Physicochemical, textural and organoleptic properties of functional processed cheese manufactured from ultrafiltered milk

Abstract

There is growing attention to the functional dairy research area, which has focused on the incorporation of probiotics into dairy products. In response, the objective of the present work was to produce functional UF processed cheese (SUPC) and evaluate the influence of inulin on its properties. Five treatments were manufactured, as follows: C1 was prepared without probiotic strains or inulin; C2 was inoculated with 3% of L. plantarum NRC AM10 and L. reuteri NBIMCC 1587 (1:1) without inulin; and T1, T2 and T3 were inoculated with 3% of L. plantarum NRC AM10 and L. reuteri NBIMCC 1587 (1:1) and supplemented with 2, 4 and 8% of inulin, respectively. The results showed that the moisture, protein, ash, and fat levels of the SUPC treatments were significantly (P < 0.05) affected by the levels of inulin. Furthermore, higher inulin concentrations increased meltability, titratable acidity and total dietary fiber. During the storage period, the data revealed that firmness decreased significantly in T1, T2 and T3, while resilience, springiness, and chewiness increased significantly in all treatments. The probiotic counts were significantly higher than the threshold that is required for the health benefits (107 log cfu/ml) in the treatments containing inulin. Finally, the level of 4% inulin in SUPC improved quality characteristics, had acceptable scores and allowed a greater diversification of dairy products with potential health benefits. However, increasing the level of inulin to 8% resulted in a heavy texture and fine crystals in the product.