Investigation of using Guar Gum for Improving of Texture and Rheological Features of Iranian Low Fat White Cheese

Abstract

In this study, the effect of Guar gum in three concentrations of 0.5, 0.75, and 1 gram per each kilogram of skim milk, containing 0.4% fat in producing Iranian white cheese was investigated. Control cheeses were prepared in two forms, that one of them was full fat cheese, made up from milk that containing 3.2% of fat and complete milk without Guar gum, and the other one was reduced fat cheese (containing 0.4%), without adding any gum. Results showed that chemical, textural, and rheological features of Iranian white cheese improved by increasing Guar gum's concentration up to 0.75 g. In present study, full fat control cheese had the least textural and rheological features extent of G′, G″, G*, σ and E that texture was soft and desirable. Produced cheese with 0.75 g of Guar gum was close to full fat control cheese. However, by increasing Guar gum's concentration to 1 g, these indices showed increment, and were close to reduced fat control cheese. Reduced fat control cheese had the most of G′, G″, G*, σ, and E indicating its hard texture and so undesirability. It can be concluded that Guar gum can be used as a fat replacer to decline energy-producing feature and its texture improvement as well.