Partial replacement of fat by functional fibre in imitation cheese: Effects on rheology and microstructure

The rheology and microstructure of a control imitation cheese were compared with cheeses containing Novelose240 (N240, native resistant starch) or Novelose330 (N330, retrograded resistant starch), as a source of fibre to replace fat. Hardness increased linearly with fibre content and to a greater extent for N330 than for N240. Cohesiveness increased linearly with N240 content but was not influenced by N330. The elastic modulus (G′G′) and the viscous modulus (G″G″) increased with increasing contents of both fibres. The crossover temperature (G′=G″G′=G″) was unaffected by N240, but was increased by N330. Over 50% of the fat content of imitation cheese was replaced with resistant starches without impacting on meltability. The microstructure of imitation cheese was observed by scanning electron microscopy and light microscopy. The latter, a cheaper and simpler technique than that normally used in microstructure studies, facilitated the explanation of the effects of fibre on the rheology of imitation cheese.