Quality of Processed Cheddar Cheese as a Function of Emulsifying Salt Replaced by κ-Carrageenan

Abstract

Hydrocolloids act as stabilizer and thickening agents, thus able to replace emulsifying salts. The present study was planned to use к-carrageenan in the production of processed cheddar cheese and to explore its effect on physico-chemical and textural properties of processed cheddar cheeses. Different concentration of ҡ-carrageenan were used with gradual decrease in salt contents along with natural cheese, fat, and water to prepare processed cheddar cheese. The prepared samples were analyzed for physico-chemical and sensory attributes at storage interval of 45 days during and after 90 days. With the increase in hydrocolloid concentration, stiffer product was obtained and meltability of the samples decreased than control. Processed cheddar cheese samples having 0.15% к-carrageenan with 2% emulsifying salt (1.34% sodium citrate and 0.66% disodium phosphates) were found more acceptable in terms of physico-chemical and sensory attributes, but all sensory attributes got fewer score with the passage of storage time.

Keywords:

• Processed cheddar cheese
• Emulsifying salts
• κ-Carrageenan
• Meltability
• Textural properties
• Hydrocolloid

INTRODUCTION

By acidification and gel formation of milk with addition of rennet, a hard type cheddar cheese is obtained.^[1] Short shelf life and difficulty in selling of cheddar cheese proved a trigger behind the advent of processed cheese. Currently, the trend about consumption of processed cheddar cheese is increasing in pizza and pies due to the consumer preference. Processed cheeses are also preferred because they are easy to manufacture; are cheaper and impart good textural and nutritional characteristics in a wide variety of products.^[2] Processed cheese is prepared in different shapes and types according to its usage, for example, loaves, blocks, and slices, etc.^[3] The most important feature of the end product is smooth surface and meltability that are affected by components added and the manufacturing conditions.^[4]

Processed cheese is prepared by the combination of ripened cheddar cheese with emulsifying salts (ES), cream, and other dairy and non-dairy constituents. The blend is heated to get a well-mixed and smooth end product.^[5] In the manufacturing of processed cheddar cheese ingredients play an important role, and the selection of unprocessed cheddar is one of them. Age of the natural cheese affect the functionality of processed cheddar cheese due to the presence of intact casein in it.^[6] The important constituent in processed cheddar cheese other than cheddar cheese is ESs like sodium phosphate, trisodium citrate, etc., are used up to 2–3%.^[5,7] In cheddar cheese, the three dimensional network is held by calcium ions. While in processed cheese they are replaced by sodium ions present in ESs. As a result, the insoluble Ca paracaseinate converted in to Na paracaseinate that has more solubility than calcium.^[8,9] Reducing the enzyme’s activity, improving texture of the product and imparting specific flavor to the end product are important functions of salts besides emulsification.^[10] Traditional ESs also contain a high concentration of sodium (up to 30%, w/w) and trigger behind most cardiovascular diseases (CVD).^[11]

Keeping in view the major roles of salts in the product as an emulsifier, texture improver, taste enhancer, and shelf life extender; it is a very tough task for the industry to replace the salts.^[12] Certain hydrocolloids can replace the ESs and act as stabilizer, emulsifier, and have the ability to maintain the textural quality of the end product. Hydrocolloids can hold water, create gel, and increase the viscosity of the product. Keeping in view the properties of certain hydrocolloids, such as carrageenan, pectin, and various starches, etc. They can be used as a salt replacer in processed cheddar cheese.^[13,14] However, there is very little literature regarding the total replacement of ES with carrageenan. There are few published articles that have dealt with carrageenan applications in processed cheese manufacturing especially as coating material. Carrageenan is a product obtained from red seaweed (Rhodophyceae). There are generally three types of carrageenan obtained namely (κ-kappa, і-iota, and Ɣ-lambda). First two fractions can be used in dairy products such as yogurt, cheese, etc. κ-carrageenan has the ability to form firm and brittle gel whiles the і-carrageenan form the soft and elastic gel. But і-carrageenan has a drawback of developing an unstable gel. κ-carrageenan can also improve the slice ability of the processed cheddar cheese and has no clear effect on the texture of the processed cheddar cheese when used less than 0.05% concentration.^[15] The objective of this study was to replace the sodium salts with κ-carrageenan used in different concentrations to lower the sodium contents in processed cheddar cheese and to check its effect on the quality and texture of the final product.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Procurement of Raw Materials for Processed Cheddar Cheese

Rennet (CHR-Hansen Denmark), mesophilic starter culture, sodium chloride, ESs (disodium citrate, disodium phosphate), and κ-carrageenan (Danisco) and milk and cream (locally) were provided by Noon Dairies (Pvt. Ltd. Pakistan).

Manufacturing of Processed Cheddar Cheese

The preparation of processed cheddar cheese was started with shredding of cheddar cheese. Then all the shredded natural cheese along with ESs, к-carrageenan (according to treatment plan given in Table 1) and cream (2 g/100 g) were poured in a steam jacketed cooker and were mixed along with heating at 65–75ºC for 15 min, heating depends upon the percentage of natural cheese. The hot processed cheddar cheese samples were then discharged into stainless steel molds (10.16 cm depth) from cooker and cooled. After cooling up to room temperature they were transferred to slicing and packaging section, where they were sliced into desired small rectangular shape blocks and packed in polythene bags under vacuum. Then the samples were transferred to storage room, where the samples were stored at 4–6ºC up to 90 days.

Table 1 Treatment plan

Treatments/sample	Emulsifying salts		Hydrocolloid
	Na citrate%	DSP%	κ-carrageenan
T0	2	1	–
T1	2	1	0.1
T2	1.34	0.66	0.15
T3	0.66	0.33	0.2

Quality Evaluation of Processed Cheddar Cheese

Physico-chemical analysis

Processed cheddar cheese samples were analyzed for their chemical composition (moisture, fat, protein, and ash content), pH, acidity, minerals contents with the interval of 45 days during storage.^[16] The fat content in cheese was determined by Gerber method using cheese butyrometer bearing the inscription “I.S. 69: 1955.”^[17] Sodium, calcium, and potassium contents were determined using flame photometer (Sherwood Flame Photometer 410, Sherwood Scientific Ltd. Cambridge, UK).^[18]

Meltability

Meltability of the processed cheese was determined by placing grated cheese plugs weighing approximately 3 g into test tubes, the test tubes were covered with aluminum foil, and holes were made to let the hot gas escape during heating. The test tubes were placed vertically in a refrigerator at 5°C for 30 min and then horizontally in an oven and heated at 100°C for 90 min. Meltability was measured in millimeters from the bottom of the test tube to the point at which the cheese has stopped flowing.^[19]

Instrumental texture profile analysis (TPA) of cheese

The effect of hydrocolloids on texture of the processed cheese was evaluated after 90 days by performing the TPA of the cheese samples on TA-XT Plus Texture Analyzer (Stable Micro Systems, Godalming, Surrey, UK) using compression plate probe P-75.^[20] Cheese samples were placed in airtight plastic bags and equilibrated at 8°C for 18 h. Cubes of 25 mm length, width, and height were cut from each sample using a stainless steel wire cutter and equilibrated at 8°C for a further 30 min. before analysis. Samples were removed from the incubator and immediately compressed to 30% of the original height in two consecutive cycles (double compression) at a rate of 1 mm/s.

Sensory Evaluation

Processed cheddar cheese samples were evaluated for sensory evaluation during storage by a panel of trained assessors drawn from faculty members and post-graduate students including both male (15) and female (10) to judge the influence of ҡ-carrageenan by using hedonic scale.^[21] Panelists were round about 26–40 years of age with sound health and good sensory attributes. The test was carried out in a well-ventilated, odorless, and quiet location.

Statistical Analysis

Significant difference among the treatments of final data obtained was determined by using analysis of variance (ANOVA) technique under completely randomized design (CRD) with two factor factorial on Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS; version 10.0.1, 1999). The means of all treatments were compared by using the Tukey (HSD) test.^[22]

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Physico-Chemical Analysis

Table 2 shows the mean values of pH and acidity throughout storage period and depicted that storage and treatments had significant (p < 0.01) effect over pH and acidity; however, the interaction between storage time and treatments was non-significant. The highest pH (5.48) was recorded in T₀ and T₁ treatment at 90 days of analysis while the lowest pH (5.31) was recorded in T₃ at 0 days of storage, respectively. The pH difference is due to different rate of acid production by starter cultures and salt tolerance of the different starter culture.^[23] Generally, it can be said that sodium salts of phosphates change the pH of the cheese blend (they usually cause increased pH of blend) and contribute to pH stabilization due to their buffering capacity.^[5] As in this study, the salt concentration is reducing so the pH is decreasing. Acidity behaves reciprocal to pH, when pH falls the acidity increased or vice versa. The highest acidity (0.90%) was recorded in T₂ treatment at 90 days of analysis while the lowest acidity (0.71%) was recorded in T₀ and T₃ at 0 day of storage.

Table 2 Effect of treatments and storage on pH and acidity of processed cheddar cheese

	Treatments/storage days	0 day	45 days	90 days	Means
pH	T0	5.42 ± 0.24	5.46 ± 0.22	5.48 ± 0.25	5.45 ± 0.02a
	T1	5.42 ± 0.21	5.45 ± 0.18	5.48 ± 0.31	5.45 ± 0.03a
	T2	5.37 ± 0.19	5.41 ± 0.24	5.43 ± 0.27	5.40 ± 0.02b
	T3	5.31 ± 0.27	5.35 ± 0.26	5.37 ± 0.29	5.34 ± 0.02c
	Means	5.38 ± 0.05c	5.42 ± 0.04b	5.44 ± 0.05a
Acidity	T0	0.71 ± 0.03	0.77 ± 0.02	0.79 ± 0.07	0.76 ± 0.03b
	T1	0.82 ± 0.04	0.87 ± 0.03	0.87 ± 0.04	0.85 ± 0.02a
	T2	0.79 ± 0.05	0.86 ± 0.04	0. 90 ± 0.06	0.82 ± 0.03a
	T3	0.71 ± 0.02	0.80 ± 0.05	0.84 ± 0.03	0.78 ± 0.05ab
	Means	0.78 ± 0.05b	0.80 ± 0.04ab	0.83 ± 0.03a

^a,b,cValues in columns and rows with different superscript letters were statistically significant (p < 0.05), while values sharing the letters are non-significant from each other and values with no superscript showing non-significant effect of the factors (i.e., treatment or storage days).T₀: sodium citrate 2%, disodium phosphate 1%; T₁: sodium citrate 2%, disodium phosphate 1%, к-carrageenan 0.1%; T₂: sodium citrate 1.34%, disodium phosphate 0.66%, к-carrageenan 0.15%; T₃: sodium citrate 0.66%, disodium phosphate 0.33%, к-carrageenan 0.2%.

The results regarding mean values of moisture presented in Fig. 1 revealed highly significant (p < 0.01) variation in moisture contents of processed cheddar cheese due to treatments, storage days and as well as the interaction of both. The moisture values were collected on 45 days interval showed the lost in moisture from the start of storage period up to end of period. During storage the highest decrease in moisture was (2.26 g/100 g) in T₁ and lowest decrease was (0.6 g/100 g) in T₃. It is observed that the treatment having lower concentration of salts and higher concentration of hydrocolloids give less loss of water. It means that the к-carrageenan hold the water of processed cheese. Water gets evaporated during storage of processed cheddar cheese and the main reason of water loss is the improper packaging material. The findings of this experiment are in accordance with the literature data.^[24,25] These authors reported that under controlled conditions processed cheese slices, for 1 month, may present a weight loss of 2–5 g/kg. The mean values of fat content of processed cheddar cheese are given in Table 3 after 0, 45, 90 days of storage. Non-significant (p > 0.05) increase was observed in fat contents of processed cheddar cheese samples.^[26]

Table 3 Effect of treatments and storage on protein, fat, and ash contents (g/100 g) of processed cheddar cheese

	Treatments/storage days	0 day	45 days	90 days	Overall means
Protein	T0	23.19 ± 0.45	23.05 ± 0.33	23.09 ± 0.48	23. 45 ± 0.07a
	T1	23.03 ± 0.24	23.06 ± 0.39	23.29 ± 0.45	23.30 ± 0.14ab
	T2	23.25 ± 0.32	23.3 ± 0.42	23.35 ± 0.29	23.11 ± 0.05bc
	T3	23.33 ± 0.56	23.49 ± 0.38	23.52 ± 0.36	23.13 ± 0.1c
	Means	23.20 ± 0.13	23.23 ± 0.21	23.31 ± 0.18
Fat	T0	29.43 ± 0.41	29.46 ± 0.45	29.46 ± 0.37	29.45 ± 0.03
	T1	29.53 ± 0.37	29.56 ± 0.35	29.56 ± 0.32	29.55 ± 0.02
	T2	29.43 ± 0.32	29.46 ± 0.39	29.46 ± 0.36	29.45 ± 0.01
	T3	29.4 ± 0.35	29.43 ± 0.38	29.43 ± 0.42	29.42 ± 0.02
	Means	29.44 ± 0.06	29.47 ± 0.04	29.47 ± 0.05
Ash	T0	3.93 ± 0.19	3.94 ± 0.13	3.94 ± 0.15	3.933 ± 0.04a
	T1	3.93 ± 0.16	3.94 ± 0.17	3.94 ± 0.08	3.934 ± 0.06a
	T2	3.87 ± 0.11	3.88 ± 0.18	3.87 ± 0.17	3.875 ± 0.05b
	T3	3.84 ± 0.08	3.85 ± 0.14	3.83 ± 0.19	3.84 ± 0.08c
	Means	3.893 ± 0.04	3.90 ± 0.04	3.895 ± 0.05

^a,b,cValues in columns and rows with different superscript letters were statistically significant (p < 0.05), while values sharing the letters are non-significant from each other and values with no superscript showing non-significant effect of the factors (i.e., treatment or storage days).

FIGURE 1 Effect of treatments and storage on moisture (g/100) of processed cheddar cheese.It represents mean vales with standard deviation where as T₀: sodium citrate 2%, disodium phosphate 1%; T₁: sodium citrate 2%, disodium phosphate 1%, к-carrageenan 0.1%; T₂: sodium citrate 1.34%, disodium phosphate 0.66%, к-carrageenan 0.15%; T₃: sodium citrate 0.66%, disodium phosphate 0.33%, к-carrageenan 0.2%.

The mean values of protein contents of processed cheddar cheese given in Table 3 revealed significant effect (p < 0.05) of treatments and non-significant effect on storage days and their interaction. The highest mean value was recorded in T₀ (23.45 g/100 g) and lowest value was (23.11 g/100 g) in the T₂ treatment. Less difference was found among the T₁ (0.05 g/100 g) treatment. Largest difference found among T₃ treatment was approximately (0.53 g/100 g). The minute difference among the treatments proved that protein was insignificantly changed during storage. In a study it has been observed that protein undergoes proteolytic changes during storage, it was due to proteolytic microorganism which were present in cheddar cheese.^[23] Difference among treatments may be due to the к-carrageenan that forms the strong network in collaboration with casein protein, that can held the more protein than ESs used alone. This is due to increase in rigidity of network by using к-carrageenan as it can hold the large quantity of protein.^[14]

Data showed the significant effect (p < 0.05) of treatments on ash content and non-significant (p ≥ 0.05) effect during storage days and in interaction of both storage days and treatments. High significance among treatments is due to different levels of к-carrageenan used with gradual decrease in salt content i.e. from 3 to 1 g/100 g in combination. T₃ is showing maximum decrease of ash content (0.01 g/100 g). This might be due to the loss of moisture contents from processed cheddar cheese samples during storage.

Mineral Contents (Na, K, and Ca)

Mean values of sodium, potassium, and calcium contents (mg/100 g) shown in Table 4 revealed significant (p < 0.05) variation in treatments while the non-significant behavior observed during storage. Difference in treatments is due to the decrease in sodium salt (sodium citrate and disodium phosphate). The decrease in potassium content among treatments is due to lesser amounts of salt used in treatments. There was a gradual increase in Ca content during 90 days of storage. The results of calcium content regarding processed cheddar cheese are closer to a previous finding who reported that during ripening there was conversion of insoluble Ca to soluble Ca.^[27]

Table 4 Effect of treatments and storage on sodium, potassium and calcium contents (mg/100 g) of processed cheddar cheese

	Treatments/storage days	0 day	45 days	90 days	Means
Na	T0	1185.0 ± 12.45	1188.0 ± 43.38	1186.3 ± 39.18	1186.4 ± 1.22a
	T1	1183.6 ± 15.55	1186.0 ± 58.54	1184.3 ± 48.41	1184.6 ± 0.98a
	T2	862.0 ± 19.47	869.3 ± 45.35	865.0 ± 42.77	865.4 ± 3.01b
	T3	713.3 ± 28.59	714.0 ± 43.05	715.6 ± 54.34	714.3 ± 0.97c
	Means	985.9 ± 205.18	989.3 ± 205.15	987.3 ± 204.43
K	T0	86.7 ± 14.25	85.0 ± 23.34	85.3 ± 18.56	85.7 ± 0.913a
	T1	84.0 ± 11.29	87.3 ± 21.87	82.7 ± 16.89	84.7 ± 0.928ab
	T2	85.7 ± 9.31	81.3 ± 18.56	82.3 ± 21.38	83.1 ± 0.90ab
	T3	83.0 ± 4.18	81.3 ± 14.39	82.0 ± 26.34	82.1 ± 0.71b
	Means	84.8 ± 0.85	83.75 ± 0.99	83.08 ± 0.56
Ca	T0	445.0 ± 45.55	449.3 ± 38.76	450.6 ± 42.05	448.3 ± 1.04b
	T1	454.3 ± 39.67	456.0 ± 41.48	451.7 ± 41.34	454.0 ± 1.19a
	T2	453.7 ± 42.87	455.0 ± 23.35	453.3 ± 29.49	454.0 ± 0.64a
	T3	448.6 ± 32.58	453.0 ± 43.85	454.0 ± 37.56	451.9 ± 1.21ab
	Means	451.50 ± 1.08	452.3 ± 1.45	452.42 ± 0.77

^a,b,cValues in columns and rows with different superscript letters were statistically significant (p < 0.05), while values sharing the letters are non-significant from each other and values with no superscript showing non-significant effect of the factors (i.e., treatment or storage days).

Meltability

The results of means of meltability of processed cheddar cheese are given in Table 5. Statistical results of meltability of processed cheddar cheese show the highly significant (p ≤ 0.01) effect among treatments and significant (p ≤ 0.05) during storage days while a non-significant effect was observed in combination of both treatments and storage days. The decrease in meltability in treatments is due to the decrease in concentration of ESs and the increase in the concentration of к-carrageenan. A study reported that meltability of the processed cheese is associated with the microstructure of the fat emulsion.^[28] ESs are used for fat emulsion. As in treatments, ESs are replaced by к-carrageenan (act as stabilizer and gel former), it provides a strong gel and the loss of water make a more crumbled gel than sticky one. This may be the reason of decrease in the meltability of processed cheddar cheese samples. The current results regarding decreased meltability correlate with the literature that said that carrageenan interacts with the phosphoprotein (casein) and decreases the meltability of the gel complex.^[29,30]

Table 5 Effect of treatments and storage on meltability (mm) of processed cheddar cheese

Treatments/storage days	0 day	45 days	90 days	Means
T0	36.30 ± 3.15	37.66 ± 3.27	34.30 ± 1.35	35.89 ± 1.49a
T1	34.20 ± 4.21	35.10 ± 4.42	33.33 ± 3.51	34.11 ± 0.68b
T2	32.33 ± 1.19	31.33 ± 2.34	30.33 ± 2.55	31.33 ± 0.81c
T3	30.67 ± 1.12	29.67 ± 2.11	29.50 ± 3.43	29.78 ± 0.68c
Means	33.25 ± 1.97a	33.41 ± 3.11a	31.66 ± 2.06b

^a,b,cValues in columns and rows with different superscript letters were statistically significant (p < 0.05), while values sharing the letters are non-significant from each other and values with no superscript showing non-significant effect of the factors (i.e., treatment or storage days).

Sensory Evaluation

The evaluation of processed cheddar cheese slices was conducted for different sensory attributes like flavor, appearance, firmness, stickiness, crumbliness, sliceability, and overall acceptability, following the 9-point hedonic scales Performa presented to the panelists for recording scores.

The means of all the sensory parameters are provided in Table 6. Appearance is an important property of any edible thing. Processed cheddar cheese with ES has a proper and well-defined shape as compared to that prepared by using к-carrageenan. The reason behind it is the loss in emulsification property of processed cheddar cheese. Processed cheese shows a very little flavor changes during storage indicating that cheese system involved in the air induced changes are heat-labile. Variation in flavor was non-significant. T₁ and T₂ have the highest values of flavor as 7.6 ± 0.2.

Table 6 Means ± SD of various parameters for sensory evaluation of processed cheddar cheese

Parameters/treatments	Appearance	Flavor	Firmness	Stickiness	Crumbliness	Sliceability	Overall acceptability
T0	7.8 ± 0.2	7.4 ± 0.2ab	6.6 ± 0.2b	6.4 ± 0.2c	5.8 ± 0.1b	7.6 ± 0.2a	7.4 ± 0.2a
T1	7.2 ± 0.2	7.6 ± 0.2a	6.4 ± 0.4b	7.0 ± 0.2bc	6.6 ± 0.2b	7.6 ± 0.3a	7.4 ± 0.2a
T2	7.6 ± 0.2	7.6 ± 0.2a	7.8 ± 0.3a	7.4 ± 0.2a	7.2 ± 0.3a	7.6 ± 0.2a	7.6 ± 0.3a
T3	7.4 ± 0.1	7.4 ± 0.2ab	8.0 ± 0.2a	7.8 ± 0.2ab	7.8 ± 0.4c	6.0 ± 0.3b	6.6 ± 0.18b
Means	7.5 ± 0.098	7.5 ± 0.101	7.2 ± 0.18	7.15 ± 0.12	6.95 ± 0.19	7.21 ± 0.19

^a,b,cValues in columns and rows with different superscript letters were statistically significant (p < 0.05), while values sharing the letters are non-significant from each other and values with no superscript showing non-significant effect of the factors (i.e., treatment or storage days).

Our results resemble the previous findings, according to which flavor development is a complex microbiological, biochemical, and chemical process that occur during ripening of the cheese. Glycolysis, lipolysis, and proteolysis are involved in flavor development of the processed cheese. Firmness of the processed cheddar cheese samples was increased to some extent with the increase in the amount of к-carrageenan and decreased at its 0.2% concentration with the decrease in ES.^[31,32] As we decrease the ES concentration, sliceability also decreased and crumbliness and stickiness increased because salt play role in emulsification. Stickiness was increased as the к-carrageenan (hydrocolloids) forms the stronger Na-paracaseinate network than Ca-paracaseinate. T₂ had the best appearance value, i.e. 76±0.2. T₂ was regarded as the best treatment by the judges.

Instrumental Textural Profile Analysis

Hydrocolloids have high impact on textural profile, i.e., hardness, cohesiveness, springiness, chewiness, and gumminess. Mean values of all these parameters are given in Table 7 collectively. The results indicated that increasing concentration of k-carrageenan in processed cheese changes the properties of its gel, which shows higher rigidity. This could be explained by the fact that with increasing concentration of к-carrageenan more intensive interactions between carrageenan chains take place, which leads to the formation of a “denser” (more intensive) network structure.^[33,34] Highest recorded difference between treatments T₀ and T₃ was (1002.7) and least difference was (16.3) between T₂ and T₃.

Table 7 Means ± SD of various parameters for textural profile analysis (TPA) of processed cheddar cheese

Parameters/treatments	Hardness	Cohesiveness	Springiness	Chewiness	Gumminess
T0	973.3 ± 2.90^d	0.94 ± 0.2^a	0.96 ± 0.30	888.23 ± 4.30^c	921.86 ± 2.10^c
T1	1797.0 ± 4.33^c	0.89 ± 0.3^ab	0.98 ± 0.04	1749.36 ± 3.52^a	1774.14. ± 3.19^a
T2	1959.7 ± 2.90^b	0.75 ± 0.3^b	0.98 ± 0.03	1317.34 ± 6.16^ab	1349.05 ± 2.18^ab
T3	1976.0 ± 3.05^a	0.74 ± 0.1^bc	0.99 ± 0.02	1434.17 ± 3.65^b	1449.50 ± 3.75^b
Means	1875.5 ± 3.20	0.83 ± 0.2	0.98 ± 0.03	1347.27 ± 4.40	1373.68 ± 2.8

^a,b,cValues in columns and rows with different superscript letters were statistically significant (p < 0.05), while values sharing the letters are non-significant from each other and values with no superscript showing non-significant effect of the factors (i.e., treatment or storage days).

Mean values of cohesiveness of processed cheddar cheese samples showed highest reduction between T₀ and T₂ while the least difference was between T₀ and T₁. Mean values of cohesiveness depicted the decreasing trend with the increase of к-carrageenan concentration as the spread ability of the end product was decreased.^[33] Mean values of springiness indicate the less variation among treatments as compare to control. Treatments T₀ and T₂ are closely related to one another. T₂ has 0.15 g/100 g addition of к-carrageenan with 1.33 g/100 g salt addition (both disodium phosphate and tri-sodium citrate). The reason behind the lesser difference in springiness of treatments may be the reduced level of ESs. Mean values of chewiness and gumminess showed the increasing trend from the T₀. T₁ had maximum chewiness and gumminess, i.e., 1749.4 ± 3.5 and 1774.1 ± 3.2, respectively. It is due the development of strong/firmer gel by the addition of к-carrageenan. Both factors affect the mouthfeel of the observer.

CONCLUSION

Increased values of acidity and decrease in pH, fat, ash, sodium, potassium, and meltability was observed by the incorporation of к-carrageenan in processed cheddar cheese. However, overall acceptability decreased and in TPA treatments tends to hardened gradually with the addition of к-carrageenan. So some parameters were affected negatively by addition of ҡ-carrageenan, but processed cheddar cheese samples having 0.15% к-carrageenan with 2% ES (1.34% sodium citrate and 0.66% disodium phosphates) were found more acceptable in terms of physico-chemical and sensory attributes as compared to other treatments.