Linear Viscoelastic Properties of Regular- and Reduced-Fat Pasteurized Process Cheese During Heating and Cooling

Abstract

The rheology of process cheese during heating and cooling was examined by measuring the transient and dynamic linear viscoelastic properties of regular fat, lower moisture and an 80% reduced-fat, higher moisture pasteurized process cheese from 10 to 50°C. The dynamic (stress and frequency sweep) and transient (creep and recovery) rheological properties of the reduced-fat process cheese were found to be higher than that of regular-fat process cheese, indicating that fat content changed rheological properties more than moisture content. The temperature-dependent frequency dispersions of storage and loss moduli (dynamic mechanical spectra) were fitted with a power-law model, and master curves (at a reference temperature of 30°C) and shift factors were obtained by shifting the temperaturedependent frequency dispersion of dynamic mechanical spectra. The relaxation spectra (moduli, viscosities and relaxation times) of both cheeses were obtained from the master curves using the generalized Maxwell model and nonlinear regression. The viscosity distribution of corresponding Maxwell model elements were higher for the reduced-fat cheese by a factor of 1.6-4.7 compared to the regular-fat cheese, indicating that the higher moisture content in the reduced-fat process cheese did not loosen the protein matrix or soften the cheese even though higher moisture is recommended to cheese manufacturers in order to compensate for some textural defects in reduced-fat cheeses.

Effect of chemical composition on the linear viscoelastic properties of spreadable-type processed cheese

“…This is due to the action of fat as a lubricant. Similar observation has been reported by Subramanian et al (2006) who concluded that fat reduction results in increased viscoelastic properties in processed cheese. The softening effect of fat on the texture of processed cheese generally has also been observed using other methods (Dimitreli & Thomareis, 2007;Green et al, 1986;Stampanoni & Noble, 1991).…”

“…For the evaluation of the viscoelastic behavior of processed cheese and the way that it is affected by different factors, dynamic rheology has mainly been used (Bowland & Foegeding, 2001;Joshi et al, 2004;Lee & Klostermeyer, 2001;Lee, Anema, & Klostermeyer, 2004;Marchesseau, Gastaldi, Lagaude, & Cuq, 1997;Pereira et al, 2001;Piska & Š te tina, 2004;Subramanian, Muthukumarappan, & Gunasekaran, 2006;Sutheerawattananonda & Bastian, 1998). Some of these researchers have studied the effect of chemical composition on the viscoelastic properties of processed cheese.…”

“…Sutheerawattananonda and Bastian (1998), Pereira et al (2001) and Lee et al (2004) evaluated the effect of moisture content on the viscoelastic behavior of Cheddar processed cheese, processed cheese analogues and processed cheese spreads, respectively. The effect of fat and protein content on the viscoelastic properties of processed cheese was studied by Subramanian et al (2006) and Joshi et al (2004), respectively. From the above-mentioned researchers, only Lee et al (2004) applied oscillatory tests to spreadable-type products and in particular cheese analogues, while the other evaluated the viscoelastic behavior of block-type processed cheeses.…”

Viscoelastic behavior during the ripening of a commercial low-fat soft cheese

“…Linear regression was used to determine the corresponding parameters of power-law equation. Nonlinear regression analysis was conducted to obtain the parameters of five Maxwell elements, using the procedure proposed by Subramanian et al [20]. Multiple regression analysis was applied in order to establish the relationships between rheological parameters and physicochemical properties.…”

Production and Evaluation of Sweet Spreadable Goat Cheese

“…For the evaluation of the viscoelastic behavior of processed cheese and the way that it is affected by different factors, dynamic rheology has mainly been used [6]. Moisture acted as a plasticizer and fat as a lubricant both contributing to a more liquid-like behavior of the samples.…”