Investigating casein-polymer interactions as a platform technology for cheese for Asian consumers
type: CreativeWork
description: The focus of the global cheese industry on accessing new markets for cheese is driving a greater need for innovation in cheese products. Increasing opportunities for cheese have been identified in many Asian countries, due to factors such as rising income and a change away from traditional lifestyles (e.g., appeal of fast-food chains to young people). The objectives of the work presented in this thesis were: to gain a better understanding of consumers in emerging markets; to identify texture or flavour characteristics of cheese that may be preferred by such consumers; and to explore the potential of incorporation of different non-dairy polymers in different processing steps of cheese manufacturing to achieve such sensory properties. Consumer focus group methodology was applied to understand the preference for, and consumer behaviour towards, cheese products by a cohort of young, internationally mobile Chinese consumers. Participants in the focus groups had general positive expectations towards cheese due to associations with western-style foods and nostalgia; however, many participants had low perceived ability to select cheese and had limited motivation to engage with cheese due to low perceived relevance of cheese to their daily food life. Innovative cheese products such as cheese snacks or cheese energy bars may be developed to better fulfil important choice motives. Participants generally preferred cheese with a mild and milky flavour and a soft texture, which agreed with trends emerged from a parallel literature review. The effects of addition of konjac glucomannan (KG, neutral charge), soy soluble polysaccharides (SP, negatively charged), or chitosan (CH, positively charged) on rennet coagulation and rennet-induced casein gels were investigated to assess the potential of incorporating these polysaccharides prior to rennet coagulation to modify cheese texture. Addition of either KG (0.02%, 0.04%) or SP (0.25%, 0.5%) enhanced rennet coagulation properties by red…
abstract: The focus of the global cheese industry on accessing new markets for cheese is driving a greater need for innovation in cheese products. Increasing opportunities for cheese have been identified in many Asian countries, due to factors such as rising income and a change away from traditional lifestyles (e.g., appeal of fast-food chains to young people). The objectives of the work presented in this thesis were: to gain a better understanding of consumers in emerging markets; to identify texture or flavour characteristics of cheese that may be preferred by such consumers; and to explore the potential of incorporation of different non-dairy polymers in different processing steps of cheese manufacturing to achieve such sensory properties. Consumer focus group methodology was applied to understand the preference for, and consumer behaviour towards, cheese products by a cohort of young, internationally mobile Chinese consumers. Participants in the focus groups had general positive expectations towards cheese due to associations with western-style foods and nostalgia; however, many participants had low perceived ability to select cheese and had limited motivation to engage with cheese due to low perceived relevance of cheese to their daily food life. Innovative cheese products such as cheese snacks or cheese energy bars may be developed to better fulfil important choice motives. Participants generally preferred cheese with a mild and milky flavour and a soft texture, which agreed with trends emerged from a parallel literature review. The effects of addition of konjac glucomannan (KG, neutral charge), soy soluble polysaccharides (SP, negatively charged), or chitosan (CH, positively charged) on rennet coagulation and rennet-induced casein gels were investigated to assess the potential of incorporating these polysaccharides prior to rennet coagulation to modify cheese texture. Addition of either KG (0.02%, 0.04%) or SP (0.25%, 0.5%) enhanced rennet coagulation properties by red…
author: Ouyang, Hao
language: en
keywords: Cheese, Cheese structure, Polysaccharide, Emulsion gel, Rennet coagulation, Asian consumers, Salty whey
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
date published: 2024
date modified: 2026-07-24T01:47:43Z
provider: University College Cork
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University College Cork

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: https://hdl.handle.net/10468/17046