Fat-Reduced Cream Cheeses

Abstract

Cream cheese is a fresh acid coagulated cheese product with soft and spreadable texture, which is acidified by mesophilic lactic acid starter culture. Variants of some of the soft, fresh cheese (e.g., Quark, Cottage cheese, Fromage frais, Bakers cheese, Queso Blanco, and Neufchatel) are also produced from acidification of milk to pH 4.6 which causes the casein to coagulate at their isoelectric point (Fox, Guinee, Cogan, & Mcsweeney, 2017). Regular cream cheese contains a higher percentage of fat, minimum of 33% in the US and 30% in Canada compared to other types of cheese (Phadungath, 2005). Due to high-fat content in cream cheese and the increased consumer awareness of the health risks associated with high dietary fat, the demand for low-fat foods, including cheese, has grown substantially. Although fat reduction may provide consumers with healthier products, the changes in sensory and textural characteristics of low-fat cream cheese, compared to its full-fat counterpart, may influence the consumer’s response.