Use of oxidized potato starch as simultaneous fat and casein replacer in analogue mozzarella cheese-Ⅰ: Impact on rheological properties of cheese

The present study investigated the impact of native and oxidized potato starch as casein (15%) and fat (5%) replacer, both separately and simultaneously, in analogue mozzarella cheese (AMC). Oxidation of potato starch resulted in a more hydrophilic character with higher solubility compared to native potato starch which in turn altered casein hydration and resulted in increased stability of oil in water emulsion in cheese. The Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy of cheese showed addition of new peak between (1635–1646) cm−1 owing to interactions between carbonyl group of oxidized starch and casein present in cheese suggesting better stability. Emulsion stability which is usually attributed to formation of spherical fat globules was also visible in scanning electro micrographs of oxidized starch containing cheese. The (G′ Vs. frequency) curve confirms psuedoplastic behavior of AMCs as flow behavior indices ranged between (0.231–0.258) similar to control AMC. Moreover, the cheese made with oxidized potato starch similar to control cheese showed two crossovers between storage and loss moduli during temperature sweep measurements which is associated with melting and then re-hardening of the cheese as temperature increases. This phenomenon was however absent in native starch containing AMCs. Thus, oxidized starch can better imitate casein and fat in mozzarella cheese.