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

This study investigated, for the first time, the application of ohmic heating (OH) during curd cooking and its effects on the technological, functional, microbiological, and sensory attributes of probiotic cottage cheese. Cheeses were produced using a standard protocol, except that the curd was cooked at 35 °C for 30 min under different electric field intensities (4, 8 and 12 V cm^-1), and the results were compared with those of conventional heating (CONV). All formulations were supplemented with Lactobacillus acidophilus La-5 (7 log CFU/g). OH processing markedly intensified proteolysis, with this effect increasing proportionally to electric field strength. This resulted in higher peptide release and enhanced in vitro bioactivity potential, including antioxidant, ACE-inhibitory, α-amylase-inhibitory, α-glucosidase-inhibitory, and pancreatic lipase-inhibitory activities. OH-treated cheeses also exhibited higher probiotic viability and improved tolerance to simulated gastrointestinal conditions throughout storage, with counts remaining above recommended levels for probiotic foods (>6 log CFU/g). Sensory analysis showed greater consumer acceptance of OH-processed cheeses, particularly at higher electric field intensities. Overall, the results suggest that OH may represent a promising alternative processing technology for probiotic cottage cheese, contributing to improved in vitro bioactivity potential, probiotic stability, and sensory characteristics.