engleski

Increased nutritional quality and microbiological safety of novel cottage cheese containing spices

A current trend in dairy industry and cheese manufacture is the production of novel functional products with health benefits. The study focuses on developing a novel cottage cheese containing spices with acceptable sensory properties and beneficial antioxidant capacity. Thirty types of cheese with added fresh and dried parsley, dill, pepper, garlic and rosemary were produced. Consumer sensory taste panels were conducted to evaluate the acceptability of the cheeses. Total phenol content, antioxidant capacity and antimicrobial activity of spices and cheese samples were evaluated. The results have shown that the cheeses containing spices, which were nature flavored with acceptable sensory properties, high nutritive value and good microbiological quality, could be produced in a short time. Fresh spices were more acceptable to consumers, while dry spices contributed better to the nutritional value. The best sensory properties were obtained with fresh sweet red pepper. The highest antioxidant and antimicrobial activity had dry rosemary and cheese with rosemary, due to presence of high concentrations of caffeic and rosmarinic acid, as well as high concentration of flavones and phenolic diterpenes. The presence of spices did not affect physical or chemical properties of the cheeses.

unctional; novel cheese; microbiological safety

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