Effect of adding lycopene on the physico-chemical and sensory properties of white cheese

Lycopene, a carotenoid found expressively in red color foods such as tomato and its derivatives, watermelon and papaya, stands out as a powerful bioactive substance due to its antioxidant properties and the great ability to inactivate reactive oxygen species (Pereira et al., 2016). Moreover, clinical evidence supports the action of lycopene in the prevention of various types of cancer (Fu et al., 2014; Van Breemen and Pajkovic 2008). Lycopene as an excellent natural food color has also the advantages. It is stable to heat and an extreme pH value encountered in food processing, has no off-flavors, effective in low concentrations, antioxidant or other claimed health benefits and covers the full range of colors from yellow through orange to deep red. Addition of lycopene as a food color depends on the formulation, method of food preparation, and the manufacturing techniques involved (Kaur et al., 2011). In recent years, consumptions of food products particularly functional dairy products have become more widespread due to its health benefits. The uses of functional dairy products, especially cheese are very important in Iran. Iranian white brined cheese is one of the most common and important sources of calcium in dairy products in a balanced diet and significant source of protein as well as other nutrients. The aim of this study was utilization of lycopene to production of functional white brined cheese with high nutrition and healthy effect and enhancing flavor and color of cheese to increase its acceptability among the consumers.

White cheese was made with 3.2% fat and about 8% non-fat solids from cow's milk, pasteurized at 65ºC for 30 minutes and then cooled to 35-38 ºC and rennet was added in the amount of 0.07 g in 5 kg of milk and starter in the amount of 1%w/w (Hansen, Denmark) after dissolving in sterile distilled water was added to the milk and kept at the above temperature for 60 minutes until the curd formed. The formed curd was then cut into small pieces to remove the whey. Moreover, the curd was then pressed to remove more whey, and then different levels of lycopene (200, 400 and 600 ppm) were added to the curd in order to produce the functional cheese and compare it to control cheese. It was kept for one day at 24% brine and then transferred to 8% brine jars and stored during 60 days in order to cheese ripening and to evaluate the effects of adding different levels of lycopene (200, 400 and 600 ppm) on the physico-chemical and sensory properties of white cheese to produce functional cheese compared to control cheese (without lycopene) during 60 days of cheese ripening.

The results of the ANOVA among the treatments indicated that time of cheese ripening affected significantly (P<0.05) pH and reduced in all the samples during storage time. Measurement of proteolysis and lipolysis of cheese samples showed that type of treatment and storage time were significant (P<0.05) on the attributes. By adding lycopene, the proteolysis and lipolysis of the samples increased compared to the control sample, so that the proteolysis and lipolysis (except for cheese with lycopene 600ppm) in all samples increased significantly (P<0.05) during 60 days of cheese ripening. Moreover, measurement of the amount of salt, fat and protein during cheese ripening showed that the effect of treatment and time on the amount of these attributes in cheese samples was not significant (P>0.05).

Addition of lycopene in preparation of white brined cheese led to produce a good and acceptable white cheese with high nutritional and healthy food and it’s a good for food consumers because lycopene had red color attractive to consumers beside contains antioxidants and play important roles in health effects. In overall, the results of sensory evaluation (texture, taste and overall acceptability) showed that cheese containing lycopene (400 ppm) had higher score than control cheese and the other cheese samples on 60th day of cheese ripening.