High-pressure effects on the microstructure, texture, and color of white-brined cheese

White-brined cheeses were subjected to high-pressure processing (HPP) at 50, 100, 200, and 400 MPa at 22 °C for 5 and 15 min and ripened in brine for 60 d. The effects of pressure treatment on the chemical, textural, microstructural, and color were determined. HPP did not affect moisture, protein, and fat contents of cheeses. Similar microstructures were obtained for unpressurized cheese and pressurized cheeses at 50 and 100 MPa, whereas a denser and continuous structure was obtained for pressurized cheeses at 200 and 400 MPa. These microstructural changes exhibited a good correlation with textural changes. The 200 and 400 MPa treatments resulted in significantly softer, less springy, less gummy, and less chewy cheese. Finally, marked differences were obtained in a* and b* values at higher pressure levels for longer pressure-holding time and were also supported by ΔE* values. The cheese became more greenish and yellowish with the increase in pressure level.

The quality of cheese is the very important to the consumers. This study documented the pressure-induced changes in selected quality attributes of semisoft and brine-salted cheese. The results can help the food processors to have knowledge of the process parameters resulting in quality changes and to identify optimal process parameters for preserving pressure-treated cheeses.