the two groups of brines throughout the ripening-preservation process, with values ranging from 2046.38 to 2255.00 mg 100 g\({}^{-1}\) and 2234.93 to 2371.95 mg 100 g\({}^{-1}\) for TC and SST brines, respectively.