Quality of low-fat mozzarella cheese with different fat replacers

Abstract

The comparative efficacy of 0.4% carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and 0.3% sodium alginate (SA) was evaluated as fat replacer in low-fat (<0.5% milk fat) mozzarella pre-cheese on the basis of physico-chemical, processing, textural, and colour profile, nutritional and sensory attributes. High-fat mozzarella cheese (prepared from milk with 6.0% fat) was taken as control (FFMC), whereas low-fat mozzarella cheese (prepared from milk with <0.5% fat) without any fat replacer (LFMC) taken as negative control. The per cent yield was lower in low fat cheese with CMC (LFMC-CMC), whereas in low fat cheese with SA (LFMC-SA) it was comparable with FFMC. The moisture and protein contents were higher (P<0.05) in low-fat mozzarella cheese (LFMC-CMC, LFMC-SA) than in FFMC. The energy content in LFMC-CMC and LFMC-SA was 44 percent lower than in FFMC. The meltability decreased, whereas melt time increased in LFMC-CMC and LFMC-SA compared to FFMC. The processing and nutritional attributes were comparable in both treatments. Hardness increased, whereas chewiness decreased in low-fat cheese. However, type of fat replacer did not affect hardness of the product. Gumminess was higher (P<0.05) in LFMC-CMC than in LFMC-SA. The sensory panellists rated LFMC-SA better for flavour and overall acceptability than LFMC-CMC. The appearance, texture, and juiciness were comparable in low-fat and high-fat mozzarella cheese. Results indicated that 0.3 per cent SA can be successfully used for processing of low-fat cheese.