Abstract

Background: Manufacturers have used emulsifying salts universally in the processed cheese industry since James L. Kraft patented the first processed cheese in 1916. My objective was to find alternative ingredients to replace emulsifying salts in processed cheese formulations; the product would follow "clean-labeling" trends and lower the final formulation's sodium content. Materials and Methods: My experiments followed conventional processed cheese formulations to create experimental batches, which were compared to positive and negative controls for significance. Textural, rheological, and melting tests evaluated objective cheese parameters. We observed subjective sensory properties through qualitative descriptive analysis, consumer acceptance panels, and focus groups. Results: We found that aspartic acid, cysteine, and glutamic acid could functionally emulsify a processed cheese formulation, as seen in the Manuscript section of this thesis. Potential future applications can be found under the Optimization Research section of this thesis. Conclusions: Alternative ingredients can make a large change on the processed cheese industry to improve current manufacturing practices and the nutrition of food products. While optimization work can always improve upon formulations, we propose a few formulations that could serve to replace traditional processed cheese practices.

Degree

College and Department

Life Sciences; Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Science

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