Improved Physiochemical and Sensory Properties of Soft Cheese via Incorporation of Wheat (TriticumVulgare) Germ

Abstract

In the current study, the utilization of wheat(Triticum Vulgare)germ incorporated with soft cheese was investigated. The antimicrobial efficiency of the wheat germ was examined against a few pathogenic bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus sp. The results presented that, there was an occurrence of inhibitory activity by Streptococcus sp. (25 mm, 30mm, and 32 mm) and Staphylococcus aureus (30-35 mm) when treated with wheat germ as the concentration (25%, 50%, and 100%) tested was increased, respectively. The physicochemical properties of the fortified soft cheese treatments [0% (T1), 0.5% (T2) and 1.5% (T3) at (10 ± 2) °C for 0, 7, 14 and 21 days, respectively, such as acidity analysis, pH value, and the moisture content, fat content, protein content, and ash contentwere also studied. The sensory properties indicate that the fortified soft cheese at 0.5% and 1.5%wheat germ were better accepted in comparison with other treatments. Thus, this study has shown that the incorporation of wheat germ into soft cheese could enhance sensory properties such as color, flavor, and palatability, respectively. Hence, the utilization of wheat germ is the potential to improve the texture, functional and nutritional properties of soft cheese.