Improvement of Quality of the Low-Fat Mozzarella Cheese Through Cheese Milk Homogenization and Addition of the Hydrocolloids

Abstract

Mozzarella cheese has gained tremendous popularity worldwide because it possesses exceptional functional properties like meltability and stretchability, making it an ideal choice for pizza topping. The reduction of fat contents of Mozzarella cheeses to 10% adversely affects the functionality demands of pizza industry. As limited amount of fat particles in low-fat Mozzarella cheeses (LFMC) negatively impacts cheese functionality, texture and sensory attributes. Mozzarella cheese so produced is hard, more brittle, and less pliable. Thus, there is a countless challenge for cheese producers in Pakistan to develop good quality low-fat Mozzarella cheese. The research was to improve the characteristic low-fat Mozzarella cheese either by adding hydrocolloids as fat replacers and using cheese milk homogenization or both. All hydrocolloids containing Low-Fat Mozzarella Cheeses (LFMCs) showed higher stretchability (39.8 to 43.1 cm for Non-Homogenized and 39.9 to 44.1 cm for Homogenized) compared to High Fat (36.6 cm for Non-Homogenized and 36.8 cm for Homogenized), indicating that the addition of hydrocolloids and homogenization significantly (p<0.01) improved the stretchability of the cheese. Only 60 days into the ripening process did cheese stretchability begin to grow; beyond that, a substantial (p<0.01) reduction was seen in all treatments. When cheese milk is homogenized, the resulting LFMCs are softer, less gummy, chewier, and springy than similar non-homogenized milk LFMCs. When the cheese matured, the pH rose noticeably (p<0.01). All sensory aspects of cheese milk were enhanced by homogenization, while the flavor and texture were enhanced by ripening.