Dorota Cais-Sokolińska

Effect of technological factors on water activity of extruded corn product with an addition of whey proteins

BACKGROUND The value of water activity in extruded products constitutes a significant indicator of their quality and stability. The state, in which water is found in extruded products, is an indicator of the conducted extrusion process and the used raw material. MATERIAL AND METHODS The aim of the study was to assess water activity in extruded products made from a mixture of com grits with 12.5 and 15.0% moisture contents and different level of addition of whey proteins. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION It was shown that the degree of mixture moisture content did not have an effect on the value of aw in produced puffs. The greatest difference was recorded when introducing 3% proteins in comparison to aw of puffs produced solely from corn grits. Δaw = 0.023. The greater the content of whey proteins, the lower the aw value. A 3-month storage at a temperature of 18 ±0.5°C influenced aw of snacks produced from a mixture with a higher moisture content.

The effect of smoking on changes in functional attributes of Mozzarella cheese

Smoking of cheeses significantly modifies not only sensory attributes, but also determines the form of their further utilisation, packaging method and shelf life. The aim of thIS study was to evaluate functional characteristics of smoked and unsmoked Mozzarella cheeses subjected to 4-week storage. It was found that smoked cheese contained 7% less water than unsmoked cheese. Meltability of smoked cheese before storage was 2 times smaller than that of unsmoked cheese, but after 4 weeks, meltability was 21% greater. Smoked cheese not subjected to storage was 2.2 times harder than unsmoked cheese. During storage, hardness of smoked cheese decreased 4.6-fold, while that of unsmoked cheese only 1.1-fold. Storage time had an increase in stretchability of unsmoked and smoked cheeses by 4.2 and 14.9%, respectively. Keywords: Mozzarella, meltability, texture