Effect of Fortification with Mushroom Polysaccharide β-Glucan on the Quality of Ovine Soft Spreadable Cheese

In the present work, a fresh spreadable cheese from ovine milk with or without (control) fortification with β-glucan was manufactured. β-Glucan was extracted from the mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus and its concentration in the cheese was 0.4% (w/w). The composition, biochemical, and sensory properties of the cheeses during 21 days of storage were determined. At the end of storage, cheese fortified with beta-glucan had 75.26% moisture content, 10.30% fat, 1.71% salt, and 8.50% protein. Generally, the addition of β-glucan at this concentration did not significantly affect the composition, color, and viscosity measurements or the level of proteolysis and lipolysis and the antioxidant activity of the cheeses. However, cheese fortified with β-glucan showed a higher moisture content than control cheese on the 1st and 21st day of storage while the levels of proteolysis and the sensory properties of the cheeses were unaffected. During the sensory evaluation, panelists evaluated cheese with β-glucan with higher scores regarding the flavor characteristic compared to control cheese. The major free fatty acid was acetic acid in both cheeses and its concentration was higher in cheese with β-glucan. The results of the present study could be used by the dairy industry for manufacturing new products with improved health benefits.