Production and Evaluation of Sheep's Milk Cheese Analogues Fortified with Milk Protein Concentrate and Native or Modified Starch with Guar Gum

Abstract

Sheep's milk cheese analogues were made from sheep's milk with the addition of 3% Milk protein concentrate (MPC) and Corn starch (CS) or Maltodextrin (MD) at rates of 1, 2 and 3% along with 0.03% Guar gum (GG). The chemical, rheological, sensory properties and yield of cheese analogues were studied. The addition of MPC, CS, MD and GG increased the moisture and carbohydrate contents of cheese analogues, while protein and ash content increased with the addition of MPC and decreased with increasing levels of added CS and MD. The fat contents decreased with the addition of MPC and with increasing levels of added CS or MD. The results also indicated a significant increase in the yield of cheese analogues with the addition of MPC and with increasing levels of CS and MD added along with GG. Texture profile analysis showed that hardness, gumminess and chewiness values increased with the addition of MPC and CS, while the values tended to decrease with the addition of MD. The cohesiveness and springiness values increased with the addition of MPC while they decreased with addition of both types of starch. Cheese analogues with the addition of 3% MPC and 2% CS or 3% MD with 0.03% GG received the highest scores for sensory properties. From these results could be concluded that partial replacement of casein and fat by adding MPC and CS or MD achieved good sensory properties with a significant increase in yield and reduce the cost of producing sheep milk cheese analogues.