Sensory Evaluation of Reduced Fat Cheeses

The objectives of this research were to compare the effects of seven make-procedures on the sensory quality of reduced fat Monterey Jacktype cheeses. Modifications (decreased cook temperature, decreased ripe time, decreased starter, homogenization, added milk-solids-not-fat, added flavor cultures, and washed curd) were incorporated into standard make-procedures for 33% reduced fat (RF) Monterey Jack-type cheeses. Two controls, a standard full fat cheese, and a standard RF cheese, were also prepared. Cheeses were aged 3 and 7 mo prior to sensory evaluation. The full fat control cheese and the washed curd RF cheese received the highest flavor scores from trained dairy judges (n = 9) and the highest flavor and acceptance scores from a consumer panel (n = 125). Washed curd was an effective modification for optimum sensory quality of RF cheeses.     

Sensory Characteristics of Milk Chocolate with Lactose from Spray-Dried Milk Powder

Dry whole-milk powders with 0-70% nominal lactose prepared by spray-drying alone (containing amorphous lactose) or combined with post-drying crystallization (containing crystalline lactose) were incorporated into milk chocolate to give 0-50% substitution of lactose for sucrose. No significant differences occurred in sweet, bitter, and thickness of melt (P > 0.10) based on milk powder preparation method or lactose concentration. As lactose increased, hardness and onset of melt increased regardless of milk powder preparation method; but, chocolates containing crystalline lactose were softer than those containing amorphous lactose. Higher chocolate, milk and caramel flavors were perceived in milk chocolates containing crystalline lactose. Graininess of milk chocolate increased at the highest level of added lactose.     

Physical and Sensory Properties of Milk Chocolate Formulated with Anhydrous Milk Fat Fractions

Maximum additions of milk fat that produced temperable milk chocolates were anhydrous milk fat (AMF), middle-melting fraction (MMF) or low-melting fraction (LMF) up to 40 wt % total fat, and high-melting fraction (HMF) up to 35%. The solid fat content (SFC), melting point, melting enthalpy, instrumental and sensory hardness of milk chocolates decreased with increasing milk fat addition. No differences in sensory attributes sweetness, milk powder, chocolate, butter flavor or thickness of melt were observed. Chocolate with 40% MMF or LMF had greater milk flavor than that with 12.2% HMF. Onset of melt correlated (r = 0.96) with melting enthalpy. No differences between types of milk fat (AMF, HMF, MMF, LMF) were observed for any textural attribute assessed.     

Milk Proteins Affect Yield and Sensory Quality of Cooked Sausages

Sausages were produced with seven different mixtures with skim milk powder, sodium caseinate and whey protein (1.5, 3, 5%) according to a simplex-centroid design, where the proportion of each ingredient varied from 0 to 100%. Principal component analysis (PCA) identified that sausages with 1.5% milk protein were most similar in sensory quality to the controls and had minimum cooking loss. PCA was effective to reduce the number of attributes to five to describe the main variation among the 1.5% milk protein sausages. A mixture of 1:1 blend of skim milk powder and whey protein resulted in the product with lowest cooking loss.