Quark Cheese Processed by Dense-Phase Carbon Dioxide: Shelf-Life Evaluation and Physiochemical, Rheological, Microstructural and Volatile Properties Assessment

• Published in: Foods Vol. 11; no. 15; p. 2340
• Main Authors: Song, Xiaoyong, Zheng, Yuanrong, Zhou, Xuefu, Deng, Yun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 05.08.2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Bound water; Carbon dioxide; Cheese; Dairy products; dense phase carbon dioxide; Enzymes; Food quality; food quality stability; Food science; Inactivation; Microorganisms; Milk; non-thermal processing; Pasteurization; Physiochemistry; process optimization; Proteolysis; quark cheese; Quarks; Rheological properties; Rheology; Shelf life; Sterilization; Storage; Technology; Yeasts; China; food quality stability; process optimization; dense phase carbon dioxide; quark cheese; non-thermal processing
• ISSN: 2304-8158; 2304-8158
• DOI: 10.3390/foods11152340

Dense-phase carbon dioxide (DPCD), a novel non-thermal processing technology, has attracted extensive attention due to its excellent performance in food sterilization and enzyme inactivation without quality deterioration. In this work, we aimed to extend the shelf life of quark cheese with DPCD and explore the effect of DPCD treatment as well as storage time on the quality of quark cheese. The sterilization parameters were optimized by means of orthogonal experiments, and the physiochemical, rheological, microstructural and volatile properties of cheese were investigated. The optimal DPCD treatment (20 MPa, 45 min, 55 °C) successfully extended the shelf life of quark cheese due to its inhibition effect on yeast and was able to slow down the proteolysis and alterations in pH and color of cheese. Cheese processed using DPCD after 14-day storage even displayed similar rheological properties to the control at day 0, from which bound water significantly migrated during storage. Moreover, DPCD contributed to the retention of the volatile profile of cheese during storage. This study demonstrated that DPCD is a promising pasteurization technology for quark cheese to improve its quality stability during storage.