Influência do espessante na textura de queijo petit suisse sabor açaí (Euterpe oleracea Mart.)

Abstract

Petit suisse is considered a cheese with low firmness, compared to other cheeses, whose characteristic can be modified with the addition of thickeners. Due to its creamy consistency and delicate flavor, it is commonly added with fruit or fruit pulp. Thus, the objective of this work was to indicate the best thickener to be used in the preparation of petit suisse açaí flavor cheese based on physical chemical and texture parameters and on visual aspects. Three petit suisse formulations were made, which differed only in the thickener used: formulation with xanthan gum (F1), with gelatin (F2) and with a xanthan gum and gelatin mix (F3). Moisture, protein, pH and the texture parameters (firmness, adhesiveness, elasticity, cohesiveness, guminess and chewability) were analyzed. There was no significant difference in the moisture, protein and pH characteristics between the formulations, varying from 62.03 to 62.20, from 6.41 to 6.54, and from 4.63 to 4.69, respectively. As for texture, it was observed that the processed cheeses showed a significant difference (p < 0.05) for all parameters analyzed, in which the formulation F1 was the one that most differed from the others, except for cohesiveness. Formulations F1 and F3 were smoother and F2 was grainier. It was concluded that the use of the xanthan gum and gelatin mix in the petit suisse cheese (F3) was better than the addition of these thickeners alone, since the texture profile of F2 and F3 was similar and the visual appearance of F3 indicated better aspect of that cheese.