Development of Reduced-Fat, Reduced-Sodium Semi-Hard Sheep Milk Cheese

Abstract

This paper examines the effects of the incorporation of denatured whey proteins along with salting in NaCl/KCl brine on the characteristics and ripening of sheep milk reduced-fat (RF), semi-hard cheese. Incorporation of denatured whey proteins was carried out by: i. adding commercial microparticulated whey protein (MWP) in reduced-fat cheese milk (RFM), or ii. by ‘in situ’ heat-induced partial denaturation of whey proteins of reduced-fat cheese milk (RFD). The implemented cheesemaking conditions included curd washing, moderate clotting, scalding temperatures, and ripening of cheeses packed in plastic bags under vacuum at 10 °C. Full-fat cheeses (FF) were manufactured in parallel. Physicochemical composition, textural profile, and proteolysis were assessed throughout 60 days of ripening. The mean moisture, fat on dry matter (FDM), moisture on non-fat substances (MNFS), protein on dry matter (PDM), salt, and salt-in-moisture (S/M) content of the RF cheeses were 47.4%, 32.8%, 57.3%, 54.3%, 1.63%, and 3.36%, respectively; pH ≈ 5.0, aw ≈ 0.977, Ca ≈ 1000 mg/100 g cheese. The MNFS of FF and RF cheeses were similar. Proteolysis indices were not affected by any of the treatments, and they were similar to the FF counterparts. The applied cheesemaking technology was adequate for the production of semi-hard reduced-fat and reduced-sodium cheeses. Ripening under packaging hindered moisture loss without impairing the evolution of proteolysis and textural parameters. The same holds true for salting in NaCl/KCl brine. The high pasteurization of cheese milk was more effective for the increase of moisture and MNFS than the addition of MWP, without exhibiting any adverse effects.

Effect of Ripening in Brine and Vacuum on Protein, Fatty Acid and Mineral Profiles, and Antioxidant Potential of Reduced-Fat White Cheese

“…Although the biochemistry of ripening of different reduced-fat cheese varieties was the topic of several studies (1,(5)(6)(7)(8), to the best of the authors' knowledge, there are no studies related to the ripening of reduced-fat white cheese made from milk that remains after kajmak production. Also, there is no study about the effect of ripening in a vacuum on the composition and properties of reduced-fat white cheese.…”

“…Residual milk is characterized by a low content of fat and fat-soluble substances, as well as slightly lower protein content than the raw milk. The low fat content of milk can affect the composition, ripening biochemistry, microstructure, organoleptic/sensory characteristics and yield of the cheese ( 1 ). In addition, during the production of kajmak, milk is subjected to more severe thermal processing (at 90 °C for up to 60 min) than typical pasteurization and slow cooling (up to 24 h).…”

Effect of Salt Content Reduction on Food Processing Technology

“…After the ripening, cheeses had no defects and the partial replacement of sodium with potassium did not affect the chemical composition, microbiological composition, or ripening process, respectively. Moatsou et al [ 92 ] assessed the influence of added denatured whey proteins together with NaCl/KCl-brine salting on sheep cheese. After determination of moisture on non-fat substances, they found it was similar in full-fat and reduced-fat cheeses (approx.…”

“Cheese: Technology, Compositional, Physical and Biofunctional Properties:” A Special Issue

“…The development of reduced-fat and reduced-sodium, semi-hard sheep milk cheese is presented in the manuscript of Moatsou et al [11]. The partial substitution of NaCl with KCl and the incorporation of denatured whey proteins were the experimental treatments.…”