Rheological properties of reduced-fat Gaziantep cheese

ABSTRACT RHEOLÖGICAL PROPERTIES OF REDUCED-FAT GAZİANTEP CHEESE KAHYAO?LU, Talip M.Sc. in Food Engineering Supervisor: Assist. Prof. Dr. Sevim KAYA January 2002, 76 pages The effects of fat reduction, heat treatments and storage temperatures (13 and 25 °C) on the physical and chemical properties of Gaziantep cheese were investigated. Three different heat treatment temperatures (75, 85 and 95°C) were applied to three different fat (50.4, 33.4, 13.5%) containing cheese samples. With and without heat treatment, samples were analyzed with respect to viscoelastic parameters, color, meltability and texture. Decreasing fat content of the cheeses increased the hardness and elasticity. Heat treatments also imparted elasticity to the cheese. It was found that melting temperature of the cheese inversely related with fat content and temperature of the heat treatment. The gel strength constants of Gaziantep cheese were found in the range of 0.18-0.22. Differences in physical properties of the cheese in which fat content was reduced by 30 % with full-fat Gaziantep cheese were in an acceptable level. Heat treatment can be used for improving physical properties of fat-reduced Gaziantep cheese. Whiteness (L- value) significantly changed by the effect of fat reduction and heat treatment. It was observed that increase in storage temperature decreased whiteness and increased hardness of the samples. Key Words: Gaziantep cheese, reduced-fat cheese, cheese rheology, viscoelastic properties, creep test, meltability, color.