Physical Properties of an Imitation Cheese as Affected by Emulsifying Salts and Citric Acid

Effects of emulsifying salts and citric acid on meltability and textural properties of a starch‐based imitation cheese were investigated. Imitation cheeses were produced according to the same basic formula with varying concentrations of emulsifying salts and citric acid. While increasing the concentration of emulsifying salts increased hardness, citric acid at high concentration was found to prevent melting of the imitation cheese. Two of the imitation cheese samples with the highest and lowest concentrations of emulsifying salts and citric acid were stored at 4C for 3 months and changes in their meltability and textural properties were determined. Hardness of the sample prepared with the highest amounts of emulsifying salts and citric acid increased after 30 days of storage as a result of retrogradation of starch. Cohesiveness of both samples declined during storage. Practical Applications Imitation cheeses manufactured by using starch for replacement of protein are being investigated and produced for reducing cost of cheese manufacture and also for special consumer groups like phenylketonuria patients. This type of cheese is produced according to the method of manufacture of processed cheeses. However, obtaining a meltability value similar to those of processed or natural cheeses is a major challenge in its manufacture especially when the amount of starch is high. In addition, there is a lack of information in the literature for storage stability of this type of imitation cheese. This study addresses these two issues for improvement of this kind of imitation cheese.