Textural, rheological and microstructural properties of imitation cheese containing inulin

Optimization of citrus fiber-enriched vegan cream cheese alternative and its influence on chemical, physical, and sensory properties

Dairy product alternatives have increased in recent years as a result of medical prescriptions or personal preferences. The main purpose of the present study was to optimize vegan-based cream cheese formulation added with citrus fiber considering the textural and physicochemical properties of the samples. The physicochemical (pH value, water activity, and color), texture, microstructure, and sensory properties of manufactured vegan-based cream cheese were characterized and compared to those of a commercial one. Three optimized products were produced, according to the textural properties. The addition of citrus fiber did not affect the pH and water activity values of the cheese samples significantly. Although citrus fiber had an effect on the color values of the samples, a significant difference in the sensory scores was not recorded by the panelists. The sample having 1.21% citrus fiber (A) showed a hardness value similar to that of control sample and it received high sensory appreciation. The sample added with 1.41% citrus fiber (B) was scored high by the panelists, with no significant difference compared to commercial cream cheese, even though it showed high hardness. According to the results of the current research, vegan-based cream cheese can be produced as a promising food as a new alternative to milk and dairy products.

Insights into the impact of complex phosphates on acid-induced milk fan gel properties: Texture, rheological, microstructure, and molecular forces

Milk fan cheese, a type of stretched -cheese, presents challenges in its stretch-forming. This study investigated the impacts of complex phosphates (sodium tripolyphosphate and sodium dihydrogen phosphate, STPP-DSP) on the gelling properties of acid-induced milk fan gel and the mechanisms contributing to its stretch-forming. The treatment of milk fan gel with STPP-DSP resulted in improved functional and textural properties compared with the control group. In particular, drawing length increased significantly from 69.67 nm to 80.33 nm, and adhesiveness increased from 1737.89 g/mm to 1969.79 g/mm. The addition of STPP-DSP also led to increased viscosity, elastic modulus (G'), and viscous modulus (G"). Microstructural analysis revealed the formation of a fibrous structure within the gel after STPP-DSP treatment, facilitating uniform embedding of fat globules and emulsification. Structural analysis showed that the addition of STPP-DSP increased β-fold and decreased random coiling of the gel, facilitating the unfolding of protein structures. Additionally, UV absorption spectroscopy and excitation-emission matrix spectroscopy results indicated the formation of a chelate between STPP-DSP and milk fan gel, increasing protein-protein molecular interactions. Evidence from differential scanning calorimetry and x-ray diffraction demonstrated the formation of sodium caseinate chelate. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and zeta potential analysis revealed that the sodium caseinate chelate formed through hydrophobicity, hydrogen bonding, and electrostatic forces. These findings provided theoretical insights into how phosphates can improve the stretch-forming of milk fan gel, facilitating the application of phosphate additives in stretched -cheese processing.

Inulin Functionalized "Giuncata" Cheese as a Source of Prebiotic Fibers

The development of functional foods in the dairy sector represents a flourishing field of technological research. In this study, an Italian fresh cheese as "giuncata" was enriched with inulin, a dietary fiber, with the aim of developing a product with improved nutritional properties in terms of prebiotic action on intestinal microbiota. An inulin concentration of ~4% w/w was determined in the fresh cheese after the fortification process, enabling the claim of being a "source of dietary fiber" (inulin > 3 g/100 g) according to the European regulation. The addition of inulin has no effect on the pH of cheese and does not relevantly influence its color as well as the total fat content (fat reduction ~0.61%) in comparison to the control. Mechanical properties of the cheese were also not markedly affected as evidenced from rheological and tensile testing analyses. Indeed, the incorporation of inulin in "giuncata" only exerts a slight "softening effect" resulting in a slightly lower consistency and mechanical resistance in comparison to the control. Overall, this study demonstrates the feasibility of producing a fiber-enriched dairy functional food from a large consumed fresh and soft cheese as "giuncata".

Inulin-type fructans and short-chain fructooligosaccharides-their role within the food industry as fat and sugar replacers and texture modifiers-what needs to be considered!

Inulin and oligofructose are classes of prebiotics belonging to a group of nondigestible carbohydrates referred to as inulin-type fructans. While short-chain fructooligosaccharides are enzymatically synthesized from the hydrolysis and transglycosylation of sucrose. Inulin-type fructans and short-chain fructooligosaccharides act as carbon sources for selective pathways supporting digestive health including altering the composition of the gut microbiota along with improving transit time. Due to their physicochemical properties, inulin-type fructans and short-chain fructooligosaccharides have been widely used in the food industry as partial replacements for both fat and sugar. Yet, levels of replacement need to be carefully considered as it may result in changes to physical and sensory properties that could be detected by consumers. Furthermore, it has been reported depending on the processing parameters used during production that inulin-type fructans and short-chain fructooligosaccharides may or may not undergo structural alterations. Therefore, this paper reviews the role of inulin-type fructans and short-chain fructooligosaccharides within the food industry as fat and sugar replacers and texture modifiers, their impact on final sensory properties, and to what degree processing parameters are likely to impact their functional properties.

The Effect of Corn Dextrin on the Rheological, Tribological, and Aroma Release Properties of a Reduced-Fat Model of Processed Cheese Spread

Low-calorie and low-fat foods have been introduced to the market to fight the increasing incidence of overweightness and obesity. New approaches and high-quality fat replacers may overcome the poor organoleptic properties of such products. A model of processed cheese spread (PCS) was produced as a full-fat version and with three levels of fat reduction (30%, 50%, and 70%). Fat was replaced by water or by corn dextrin (CD), a dietary fiber. Additionally, in the 50% reduced-fat spreads, fat was replaced by various ratios of CD and lactose (100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75, and 0:100). The effect of each formulation was determined by measuring the textural (firmness, stickiness, and spreadability), rheological (flow behavior and oscillating rheology), tribological, and microstructural (cryo-SEM) properties of the samples, as well as the dynamic aroma release of six aroma compounds typically found in cheese. Winter’s critical gel theory was a good approach to characterizing PCS with less instrumental effort and costs: the gel strength and interaction factors correlated very well with the spreadability and lubrication properties of the spreads. CD and fat exhibited similar interaction capacities with the aroma compounds, resulting in a similar release pattern. Overall, the properties of the sample with 50% fat replaced by CD were most similar to those of the full-fat sample. Thus, CD is a promising fat replacer in PCS and, most likely, in other dairy-based emulsions.

Microbial and chemical composition of Cheddar cheese supplemented with prebiotics from pasteurized milk to aging

Microbial and chemical properties of cheese is crucial in the dairy industry to understand their effects on cheese quality. Microorganisms within this fat, protein, and water matrix are largely responsible for physiochemical characteristics and associated quality. Prebiotics can be used as an energy source for lactic acid bacteria in cheese by altering the microbial community and provide the potential for value-added foods, with a more stable probiotic population. This research focuses on the addition of fructooligosaccharides (FOS) or inulin to the Cheddar cheese-making process to evaluate the effects on microbial and physicochemical composition changes. Laboratory-scale Cheddar cheese produced in 2 replicates was supplemented with 0 (control), 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0% (wt/wt) of FOS or inulin using 18 L of commercially pasteurized milk. A total of 210 samples (15 samples per replicate of each treatment) were collected from cheese-making procedure and aging period. Analysis for each sample were performed for quantitative analysis of chemical and microbial composition. The prevalence of lactic acid bacteria (log cfu/g) in Cheddar cheese supplemented with FOS (6.34 ± 0.11 and 8.99 ± 0.46; ± standard deviation) or inulin (6.02 ± 0.79 and 9.08 ± 1.00) was significantly higher than the control (5.84 ± 0.27 and 8.48 ± 0.06) in whey and curd, respectively. Fructooligosaccharides supplemented cheeses showed similar chemical properties to the control cheese, whereas inulin-supplemented cheeses exhibited a significantly higher moisture content than FOS and the control groups. Streptococcus and Lactococcus were predominant in all cheeses and 2% inulin and 2% FOS-supplemented cheeses possessed significant amounts of nonstarter lactic acid bacteria found to be an unidentified group of Lactobacillaceae, which emerged after 90 d of aging. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that prebiotic supplementation of Cheddar cheese results in differing microbial and chemical characteristics.

Effect of inulin/kefiran mixture on the rheological and structural properties of mozzarella cheese

The relationships between chemical, textural, rheological and microstructural properties of low fat mozzarella cheese incorporated with different ratios of inulin/kefiran mixture were studied. By increasing inulin content, the protein and moisture content was increased and as a result, the meltability was reduced. Although, textural properties of low-fat mozzarella was completely influenced by inulin incorporation and hardness was increased, but the lower springiness and higher cohesiveness of cheese was achieved at high level of inulin which may be related to the increase in moisture and protein. Rheological properties of low-fat mozzarella cheese confirmed its shear-thinning behavior in which the G' value was more than G″. Mechanical properties of cheese showed that inulin incorporation into cheese did not significantly change the rheological properties of the cheese matrix. Consequently, the formation of a more rigid and cross-linked protein structure which is less plasticized achieved at high inulin incorporation through keeping more water and protein and less fat content. SEM results indicated the sponge honeycomb structure of mozzarella cheese which clearly confirmed the textural and rheological properties and there was an interrelationship among chemical, textural, rheological and microstructural properties of low-fat mozzarella cheese incorporated at different ratios of inulin.

Addition of inulin to probiotic yogurt: Viability of probiotic bacteria (Bifidobacterium bifidum) and sensory characteristics

The objective of this work was to study the effect of different concentrations of inulin (0.2, 0.4, and 0.6%) on the viability of probiotic bacteria (Bifidobacterium bifidum) and sensory characteristics of probiotic yogurt. The yogurt was manufactured with Lactobacillus delbruckii ssp. bulgaricus (Lb), Streptococcus thermophilus (St), and Bifidobacterium bifidum (Bb). Raw milk was received, heated to 90°C, and divided into 4 aliquots portions. All portions were inoculated with 5.11 log cfu of Lb and St combined and 5 log cfu of Bb per kg of milk. The first portion was utilized as control (T1) while 0.2, 0.4, and 0.6% of inulin were added to the second (T2), third (T3), and fourth (T4) portions, respectively. All treatments were incubated at 40°C until a pH of 4.6 was reached. Subsequently, the yogurt was cooled and stored at 4°C for 16 days. Titratable acidity, total bacterial count (TBC), Bb count, yeast count, mold count, and sensory evaluation were determined during the storage. The results showed that the addition of inulin and the storage period have significant effects (p < .05) on the titratable acidity of the yogurt. The storage of control was ended after 8 days at 4°C due to the growth of molds on the surface of the samples. The TBC decreased (p < .05) over time in control from 8.28 to 7.97 log cfu/g. It was also decreased (p < .05) with increasing the concentration of inulin. However, the addition of inulin increased (p < .05) the viability of Bb during the storage, as well as, acted as an antimicrobial against molds in T2, T3, and T4. Additionally, there were no significant differences (p > .05) in the sensory evaluation of all treatments. We conclude that inulin can be utilized in the manufacturing of probiotic yogurt as a prebiotic, which, inturn, enhances the growth of Bb and increase the shelf-life.

Elaboração de salsichas de frango com redução de gordura e adição de inulina

Resumo Objetivou-se com este trabalho determinar os efeitos da substituição parcial e total da gordura por inulina nos parâmetros de qualidade de salsichas de frango. Três formulações foram desenvolvidas: Controle (F1) e dois níveis de inclusão de inulina: 2,5% (F2) e 5% (F3). Parâmetros de umidade, cinzas, proteínas, lipídeos, carboidratos, pH, atividade de água e cor (L*, a* e b*) foram analisados. O perfil tecnológico também foi analisado por meio da estabilidade da emulsão, perda de peso por cozimento, perda de peso por exsudação e força de cisalhamento. Os atributos sensoriais pesquisados foram cor, aparência, textura, sabor, aceitação geral, bem como teste de intenção de compra. A adição de 2,5% de inulina na formulação F2 verificou-se uma redução na perda de água durante o cozimento, perda de peso por exsudação, bem como aumento da estabilidade da emulsão comparada às demais formulações. A formulação com 5% de inulina apresentou baixo teor de gordura, baixa força de cisalhamento e elevados teores de cinzas e carboidratos comparativamente à formulação controle. Não houve alterações no pH e na atividade de água. Em relação à cor, a inclusão de inulina teve efeito significativo (p < 0,05) para a luminosidade (L*) na superfície interna das salsichas. O valor de b* também foi significativo (p < 0,05) na formulação (F3) para a superfície interna e na formulação F1 na superfície externa. A adição de inulina, em especial na formulação (F3), resultou em valores mais altos nas avaliações de aparência, textura e sabor em relação às demais formulações, o que refletiu na maior intenção de compra. Sendo assim, pode-se afirmar que foi possível a redução de 50% e 100% de gordura com a adição de 2,5% e 5% de inulina, sem redução na qualidade das salsichas.

Production of the processed cheese containing tomato powder and evaluation of its rheological, chemical and sensory characteristics

The fortification of the processed cheese (PC) with bioactive compounds can increase their benefits for the health and also consumer acceptance. In the present study, rheological, chemical and sensory characteristics of the processed cheese containing different quantities of tomato powder (0%, 1%, 2% and 4% wt/wt) with the appropriate levels of bioactive components were evaluated during 90 days of storage. The results showed that the PC samples containing tomato powder (PCTs) had higher levels of proteolysis extent, phenolic and lycopene contents and antioxidant activity. However, the PCTs had lower levels of pH and lipolysis indexes. Generally, lycopene and phenolic contents and antioxidant activity decreased and pH, proteolysis and lipolysis index increased during storage. The results obtained from the frequency sweep test and temperature sweep test, indicated that, the samples had solid-type structure and tomato powder decreased the solid like behavior of the PC (G' > G″). Sensory analysis showed that the processed cheese with the average level of tomato powder (2%) had maximum scores of flavor, color and total acceptance and also the PCTs were significantly (P < 0.05) less rigid and more spreadable than the control PC and these findings were according to the achievements obtained by dynamic oscillation rheometry. Finally overall results indicated that tomato powder could be helpful for the manufacturing of new product with different functional and sensory specifications.

Microbial Medicine: Prebiotic and Probiotic Functional Foods to Target Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome

Obesity has become a global epidemic and a public health crisis in the Western World, experiencing a threefold increase in prevalence since 1975. High-caloric diets and sedentary lifestyles have been identified as significant contributors to this widespread issue, although the role of genetic, social, and environmental factors in obesity's pathogenesis remain incompletely understood. In recent years, much attention has been drawn to the contribution of the gut microbiota in the development of obesity. Indeed, research has shown that in contrast to their healthier counterparts the microbiomes of obese individuals are structurally and functionally distinct, strongly suggesting microbiome as a potential target for obesity therapeutics. In particular, pre and probiotics have emerged as effective and integrative means of modulating the microbiome, in order to reverse the microbial dysbiosis associated with an obese phenotype. The following review brings forth animal and human research supporting the myriad of mechanisms by which the microbiome affects obesity, as well as the strengths and limitations of probiotic or prebiotic supplementation for the prevention and treatment of obesity. Finally, we set forth a roadmap for the comprehensive development of functional food solutions in combatting obesity, to capitalize on the potential of pre/probiotic therapies in optimizing host health.

The combined effects of different fat replacers and rennet casein on the properties of reduced-fat processed cheese

Reduced-fat food products can help to prevent obesity and other diet-related diseases. However, the removal of fat often impairs the sensory and textural properties of foods, leading to low consumer acceptance. In this study, we tested various concentrations of fat replacers (inulin, corn dextrin, polydextrose, and microparticulated whey protein) combined with rennet casein to investigate their effects on the melting behavior, dynamic rheological properties, and hardness of reduced-fat processed cheese. We found that increasing concentrations of inulin and corn dextrin reduced the flowability of cheese in the melting test and can thus be used to inhibit flow during heating. Microparticulated whey protein did not affect flowability but caused an increase in the storage and loss moduli as well as the temperature at gel-sol transition. A similar effect was also shown for rennet casein, whereas inulin and polydextrose had little or no effect on these rheological parameters. Corn dextrin had no effect on the storage and loss moduli, but affected the gel-sol transition temperature. No changes in hardness were detected for any concentration of the fat replacers, but increasing the rennet casein content also increased the hardness of the samples, regardless of the fat replacer used. Our results indicate the different concentrations and combinations of fat replacers and rennet casein that can be included in reduced-fat processed cheese to develop products with specific rheological properties, thus meeting future demand for reduced-fat products with attractive sensory attributes.

Impact of Milk Fortification on the Microbiological and Physicochemical Properties of Set-Type Skimmed Yoghurt Using Three Commercial Soluble Prebiotics

The impact of milk fortification on the microbiological and physicochemical properties of a set-type skimmed yoghurt using three commercial soluble prebiotics (inulin, iso-malto-oligosaccharides, and xylo-oligosaccharides) at either 3 or 5 g/kg was assessed. The three prebiotics had an insignificant impact on yoghurt fermentation because all yoghurt samples had similar titratable acidity and similar pH values after their lactic acid fermentation. Regarding the control yoghurt samples without prebiotics usage, the prebiotics-fortified yoghurt samples showed no difference in their main chemical compositions, hardness, syneresis extent, and apparent viscosity (p > 0.05), but had a slightly higher lactic acid content and a viable quantity of starter strains. All yoghurt samples had the same acetic acid content, while propionic and butyric acids were not produced. Yoghurt storage at 4 C for 21 d gave these yoghurt samples decreased pH values and a viable quantity of starter strains (especially Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus) and unchanged acetic acid; however, it increased lactic acid contents. Overall, prebiotics fortification up to 5 g/kg had a completely insignificant impact on the fermentation and quality attributes of yoghurt samples but could possibly improve the health of consumers due to higher dietary fibers and starter strain populations.

Effect of inulin on physico-chemical, sensory, fatty acid profile and microstructure of processed cheese spread

To develop a functional processed cheese spread (PCS) different levels of inulin (0, 4, 6 and 8%) addition into PCS was studied with its physico-chemical, sensory and fatty acid profile and micro-structural quality. As the level of inulin addition increased moisture, a_w and titratable acidity, decreased. At the highest level of inulin addition (8%) sensory panelists reported a significant decrease in total sensory score. PCS with 6% insulin was found to have optimum from quantity. The addition of inulin in cheese spread decreased both total saturated fatty acid and unsaturated fatty acid and in unsaturated fatty acid, mono unsaturated fatty acid decreased; however, polyunsaturated fatty acids increased as compared to the control. Scanning Electron Micrograph of PCS containing insulin showed uniform distribution of insulin with diameter ranged 4-10 µm in the protein matrix.

Characterizing Texture, Color and Sensory Attributes of Cookies Made with Jerusalem Artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.) Flour Using a Mixture Design and Browning Reaction Kinetics

Effect of interactions between Jerusalem artichoke flour (JF), wheat flour (WF) and sugar (S) on the texture properties of cookies was investigated. JF was the most influential component on the dough and cookies, possibly due to inulin in JF. To develop an optimum formulation using mixture design, the constraint values for the quality indices were: hardness (12 N), adhesiveness (10 mJ), and cohesiveness (0.27) of dough, and maximum force of cookie (73 N). Optimum values of WF, JF and S in the mixture were found to be 151.89 g, 55.33 g and 87.78 g, respectively, with a desirability of 0.943. Two experimental cookie formulas, similar to the optimal formula, were tested for their sensory properties and resulted in highly acceptable scores. As baking time increased, the browning and antioxidant activity of all cookies increased; however, the browning and antioxidant activity of samples containing JF was significantly higher than the others.

Production, properties, and industrial food application of lactic acid bacteria-derived exopolysaccharides

Exopolysaccharides (EPS)-producing lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are industrially important microorganisms in the development of functional food products and are used as starter cultures or coadjutants to develop fermented foods. There is large variability in EPS production by LAB in terms of chemical composition, quantity, molecular size, charge, presence of side chains, and rigidity of the molecules. The main body of the review will cover practical aspects concerning the structural diversity structure of EPS, and their concrete application in food industries is reported in details. To strengthen the food application and process feasibility of LAB EPS at industrial level, a future academic research should be combined with industrial input to understand the technical shortfalls that EPS can address.

Development of functional canned and pouched tuna products added inulin for commercial production

Four formulas of canned tuna in spring water and tuna in mayonnaise and pouched tuna in salad cream and tuna in thousand island cream with added inulin were developed for commercial production. The effects of the addition of a prebiotic (inulin, Orafti®-HP) on the color and sensory properties of these products were studied. For inulin concentrations studied (3, 5, 7 and 10 %, w/w) caused more intensed yellow and red colors. Hedonic sensory values of tuna packed in spring water and in mayonnaise showed no significant differences (p > 0.05) among products with different inulin addition levels (3, 5, 7 and 10 %, w/w) in terms of color, flavor, sweetness and overall characteristics. However, when packed in thousand island cream, significant differences (p < 0.05) in color and overall characteristics were found when inulin was added higher than 7 %. Tuna in salad cream showed significant differences (p < 0.05) in color, flavor, sweetness and overall characteristics at higher than 7 % inulin. The panelists showed acceptable overall liking scores at upto 7 % inulin of all tuna products. The thermal sterilization process resulted in approximately 20 % decrease in final inulin content. The calculated residual fructans of finished products at shelf life of 3 years were 3.01, 2.78, 2.90 and 2.84 % for tuna in spring water, tuna in mayonnaise, tuna in thousand island and tuna in salad cream, respectively. Considering formula cost in a commercial production and the recommended daily intake (RDI) of inulin in the finished product at end of shelf life (≥3 g/d), an addition of 5 % inulin for tuna in spring water and 7 % inulin for tuna in mayonnaise, tuna in thousand island and tuna in salad cream are recommended.