Sensory evaluation of plant-based cheese: a systematic review with a focus on texture and mouthfeel.

Abstract

Consumer interest in plant-based cheese is rising due to environmental, animal welfare, and health concerns, but texture remains a major challenge in replicating the creaminess, smoothness, and meltability of dairy cheese. The absence of casein in plant-based cheese often results in brittle or gummy textures, whereas plant-based fats and proteins often lead to phase separation and weak cohesion, thereby affecting sensory quality. While instrumental texture analysis is common in the lietarature, many studies lack a correlation between instrumental measures, sensory perception and consumer acceptance, limiting practical relevance. Against this background, this review systematically examined 85 sensory studies on plant-based cheese focusing on texture modification, sensory evaluation, and consumer response. Second, the review assessed the standardization of texture and mouthfeel terminology. Only four studies provided clear definitions of texture attributes, underscoring the need for greater standardization across studies. Third, it evaluated the quality of sensory and consumer analyses within these studies. A total of 60% of the studies (51 out of 85) had methodological issues, including small sample sizes and poorly reported sensory evaluation methods, highlighting key gaps in sensory studies on plant-based cheese. Future studies must refine sensory and consumer evaluation techniques to better replicate the dairy-like texture and mouthfeel in order and meet consumer expectations.