Effect of skim milk addition and heat treatment on characteristics of cow milk Ricotta cheese manufactured from Cheddar cheese whey

Addressing flavor challenges in reduced-fat dairy products: A review from the perspective of flavor compounds and their improvement strategies

In recent years, the demand for reduced-fat dairy products (RFDPs) has increased rapidly as the health risks associated with high-fat diets have become increasingly apparent. Unfortunately, lowering the fat content in dairy products would reduce the flavor perception of fat. Fat-derived flavor compounds are the main contributor to appealing flavor among dairy products. However, the contribution of fat-derived flavor compounds remains underappreciated among the flavor improvement factors of RFDPs. Therefore, this review aims to summarize the flavor perception mechanism of fat and the profile of fat-derived flavor compounds in dairy products. Furthermore, the characteristics and influencing factors of flavor compound release are discussed. Based on the role of these flavor compounds, this review analyzed the current and potential flavor improvement strategies for RFDPs, including physical processing, lipolysis, microbial applications, and fat replacement. Overall, promoting the synthesis of milk fat characteristic flavor compounds in RFDPs and aligning the release properties of flavor compounds from the RFDPs with those of equivalent full-fat dairy products are two core strategies to improve the flavor of reduced-fat dairy products. In the future, better modulation of the behavior of flavor compounds by various methods is promising to replicate the flavor properties of fat in RFDPs and meet consumer sensory demands.

Graduate Student Literature Review: History, technologies of production, and characteristics of ricotta cheese

This review focused on the historical, technological, and analytical characteristics of ricotta cheese available in the literature. Ricotta cheese is a typical dairy product that originated from Italy, used in the preparation of several traditional dishes, both sweet and salted. The available studies pertaining to ricotta cheese revealed a considerable biodiversity in the production with a large number of varieties produced, whose production varies according to the local uses and customs. The review shows the main chemical and microbial characteristics of the product and also the several parameters that affect the mechanism of the production process and the final characteristics of the product, including the raw materials, the processing methods, the season, the animals' diet, the animals' species, and breeds. Ricotta production can be artisanal or industrial, with differences in the making process. New trends in ricotta cheese production have been developed, with particular attention to the functional effect on human health and the novel technologies applied to extend the shelf-life of the products. Currently, it is not easy to find these new developments in the market, probably related to the cost of production, which is not always bearable by the farms. However, despite the large classification reported and the great interest by the cheese industry, just a few numbers of studies were found for artisanal ricotta productions, which still need to be characterized and studied.

Changes in Caprine Milk Fat Globule Membrane Proteins after Heat Treatment Using a Label-Free Proteomics Technique

Milk proteins are prone to changes during the heat treatment process. Here, we aimed to study the changes in caprine milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) proteins with three heat treatment processes—ultra-pasteurization (85 °C, 30 min), ultra-high-temperature instant sterilization (135 °C, 5 s), and spray-drying (inlet, 160 °C and outlet, 80 °C)—using the label-free proteomics technique. A total of 1015, 637, 508, and 738 proteins were identified in the raw milk, ultra-pasteurized milk, ultra-high-temperature instant sterilized milk, and spray-dried reconstituted milk by using label-free proteomics techniques, respectively. Heat treatment resulted in a significant decrease in the relative intensity of MFGM proteins, such as xanthine dehydrogenase/oxidase, butyrophilin subfamily 1 member A, stomatin, and SEA domain-containing protein, which mainly come from the membrane, while the proteins in skimmed milk, such as β-lactoglobulin, casein, and osteopontin, increased in MFGM after heat treatment. Among these different heat treatment groups, the procedure of spray-drying resulted in the least abundance reduction of caprine milk MFGM proteins. Additionally, it showed heating is the key process affecting the stability of caprine MFGM protein rather than the spray-drying process. These findings provide new insights into the effects of heat treatment on caprine MFGM protein composition and potential biological functions.