The effect of concentration and composition of ternary emulsifying salts on the textural properties of processed cheese spreads

We used regression analysis to model the influence of varying ratios of disodium hydrogenphosphate (DSP), tetrasodium diphosphate (TSPP) and sodium polyphosphate (POLY) upon the hardness, cohesiveness, and relative adhesiveness of processed cheese spread (dry matter - 40 g/100 g; fat in dry matter - 50 g/100 g) at total emulsifying salt levels of 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0 g/100 g. Specific ratios of DSP to TSPP that rapidly increased hardness and decreased cohesiveness (1:1-3:4) and relative adhesiveness (1:1-1:2) were identified. The effect of the specific ratio of DSP:TSPP on textural parameters of samples was weakening with the rising amount of POLY in the ternary mixture. With the amount of POLY above 60%, the effect of the specific ratio of DSP:TSPP on textural parameters of samples was insignificant. With an increasing concentration of emulsifying salts, the values of hardness and cohesiveness were rising while the values of relative adhesiveness of the processed cheeses were falling. However, neither the concentration of emulsifying salts nor the adjustment of pH of the samples reaching the optimal range (5.69-5.84) affected the general trend of dependence of the observed textural parameters of model processed cheeses on the changing proportion of DSP, TSPP and POLY (P ≥ 0.05).