Cheese, a wonderful dairy product without which many popular recipes around the world would lose their charm. Imagine a pizza without generous topping of cheese and what would become of the countless sandwiches and pasta recipes if there were no cheese? Indeed the flavor and aroma of the cheese is the reason for the uniqueness of this food preparation. Cheese figures in the list of nutritional foods and is packed with probiotics.
Now, recent research has brought to forefront the role of prebiotics in enhancing sensory and nutritional qualities of cheese. For understanding this, we first need to understand certain terms such as prebiotics and probiotics. Well, the beneficial bacteria that naturally inhabit our gastro intestinal (GI) tract offer health benefits and these bacteria are referred to as probiotics. Compounds called prebiotics boost the growth of these probiotics.
A study conducted at University of Sao Paulo in Brazil into ways of enhancing the sensory qualities of cheese suggests the possible role of prebiotic ingredients such as inulin and oligofructose fibres in doing so. In the study conducted at Sao Paulo, researchers developed eight varying pilot-scale batches of the petit-suisse cheeses. These formulations comprised probiotic cultures such as Lactobacilluse acidophilus and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis (both from Danisco). In addition varying mix of prebiotic fibres of oligofructose (Beneo P95, Orafti) or oligosaccharides from honey and inulin (Beneo ST, Orafti) were used.
The cheeses so obtained were then put to test to about 560 tasters. The tasters approved of the cheeses that were provided with oligofructose and/or inulin during the time they were stored but disliked cheese comprising the honey oligsaccharides. This study is in print in the journal LWT- Food Science and Technology.
The cheeses with oligofructose and inulin were approved because of their better sensory qualtites. It can be concluded that the prebiotic ingredients served to enhance flavors, mask off-notes, impart smoother texture and superior mouthfeel to the product. In addition, these prebiotics did not partake in Maillard browning thereby working to maintain protein quality that gave a better finished product.
Further, probiotics in the cheese broke down inulin and oligofructose to give short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) that work to promote cell proliferation, maintaining colonic epithelium integrity and suppressing inflammation in gastrointestinal (GI) tract. This enhances the nutritional profile of the product.
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Source: Foodproductiondaily
