| dc.description.abstract | Cheese is one of the most commercially important food groups in the world, partially due to their use in popular dishes like pizza, which has gained global recognition and popularity due to its simple and distinct taste. Despite this growth, there is little available information concerning the alternatives of low-moisture mozzarella cheese (LMMC), particularly in terms of sensory properties.
The market for Plant-based alternatives to animal-based products is growing from a myriad of reasons. Consumers are getting increasingly concerned around ethical treatment for animals and show a greater desire to eat sustainably.
The primary goal of this thesis is to conduct a comprehensive comparison of LMMC and plant-based cheese alternatives (PBCA) which are produced to be used for pizza. To achieve this goal, a number of experiments to compare the nutritional composition, colour and rheological properties when heated in pizza-baking conditions, and important sensorial properties were conducted on a selection of PBCA-products purchased from Norway and the US.
Previous studies have scarcely begun to cover the unique sensory properties of PBCAs, partially because of their great variation and mouldability. A PBCA can be produced from many isolated ingredients in a manner which is meant to imitate the original product as closely as possible, or from simpler plant-based ingredients which embrace some of their inherent flavours. In this thesis, four PBCAs produced from ultra processed starch from various sources, and one product of PBCA made from cashew milk, were compared to typical LMMC intended for use on pizza.
From a chemical analysis, it was found that while most PBCA contain coconut oil as its only source of fat, there is potential for better properties of melting when using oils with more unsaturated fats. The little protein that is found in PBCAs has a significantly lower amount of essential amino acids but assists with meltability.
In the sensorical analyses it was found that consumers could easily distinguish between LMMC and PBCA and found that LMMC had a higher level of acceptance among non-vegan consumers, compared to PBCA, due to a number of sensory defects found in PBCA. Primary of which were low meltability, stickiness to touch, and stronger aroma and taste which was found distasteful.
In future experiments there should be a greater focus to identify the compounds that give flavour and aroma to LMMC, as well as more attention to PBCA produced from other sources than starch-and-oil. | |
