Characterization of particles in cream cheese

Cream cheese is used as a spread and as an ingredient in many food applications. A gritty or grainy mouthfeel is an undesirable textural defect that occurs in cream cheese. However, the factors that cause the textural defect are not well understood. The objectives of this study were to isolate and characterize particles from cream cheese and to study the effect of particles on cheese texture. Particles were isolated by washing cream cheese with water first at 25 degrees C and then at 50 degrees C repeatedly 4 to 5 times. The size of these particles was determined using a particle size analyzer. The particles as well as the original cheeses were analyzed for moisture, fat, protein, ash, and lactose. The particle size ranged of 0.04 to 850 microm. It was found that isolated particles were significantly higher in protein content as compared with the whole cheese. To study the effect on the cheese texture, particles were added at 5, 15, and 25% (wt/wt) levels to smooth cream cheese, and a sensory ranking test was done on the samples. Isolated particles were further separated into 2 size classes of 2.5 to 150 microm and > or =150 microm. These particles were then mixed with smooth cream cheese at 16 and 29% (wt/wt), and a sensory test was conducted on these samples. Smooth cream cheese with only 5% (wt/wt) added particles was perceived as significantly grittier than the control sample. This experiment also revealed that the perceived grittiness increased with increase in amount and size of particles.