Ohmic cooking: an alternative to be adopted in probiotic cottage cheese processing

Area of Science:

• Food Science and Technology
• Dairy Science
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Probiotic cottage cheese requires processing methods that maintain viability and functionality.
• Conventional heating may impact the quality and bioactivity of probiotic dairy products.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of ohmic heating (OH) on probiotic cottage cheese quality.
• To evaluate OH's impact on technological, functional, microbiological, and sensory attributes.

Main Methods:

• Probiotic cottage cheese curd was cooked using ohmic heating (OH) at varying electric field intensities (4, 8, 12 V/cm) for 30 min at 35 °C.
• Compared OH treatment with conventional heating (CONV).
• Assessed proteolysis, in vitro bioactivity, probiotic viability, and sensory acceptance.

Main Results:

• OH processing intensified proteolysis, increasing with electric field strength.
• Enhanced in vitro bioactivities (antioxidant, ACE-inhibitory, etc.) and probiotic viability were observed with OH.
• OH-treated cheeses showed improved tolerance to simulated gastrointestinal conditions and higher consumer acceptance.

Conclusions:

• Ohmic heating is a promising technology for probiotic cottage cheese production.
• OH enhances bioactive potential, probiotic stability, and sensory appeal.
• This method offers an alternative to conventional heating for improved functional dairy foods.