Journal of Food Quality and Hazards Control

en Soft Cheese-Making with Buttermilk: Physico-chemical, Sensory, Textural Properties, and Microstructure Characterization تخصصي Special Original article Original article <div style="text-align: justify;">Background: Buttermilk, a significant by-product of the dairy industry, is acknowledged as a beneficial food due to its content of water-soluble vitamins, polar lipids, and milk fat globule membranes. This research is focused on investigating the potential of buttermilk as a substitute in the production of a novel soft cheese type ‘‘camembert’’. Methods: A total of 12 cheese samples of camembert cheese, both with and without buttermilk, were prepared and subjected to a series of physico-chemical analyses in October 2023 to measure protein, fat, total solids, pH, and production yield. Texture Profile Analysis was applied to evaluate textural characteristics, and the microstructure was examined using Scanning Electron Microscopy. A hedonic scale was employed in sensory evaluation to measure taste intensity. Results: The sample containing 90% cow's milk and 10% buttermilk exhibited the most significant (p≤0.05) physico-chemical characteristics as production yield of 45.33%±0.710, protein content of 28.9%±0.58, fat content of 24.88%±0.026, total solids of 54.62±0.23, and a pH of 6.42±0.58. Sensory evaluations demonstrated that camembert samples containing buttermilk were distinguished by high sensory quality and satisfactory taste profiles. In addition, a dense and tightly fused protein matrix was observed in the microstructure of the buttermilk fortified cheese. The results also emphasized that the acidic nature of buttermilk significantly affected the production yield, total solids content, and textural characteristics, evidenced by a hardness of 3.36 N and fracturability of 1.75 N. Conclusion: The results validate the use of buttermilk as an effective alternative in the production of a new type of soft cheese, manifesting improved sensory, structural, and physico-chemical characteristics. This investigation supports the innovative utilization of buttermilk in cheese production, potentially offering a valuable avenue for dairy industry by-products. DOI: 10.18502/jfqhc.11.2.15647</div> Buttermilk, Cheese, Microscopy, Electron, Scanning, Dairying, Milk Fat Globule 82 93 http://jfqhc.ssu.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-1658-2&slc_lang=en&sid=1 B. Meghzili meghzili.batoul@umc.edu.dz 0000-0001-7554-4342 Yes Agro-Food Engineering Laboratory (GENIAAL), Institute de la Nutrition, de l'Alimentation et des Technologies Agro-Alimentaires (INATAA) University Mentouri Constantine 1 (UFMC1), Route Ain El Bey, Constantine-25000, Algeria F.A. Benyahia No Agro-Food Engineering Laboratory (GENIAAL), Institute de la Nutrition, de l'Alimentation et des Technologies Agro-Alimentaires (INATAA) University Mentouri Constantine 1 (UFMC1), Route Ain El Bey, Constantine-25000, Algeria K. Szkolnicka No Department of Toxicology, Dairy Technology and Food Storage, Faculty of Food Sciences and Fisheries, West Pomeranian University of Technology, Szczecin, Poland O. Aissaoui-Zitoun No Agro-Food Engineering Laboratory (GENIAAL), Institute de la Nutrition, de l'Alimentation et des Technologies Agro-Alimentaires (INATAA) University Mentouri Constantine 1 (UFMC1), Route Ain El Bey, Constantine-25000, Algeria E. Foufou No Department of nutrition and food technology, University of Jordan, Amman11942, Jordan