Rheological and Microbial Properties of Cheese Analog Made from Sweet Corn Containing Whey- and Milk- Protein Concentrates

The present study was conducted to obtain the optimal formulation of a cheese analog based on corn extract resembled to the low-fat Iranian white cheese. In this study, the effects of whey protein concentrate (WPC) and milk protein concentrate (MPC) each in the powder form and at the levels of 5, 10 and 15% and corn extract prepared from sweet corn seeds with two water extraction levels of 15 and 25% (water: corn ratio; w/v) were evaluated on the texture profile and microbial quality of the cheese analog samples during 60 days storage in a refrigerator. The results showed that by increasing the percentage of the corn extract, hardness and chewability of the cheese analog samples were decreased and with increasing values ​​of WPC and MPC, the values ​​of hardness, gumminess and cohesiveness of cheese analog samples were increased. Based on the results of this study, a corn cheese analog sample with acceptable quality could be produced by using 15% of all the three variables, i.e. corn to water extraction ratio, WPC and MPC.