The influence of quinoa flour addition on the physicochemical, antioxidant activity, textural, and sensory characteristics of UF-soft cheese during refrigerated storage

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of quinoa flour (QF) addition at different levels (0%, 1.0%, 2.0%, and 3.0%) on the physicochemical, syneresis, antioxidant activity, textural and sensorial characteristics of UF-soft cheeses during refrigerated storage for 30 days. QF-added samples exhibited significantly (p <= .001) higher level of protein, fat, ash, dietary fiber, total phenolic, and antioxidant activity with lower syneresis than the control cheese. Magnesium, phosphorus, iron, and zinc were higher in the QF-added samples than in control. The syneresis was significantly lower (p <= .001) in QF-added samples than in control. The texture profile analysis showed that QF-added samples were less soft, more gummy, chewy, and springy than control cheese. Sensory evaluation of cheeses supplemented with 1% or 2% QF had the highest score of overall acceptability since the addition of 3%QF had undesirable effects on consumer acceptability. Practical applications The addition of 1% or 2% quinoa flour to UF-soft cheese is an option to improve the content of nutritionally important compounds of the product.