Flavour profiles of functional reduced-fat cream cheese: Effects of β-glucan, phytosterols, and probiotic L. rhamnosus

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the individual and combined effect of functional ingredients - β-glucan, phytosterols and probiotic L. rhamnosus on the flavour of functional reduced-fat cream cheese. Eleven samples were investigated for their volatile profiles – five of the cream cheese contained β-glucan, esterified phytosterols, and emulsified phytosterols independently or in combination (β-glucan-esterified phytosterols and β-glucan-emulsified phytosterols) and the remaining six were probiotic-non-encapsulated or encapsulated cream cheese with or without β-glucan/phytosterols. The results were compared with high-fat (11.6% fat) and reduced-fat (5.5% fat) cream cheese containing no functional ingredients and probiotic. A dynamic headspace GC-MS was used for quantifying the volatile compounds found in the samples. Twenty-nine flavour compounds at varying levels were identified: 9 fatty acids, 9 ketones, 9 aldehydes, 2 alcohols. Additionally, high levels of acetic acid (vinegar), hexanoic acid (pungent/sour), octanoic acid, and decanoic acid (rancid, fatty) were also identified in the samples. Addition of L. rhamnosus increased the diacetyl compounds (buttery flavour), but the effect was more pronounced in non-encapsulated rather than encapsulated form. Fatty acid compounds were dominant in cream cheese with phytosterols ester while aldehydes and ketones were responsible for the development of flavour in cream cheese containing phytosterols emulsion.