Incorporating plant proteins into cheese: opportunities and challenges (a review)

Hybrid cheeses, produced by combining dairy and plant-based proteins, offer a promising solution to improve food sustainability. Although vegan dairy products (e.g., pure plant-based milks, butters, yoghurts and cheese) are available, they often fall short of matching traditional dairy in texture, taste and nutritional completeness, resulting in only a relatively small niche share of the global dairy market. Hybrid dairy products, however, address sustainability while aiming for broader market penetration. This review examines how incorporating plant proteins affects cheese composition, structure, functionality, and flavor attributes. It discusses protein-protein interactions, curd formation mechanisms, texture and rheology properties, color development, and flavor formation. The role of enzymatic treatment with microbial transglutaminase (mTGase), in combination with chymosin, is highlighted for its potential to enhance protein cross-linking and cheese stability. Fermentation and microbial cultures are also explored as strategies to mitigate off-flavors and reduce anti-nutritional factors in plant ingredients. Evidence indicates that hybrid cheese is a viable and innovative option for producing nutritious, sustainable, and appealing dairy alternatives with reduced environmental impact. Future research should focus on optimizing ingredient selection, improving protein interactions, enhancing functional and nutritional properties, and scaling up production for industrial use.