The effect of combinations of sodium phosphates in binary mixtures on selected texture parameters of processed cheese spreads

The dependence of hardness, adhesiveness and cohesiveness of processed cheese spreads on the composition of binary mixtures of disodium hydrogen phosphate, tetrasodium diphosphate, pentasodium triphosphate, and/or sodium salt of polyphosphate was studied. Suitable statistical models to describe the dependence of the texture parameters examined on the composition of binary mixtures were investigated. Each of the 6 types of binary mixtures was applied in 11 percentage ratios of each component. In binary mixtures of polyphosphate combined with monophosphate, diphosphate or triphosphate, hardness gradually rose with the increasing proportion of polyphosphates within the mixture. In binary mixtures of monophosphate combined with diphosphate or triphosphate, a rapid growth in hardness of the samples was observed when the proportion of diphosphate or triphosphate in the mixture increased (up to 50–60%). A further increase in diphosphate or triphosphate content (above 60%) resulted in a rapid decrease in hardness of the processed cheeses.