Effects of drying method on the stability and quality of post-processing of 3D-printed processed cheese

Abstract

The three-dimensional (3D) printing of processed cheese personalizes food materials and provides a novel means of addressing the nutritional and health needs of consumers. This study used “Anjia” cheese as a raw material to explore the effects of hot air drying (AD) and freeze drying (FD) on the shape and color stability, volatile flavor compounds, casein content, and microstructure of 3D-printed samples after post-processing. Compared with AD -finished products, FD-finished products exhibited better post-processing stability in their dimensional characteristics and color, a higher casein retention rate, and a finished porosity as low as 5.7%. The drying efficiency of FD was also higher, with the drying time decreasing by 66.7% compared with that of AD. The combination of FD and 3D printing can thus yield higher quality products. This study provides useful information for developing post-processing and high-value-added 3D-printed products, especially for nutritional functional foods.

Keywords:

• Three-dimensional (3D) printing
• drying
• cheese
• stability
• post-processing

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by the Major Science and Technology Projects of Zhejiang Province(2020C02041), Zhejiang Province New Products Manufacture Projects(2022D60SA3B12123) and Chick Eagle project of Marketing Bureau, Zhejiang Province, People’s Republic of China (CY2022345).