Properties of spreadable processed Mozzarella cheese with divergent compositions of emulsifying salts in relation to the applied cheese storage period

•Mozzarella processed cheeses were produced with different emulsifying salts.•The hardest samples contained Na2HPO4 and Na4P2O7 in a ratio 1:1.•The gel strength of all samples increased with the rising storage period.•The values of hardness dropped with the natural cheese rising storage period.•The results of rheological analysis were in accordance to that from texture profile analysis.

The study was focused on selected textural and viscoelastic characteristics of spreadable processed cheese (35 g/100 g dry matter; 50 g/100 g fat in dry matter) manufactured with different ternary mixtures of emulsifying salts (ES) and from Mozzarella-type cheese (MC) with different storage periods (0, 2 and 4 weeks) over the course of a 60-day storage period (6 ± 2 °C). The ES utilized consisted of disodium hydrogenphosphate (DSP), tetrasodium diphosphate (TSPP), sodium salt of polyphosphate with mean length n ≈ 20 (P20), and trisodium citrate (TSC). Furthermore, the hardest samples were those manufactured from DSP and TSPP in a ratio 1:1. This ratio resulted in processed cheese with the highest values of gel strength and interaction factor. When TSC was utilized in the mixtures, the hardness of the samples rose with the increase of P20 (≥50%). Additionally, when DSP, TSC, TSPP, and P20 were added as sole ingredients, hardness decreased in the following order: P20 > TSPP ≈ TSC > DSP. This trend was also observed with the values of gel strength and interaction factor. The hardness of all samples increased with increased storage periods. However, the hardness values dropped in relation to an increase in the storage period of the MC.