Microstructure, texture, colour and sensory evaluation of a spreadable processed cheese analogue made with vegetable fat

'Requeijao cremoso' is a spreadable processed cheese that shows ample acceptance on the Brazilian market. In this work, analogues of this cheese, made by substituting 25% and 50% of the dairy fat with vegetable fat, were studied with respect to physical-chemical composition, texture profile, microstructure and sensory acceptance. The substitution of part of the dairy cream by vegetable fat resulted in increased adhesiveness and hardness. The traditional cheese presented a uniform protein network in which numerous small fat particles were dispersed, whilst in the analogues, the fat globules were present in smaller numbers and with greater diameters, a behaviour intensified by increasing proportions of vegetable fat. In the sensory analysis, the traditional cheese and the analogue with 50% vegetable fat were better evaluated than the analogue with 25% vegetable fat. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.