Manufacture and sensory analysis of reduced- and low-sodium Cheddar and Mozzarella cheeses

Abstract

High sodium intake negatively affects consumer health, thus there is active interest in lowering sodium levels in dairy foods. Cheddar and low-moisture, part-skim Mozzarella cheeses were made with total salt levels of 0.7, 1.0, 1.25, 1.35, and 1.8% (wt/wt) in triplicate, thus reducing sodium by 25 to 60%. Multiple manufacturing protocols for salt reduction were used to produce cheeses with similar postpress moisture and pH, independent of the final salt levels in cheese, in order to study the role of salt in cheese acceptability. Cheese flavor was evaluated by a descriptive taste panel on a 15-point intensity scale. Consumer acceptance was evaluated by a consumer panel on a 9-point hedonic scale. Taste panels conducted with cubed Cheddar cheese (at 3 and 6mo) and cold shredded Mozzarella cheese (at 3wk) showed that consumer liking for cheese was low at 0.7 and 0.9% salt, but all cheeses containing higher salt levels (1.25, 1.35, and 1.8% salt) were comparably preferred. The cheeses had acceptable liking scores (≥6) when served as quesadilla or pizza toppings, and consumers were able to differentiate cheeses at alternate salt levels; for example, 1.8 and 1.5% salt cheeses scored similarly, as did cheeses with 1.5% and 1.35% salt, but 1.35% salt cheese scored lower than and was discernible from 1.8% salt cheese. Descriptive panelists perceived salty, sour, umami, bitter, brothy, lactone/fatty acid, and sulfur attributes as different across Mozzarella cheeses, with the perception of each significantly increasing along with salt level. Salty and buttery attributes were perceived more with increasing salt levels of Cheddar cheese by the descriptive panel at 3mo, whereas bitter, brothy, and umami attributes were perceived less at the higher salt levels. However, this trend reversed at 6mo, when perception of salty, sour, bitter, buttery, lactone/fatty acid, and umami attributes increased with salt level. We conclude that consumers can distinguish even a 30% salt reduction and a gradually phased sodium reduction is needed to improve acceptability of lower sodium cheeses.

Effect of salt and fat reduction on the composition, lactose metabolism, water activity and microbiology of Cheddar cheese

“…The key approaches have been reviewed by Johnson et al (2009) and Møller (2012) and include reducing the volume fraction of the casein network by increasing moisture level or the inclusion of filler materials such as microparticulated whey proteins and hydrocolloid-based materials; reducing the degree of casein cross-linking through reduction in calcium phosphate level; increasing casein hydrolysis; the use of improved starter culture and starter-culture adjuncts, increasing proteolysis and adding fat-derived flavours. Similarly, the effects of reducing salt content have been extensively reported, with most emphasis on full-fat cheese (Arboatti et al 2014;Czarnacka-Szymani and Jezewska-Zychowicz 2015;Ganesan et al 2014;Lu and McMahon 2015;Ma et al 2013;Murtaza et al 2014;Pastorino et al 2003;Rulikowska et al 2013). Apart from the potential risk to safety and microbiological quality (Labrie et al 2014), a major issue with reduced-salt cheeses is low pH, which is conducive to higher residual coagulant activity, greater hydrolysis of β-casein and an increased risk of bitterness (Guinee and Fox 2004).…”

Physicochemical, microbiological and spoilage analysis of probiotic processed cheese analogues with reduced emulsifying salts during refrigerated storage

“…The US dietary guidelines set the safe minimum and upper intake levels at 500 and 2300 mg sodium/day (USDA 2010). Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia also have set similar guidelines with lower average sodium intakes that suggest adequate intake levels from 460 to 1500 mg/day and upper intake limits from 2200 to 2400 mg/ day (NHMRC 2006;Wyness et al 2012;WHO 2013;Ganesan et al 2014a). Although reduction in emulsifying salts can impair flavor and textural properties of processed cheeses, the demand for reduced-sodium cheeses is increasing to achieve these dietary intake levels due to the lowering blood pressure and preventing the cardiovascular disease (Hoffmann and Schrader 2015).…”

Hot brining of pasta filata cheese: effect of sodium and calcium chloride on composition, yield, and hardness

“…In contradiction to the study of de Kruif et al (2015), we could not observe a decrease in the water-holding capacity of the casein gel (moisture-to-protein ratio) with decreasing sodium chloride content. Nevertheless, a temperature effect on moisture retention has previously been reported by Ganesan et al (2014) who decreased the temperature during stretching of reduced-salt mozzarella production to achieve the same moisture content.…”

“…However, salt reduction in pasta filata cheese is not simple because the sodium chloride content influences cheese moisture and hence affects ripening, techno-functional properties, and sensory perception (Ganesan et al 2014). Pasta filata cheeses contain 0.5 to 4 g.100 g −1 sodium chloride, high-moisture mozzarella about 0.7 g.100 g −1 and low-moisture mozzarella approximately 1.5 g.100 g −1 sodium chloride (Angelis and Gobbetti 2011).…”