Massey Documents by Type

Permanent URI for this communityhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/294

Browse

Filters

20262

Settings

Author: search.filters.author.Waterland MSubject: search.filters.subject.Hybrid cheese

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Distinguishing plant and milk proteins and their interactions in hybrid cheese using confocal Raman microscopy with machine learning
    (Elsevier Limited, United Kingdom, 2026-01-01) Lu D; McGoverin C; Roy D; Acevedo-Fani A; Singh H; Waterland M; Zheng Y; Ye A
    The increasing demand for plant-based alternatives to milk protein has led to the development of hybrid processed cheese analogues (HPCAs) combining plant proteins and casein. However, their complex microstructure and molecular interactions remain poorly understood. This study integrated confocal Raman spectroscopy with advanced machine learning for high-resolution spatial mapping and molecular characterization of HPCAs containing mung bean protein isolate (MPI) or hemp protein isolate (HPI) with casein. This integration helped distinguish between protein sources and elucidate structural changes. The addition of casein changed the HPI structure, promoting structural disorder, disulfide bond rearrangement, and a sharp decrease in the tyrosine doublet ratio from 4.5 in HPI100 to 1.2 in HPI50. Conversely, casein interaction with MPI led to microstructural segregation and changes of β-sheet content (from 53 % in MPI100 to 20 % in MPI30). This integrated method represents a powerful tool for analysing protein structure and interactions in complex food systems.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Physical properties and microstructure of hybrid processed cheeses formulated with plant protein and milk protein ingredients
    (Elsevier Ltd, 2026-02-01) Lu D; Roy D; Acevedo-Fani A; Singh H; Waterland M; Ye A
    Hybrid processed cheese analogues (HPCAs) containing either mung bean (MPI) or hemp protein (HPI) with rennet casein (RC) at various ratios were prepared and analysed to understand their spatial and microstructural distribution and related physical properties, such as rheological properties, texture profile, meltability, and stretchability. In addition, protein composition and secondary protein structure were studied using SDS–PAGE and FTIR spectroscopy, while CLSM and TEM were employed to visualise the microstructure of the cheese matrix. Results indicated that plant protein types and concentration significantly affected the physical properties and microstructure of HPCAs. The addition of 30 % or more plant protein altered the physical and textural properties as well as the microstructure of the cheese analogues, with a decrease in β-sheet content and an increase in random coil structures. Mung bean protein–based HPCAs exhibit greater stretchability (e.g. 93.8 mm in 30 % MPI vs 41.53 mm in 30 % HPI), rheological, and textural properties, but not meltability (e.g. 1 % in 70 % MPI vs 48 % in 70 % HPI), compared with the hemp protein system at the same mixing ratios. This difference can be attributed to the size of the plant protein aggregation. All data were analysed by one-way ANOVA with Tukey's test (p < 0.05). These findings deepen our understanding of plant protein-based and hybrid cheeses, paving the way for optimised plant-based dairy alternatives.