Nutritional and Rheological evaluation of West African Soft cheese made from plant coagulant (Calotropis procera) during storage

Abstract

Storage of West African soft cheese "Warankasi" for up to 15 weeks in a refrigerator was examined for the composition, protein fractions (non casein nitrogen, non protein nitrogen, casein nitrogen, total nitrogen) hardness, cohesiveness, gumminess, elasticity, chewiness, adhesiveness and pH. Whereas cheese hardness, gumminess, elasticity, chewiness and adhesiveness decreased as the storage day progressed, the protein fractions (NCN, NPN, CN, and total nitrogen) increased slightly. Each of the textural measurement correlated significantly (p<0.05) with the pH. The correlation coefficient (0.68) indicates that increased total nitrogen content and pH will result in higher cheese hardness, gumminess and adhesiveness. It is then concluded from this study that the quality control system of west African Soft Cheese could be based on the rheological measurement.

A preliminary study on the quality and safety of street-vended warankasi (a Nigerian soft white cheese) from Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria

“…Street-vended warankasi content (%) of warankasi samples (Table I) was in the range of 1.31±0.03-1.86±0.09. These results and ranges are for the 8 different markets analyzed and similar to the findings of Alalade and Adeneye (2006) and Belewu (2001). The warankasi samples have high amount of protein and fat contents and this agreed with the work of Belewu (2001).…”

“…The results of quality indices for the eight different markets analyzed revealed that the TSN (mgN/kg) and the VFA (%) of warankasi samples (Table II) were in the range of 1.19 ± 0.10-2.54 ± 0.18 and 5.79 ± 0.19-9.12 ± 0.30, respectively. These results and ranges were in the ranges reported by Alalade and Adeneye (2006) and Belewu (2001).TSN is related to protein breakdown and is an index of milk spoilage. The legislative standard for TSN include: 20 mgN/100 g for fresh milk and dairy products.…”

“…These results and ranges are for the 8 different markets analyzed and similar to the findings of Alalade and Adeneye (2006) and Belewu (2001). The warankasi samples have high amount of protein and fat contents and this agreed with the work of Belewu (2001). This can help in complementing the high carbohydrate-based diets of the people of Nigeria and also reduce malnutrition especially among the vulnerable groups of children and pregnant women.…”

Comparative assessment of “Wara” (Local Cheese) produced using three natural additives as coagulants

“…The results obtained are as presented in Tables 1 and 2. The results of the proximate and mineral analyses showed differences in fat, protein, moisture, carbohydrate ash and calcium contents of Calotropis procera, Moringa oleifera and lemon juice coagulated cheeses. Out of the six samples prepared, Calotropis procera yielded highest value (64.50%) of fat content, which is higher than the value (31.45%) reported by Belewu, 2001, Johnson et al 2001. The higher fat content in Calotropis Procera cheese could be as a result of its high coagulating strength.…”