Increasing the moisture content of imitation cheese: effects on texture, rheology and microstructure

Increasing moisture content may be a practical and cost-effective means to control the functional properties of imitation cheese. Imitation cheeses with moisture contents of 46, 50, 52 and 54 g/100 g were manufactured. An increase in the moisture content of the imitation cheese resulted in significantly increased meltability, tan values and decreased hardness (all P<0.05). The relationship between moisture content (x) and meltability (y) was described by the model (r²=0.99). A linear relationship emerged between moisture content (x) and hardness (y), where (r²=0.95) but cohesiveness was unaffected by moisture content. Increasing the moisture content to 52 or 54 g/100 g led to pockets of free water within the cheese and larger but fewer fat globules. The maximum level of moisture that the cheese matrix can retain appears to be 54 g/100 g.