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Increasing the moisture content of imitation cheese: effects on texture, rheology and microstructure

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Abstract

Increasing moisture content may be a practical and cost-effective means to control the functional properties of imitation cheese. Imitation cheeses with moisture contents of 46, 50, 52 and 54 g/100 g were manufactured. An increase in the moisture content of the imitation cheese resulted in significantly increased meltability, tanδ values and decreased hardness (all P<0.05). The relationship between moisture content (x) and meltability (y) was described by the model \( y = 2.2272x^{2} - 215.31x + 5262.9 \) (r2=0.99). A linear relationship emerged between moisture content (x) and hardness (y), where \( y = 2141x - 36.82 \) (r2=0.95) but cohesiveness was unaffected by moisture content. Increasing the moisture content to 52 or 54 g/100 g led to pockets of “free” water within the cheese and larger but fewer fat globules. The maximum level of moisture that the cheese matrix can retain appears to be 54 g/100 g.

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Acknowledgements

Funding for this research was granted under the Food Institutional Research Measure administered by the Irish Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, and is gratefully acknowledged. The assistance of D. Cottell and B. Cregg of the Electron Microscopy Unit, University College Dublin, in preparation and interpretation of SEM images is also appreciated

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Food Science, Agriculture and Food Science Building, Faculty of Agriculture, University College Dublin, Dublin, 4, Ireland

    Paul J. Hennelly, Peter G. Dunne, Michael O’Sullivan & Dolores O’Riordan

Authors
  1. Paul J. Hennelly
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  2. Peter G. Dunne
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  3. Michael O’Sullivan
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  4. Dolores O’Riordan
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Correspondence to Dolores O’Riordan.

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Hennelly, P.J., Dunne, P.G., O’Sullivan, M. et al. Increasing the moisture content of imitation cheese: effects on texture, rheology and microstructure. Eur Food Res Technol 220, 415–420 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-004-1097-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-004-1097-9

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