Firmness and melting quality of processed cheese foods with added whey protein concentrates

Abstract

Summary -Processed cheese foods were prepared by replacing young Cheddar cheese solids with those of whey protein concentrates (WPC) obtained by ultrafiltration of Tilsit cheese whey. Firrnness of processed cheese foods decreased in a highly significant manner (P< 0.01), while melting quality increased in a highly significant manner ( P< 0.01) with the increase in moisture over a wide range. An increased amount of whey protein concentrates and trisodium citrate improved the firmness in a highly significant manner (P < 0.01), but had a highly significant deleterious effect (P< 0.01) on the melting quality of processed cheese foods.

Effect of whey protein concentrate, sodium caseinate, Cheddar cheese, and milk fat on sensory and functional properties of cheese dip

“…Since results from texture profile analysis indicated that increase in protein blend and Cheddar cheese content increases the firmness of the samples, it can be said that the panellists preferred cheese dip with lesser firmness. These findings are in agreement with the data reported by Pinto et al () for processed cheese spread, Gupta and Reuter () for processed cheese food, Sołowiej et al () for processed cheese analogues and Hosseini et al () for imitation cheese where authors observed the increase in hardness of the product with the increasing content of WPC‐70. Processed cheese and other related products are very complex multiphase systems which involves protein–protein and protein–fat interaction (Sołowiej et al, ).…”

The role of dairy ingredients in processed cheese products

“…Numerous studies have investigated the effects of added whey proteins on the texture and cooking characteristics of PCPs (Schulz, 1976;Savello et al, 1989;Hill and Smith, 1992;Gupta and Reuter, 1993;Kaminarides and Stachtiaris, 2000;Gigante et al, 2001;Mleko and Foegeding, 2000;French et al, 2002;Mleko and Lucey, 2003;Mounsey et al, 2007). These studies have generally shown that the use of whey proteins, even at relatively low levels (1-2 g · 100 g −1 )…”

“…, as a substitute for cheese protein or casein at similar levels, reduces the fl owability of the heated PCP to an extent that increases as the level of substitution increases (Savello et al, 1989;Gupta and Reuter, 1993;Gigante et al, 2001;Mleko and Foegeding, 2001;Mounsey et al, 2007). Indeed, an early patent (Schulz, 1976) describes a process for the manufacture of PCP that is resistant to fl ow on cooking, based on the addition of a heat-coagulable protein (3-7%, w/w, lactalbumin, egg albumen), at a temperature <70°C, to the PCP formulation near the completion of processing.…”

“…• a higher emulsion stability (Thomas, 1970) and/or degree of emulsifi cation (Gupta and Reuter, 1993); • the formation of large whey-protein casein aggregates in the CWPt (O' Kennedy and Mounsey, 2009) which, on inclusion in processed cheese, impede slippage of the protein layers and thereby restrict heatinduced fl ow, similar to the melt-inhibitory effect observed by McMahon et al (1996) in low-fat Mozzarella cheese made from milk with added Novogel (a proprietary blend of microcrystalline cellulose and guar gum); and/or • the formation of a non-melting whey protein network (Mleko and Lucey, 2003).…”

The influence of moisture content on the rheological properties of processed cheese spreads

“…Water is known to decrease the hardness or firmness of processed cheese (Zuber et al, 1987;Gupta & Reuter, 1993;Pereira et al, 2001) and to improve the product meltability (Gupta & Reuter, 1993). A drawback of processed cheese with high moisture content is its susceptibility to spoilage.…”