Formation of cheddar cheese analogues using canola oil and ultrasonication – A comparison between single and double emulsion systems

Abstract

Cheddar cheese analogues were produced from skim milk in which canola oil was emulsified using ultrasound to form either single (O/W) or double emulsions (W1/O/W2). The double emulsion cheese analogues (DECH) had a distinct microstructure and retained small skim milk droplets, dispersed in the fat phase, for more than 7 months of aging at 4 o C. The single emulsion cheese analogues (SECH), prepared with the same fat content as control cheeses, produced comparable yields of cheese and whey, with similar composition, although the fat droplets were more spherical and showed greater coalescence. The DECH cheese with skim milk encapsulated in the oil droplets, was harder, melted less and showed more free fatty acid development over 7 months of aging than the control cheeses. The SECH cheeses were softer than the control and also melted less effectively but did not show greater free fatty acid development.

How does milk fat replacement influence cheese analogue microstructure, rheology, and texture profile?

“…As can be observed in Table 2, the findings showed that cheese analogues with milk fat substitution with vegetable oils have an increase in fat globule size (Abd El‐Wahed & Hassanien, 2019; Cunha et al., 2010) and a decrease in the number of globules present (Cunha et al., 2013; Lee et al., 2015; Leong et al., 2020) in a less uniform distribution (Abd El‐Wahed & Hassanien, 2019; Cunha et al., 2010). In contrast, some studies have shown a decrease in the size of the fat globules (Cunha et al., 2013; Leong et al., 2020). Although there is limited information regarding pores in cheese analogues, very few of the revised studies show data related to this aspect.…”

“…Although there is limited information regarding pores in cheese analogues, very few of the revised studies show data related to this aspect. These studies showed that cheese analogues with partial or total milk fat substitution presented a higher number of pores in the cheese (Ramel & Marangoni, 2018) and an increase in the size of the pores compared to traditional cheeses (Leong et al., 2020).…”

“…Leong et al. (2020) showed that in two cheddar‐like analogues with partial substitution of milk fat with canola oil, very small fat droplets distributed in the matrix were observed. This result can be related to the oil inclusion method used since, in the aforementioned studies (Abd El‐Wahed & Hassanien, 2019; Cunha et al., 2010, 2013), the researchers used direct oil inclusion, whereas in this study, an emulsion made by ultrasound was applied that could modify the size of the fat drops in the matrix thus making them smaller.…”

“…Lobato‐Calleros et al. (2007) show that the formation of numerous spaces in the protein network was originally occupied by oil drops from the extracted milk fat and this occurrence allowed the formation of a very porous and open protein structure of the cheese analogues (Ramel & Marangoni, 2018; Leong et al., 2020). Despite the importance of the microstructure, findings are very limited and show variability because each article presented a different type of cheese which can modify the characteristics of the microstructure as can be seen in Table 2.…”

“…This behavior had been previously observed (Guinee & O'Kennedy, 2009; Gliguem et al., 2011; Lee et al., 2013; Wang et al., 2011). Regarding meltability, most studies show that when milk fat is replaced by vegetable fat, there is a tendency to a decreased meltability (Cunha et al., 2013; Leong et al., 2020; Ramel & Marangoni, 2018). On the contrary, one of the studies reported an increase in meltability after milk fat replacement (Totosaus et al., 2017).…”