Soft cheese-like product development enriched with soy protein concentrates

- Spreadable cheese-like products were enriched with soy protein concentrate, resulting in a homogenous matrix.
- The viscoelastic measurements indicates that the elastic component predominated.
- Products do not present appreciable differences in color and has a good sensory acceptation.
- The preservative addition allowed an adequate shelf-life.
- A cheese-like product low in saturated fats was developed.

The objective of this work was to develop spreadable cheese-like product from skimmed cow's milk, supplemented with soybean proteins. The proteins were concentrated by ultrafiltration, and then freeze-dried. The cheese-like products were prepared using the acid coagulation method, without maturation, obtaining smooth products with creamy texture. The samples were identified as low-fat cheese, being the fat content between 10 and 13 (g/100 g), with moisture in the range of 68.07-70.75 (g/100 g). Compared to a control cheese, the samples containing soy protein concentrate, showed an increase of 6.8-17 in proteins and 22-32 (g/100 g) in fats; also the yield increased. The viscoelastic behavior of the samples was analyzed using oscillatory dynamic tests; in all the samples G′ was higher than G″. Texture, surface color and microstructure of the cheese samples were determined. Microbial analysis showed that the incorporation of potassium sorbate increased more than twice the shelf-life of the products (up to 60 days) in comparison to the samples without preservative. Furthermore, the products were accepted by a sensory panel. Considering that both, proteins and fats, are of vegetable origin with high biological value and unsaturated fats, the developed cheese-like products were considered as functional foods.