Evaluation of Textural and Sensory Properties of Diet Processed Pizza Cheese Based on Modified Starch and Salt Extracted from Seaweed

Pizza cheese contains high amounts of saturated fatty acids, high cholesterol and NaCl, which may be harmful to human health, especially cardiovascular disease. Therefore, considering the nutritional characteristics and health aspects, it seems necessary to correct its disadvantages. In this study, the effect of using modified potato starch as a fat replacer in three levels (3, 2 and 1%) and salt extracted from seaweed in 4 levels (0.2, 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8) in processed pizza cheese was investigated. Sensory evaluation, tissue analysis profiles and microstructure of the pizza cheese samples were examined. The results showed by decreasing the amount of starch and increasing in seaweed salt, hardness, gumminess, springiness and adhesiveness increased. By reducing the amount of modified starch in the cheese, the cohesiveness and fracture parameters decreased. Also, the amount of seaweed salt in the product showed that increasing or decreasing the salt had no significant effect on the fracture force, cohesiveness and tension. With increasing dose of fat replacer, the sample tissue became more cohesive and the amount of black empty spaces decreased. Examination of sensory properties of cheeses also showed that cheese produced with 20% cream + 1% starch and cheese containing 10% cream and 2% starch had a higher acceptance score, and different amounts of seaweed salt in the product did not differ significantly in terms of sensory evaluation score.