Quality and nutritional characteristics of traditional curd cheese enriched with thermo‐coagulated acid whey protein and indigenous Lactococcus lactis strain

The objectives of this study were as follows: (i) to manufacture thermo‐coagulated protein (TAWP matrix) from fresh acid whey; (ii) to use thermo‐coagulated acid whey protein (TAWP) as support for indigenous Lactococcus lactis as a protective and flavour enhancing strain; (iii) to replace part of the curd of traditional curd cheese with TAWP matrix and with TAWP + L. lactis matrix; and (iv) to evaluate the effects of this supplementation on the nutritional, physicochemical, microbiological, and sensory parameters of the obtained cheeses during their refrigerated storage. Summary Consumer interest in a healthy lifestyle and health‐promoting natural products is a major driving force for the increasing global demand for bio‐functional and sustainable dairy foods. Supplementation of curd cheese with thermo‐coagulated acid whey protein (TAWP) led to 8–10% higher contents of moisture, 23–31% of lactose, 12–13% of unsaturated, 5–6% of monounsaturated, 63% of polyunsaturated, and 3–4% of long‐chain fatty acids. Lipid quality indices – TI, AI, h/H, and Omega 6/3 among others, were also significantly better than those of control cheese. The addition of indigenous Lactococcus lactis strain enhanced the flavour of cheese samples, decreased the counts of yeast and mould up to 1 log cfu g−1 after 10 days of storage. The replacement of curd with TAWP resulted in novel cheese with overall sensory perception above 77 points and added nutritional and functional value, however, body and texture parameters of modified cheese samples require an improvement.