The use of fat replacers in low-fat white brine cheese products: proteolysis, sensory properties and texture attributes

The composition, proteolysis, sensory properties and texture characteristics of low-fat white brine cheese (60 per cent fat reduction) containing two commercial fat replacers, 1 per cent (w/w) Simplesse D- 100 and 0.125 per cent (w/w) Novagel TM NC-200, made from bovine milk were investigated throughout maturation for 90 days. Low-fat cheeses with no fat replacers and full-fat cheeses were also prepared and used as controls. The results indicated that as the fat content of cheese milk decreased, the moisture and protein values of the manufactured cheeses significantly increased, but the yield and MNFS values decreased. The low-fat cheeses containing fat replacers had higher moisture and cheese yield values than those of the low-fat cheese. The extent degree of proteolysis and lipolysis in the low-fat cheeses made with fat replacers significantly increased compared with that of their full-fat counterpart. Of all the low-fat products, both the fat replacer containing cheeses received higher scores for appearance, flavour, odour and general impression from the panelists, and were generally accepted as better quality products than the low-fat control cheese. According to the instrumental texture analysis data, the mean values of the TPA parameters of low-fat products containig fat replacers were significantly less than those of the low-fat products containig fat replacers were significantly less than those of the low-fat control cheese. There were no significant differences in th TPA parameters between the low-fat cheese made with Novagel TM and the full-fat product. Also, the low-fat cheeses with the fat rerplacers exhibited lower ¬max values and less stress relaxation degrees compared with those of the low-fat control product, implying a great improvement in the texture characteristics of low-fat white brine cheese as a result of adding Simplesse and Novagel TM