Production of UF-soft cheese using probiotic bacteria and Aloe vera pulp as a good source of nutrients

Abstract

The current study proposes to produce a UF- soft cheese by incorporated with Aloe vera pulp at the levels of (5, 10, and 15 g/100 g) milk retentate and probiotic cultures. The nutritional properties of the Aloe vera pulp and its effect on the viability of lactic acid bacteria were analyzed. Chemical properties, rheological analysis, sensory characteristics, and verify the viability of probiotic bacteria in the cheese during cold storage for 4 weeks were evaluated. The results indicated that Aloe vera pulp possessed excellent quantities of water-soluble vitamins such as (B1) 9.73 mg/g, (B2) 141.2 mg/g, and (B3) 4.63 mg/g along with a high content of maltose and fructose as disaccharides and galactose as monosaccharide. Moreover, adding 10% Aloe vera pulp in the MRS medium leads to the proliferation of the counts of different lactic acid cultures more than one log cycle. The total solids, protein, pH, and fat content of UF-cheese decreased significantly (P < 0.05) with the increased percentage of added Aloe vera pulp. Also, the treatments fortified with 15% Aloe vera pulp increased the probiotics counts around 1.5 log cycles at the finale of the storage period compared by control. The hardness decreased with the increase in the percentage of added Aloe vera pulp in cheese, while it increased with the progress of the storage period. The sensory analysis of cheese supplemented with 15% Aloe vera pulp and stored for 4 weeks had the best sensory properties and good acceptable.