Preparation and evaluation of goat cream cheese analogue for phenylketonuria

The primary treatment for individuals with phenylketonuria (PKU) is a lifetime diet with low phenylalanine (Phe) to achieve neurological health. The objective of this study was to make a highly nutritious and palatable low-Phe cream cheese analogue based on the partial replacement of fresh goat cream cheese with two levels of glycomacropeptide (GMP; 7 or 10%), GUM (0.6 or 0.8), nondairy creamer (0.5 or 2%) and whey protein concentrate (WPC; 0 or 2%). The chemical composition, texture, viscosity, protein digestibility and sensory attributes of the resulting cheeses were evaluated. Incorporation of the GMP at different levels significantly changed the chemical properties of the cheese. With increased levels of GMP and GUM, viscosity and firmness significantly increased as the protein–protein and protein–gum interaction produced stronger gels in comparison with the systems containing nondairy creamer and WPC due to their inactive filler, whereas adhesiveness decreased. Sensory characteristics of cheese indicated that formula made with high concentration of variables seems to be superior for PKU patients, which contained 12.44 mg Phe per gram of protein, and 82.4% protein digestibility after 6 h of enzymatic hydrolysis. According to the results, the method used in this study can be employed in achieving cream cheese analogue with reduced Phe content, appropriate for PKU patients.