Texturized egg albumen as an alternative to traditional paneer: Evaluation of quality and shelf stability

A shelf stable, low fat ( 1%) paneer like product was made from egg albumen. This texturized egg albumen product, labeled as egg albumen paneer (EAP), was developed by texturizing liquid egg albumen by incorporating optimized quantities of wheat flour and rice flour. Dehydrated EAP was packed in metalised polyester pouches, stored at ambient temperature (27±2°C) for 6 months and sampled periodically for quality evaluation. The protein content of dehydrated EAP was 21.08±1.35%. The shelf stability of the product was achieved by keeping a moisture content (9.68±1.02%) and water activity (0.54±0.02) low. A significant increase (p≤0.05) in the volume of EAP was observed on rehydration. The rehydration capacity was 84.10±5.35% for the product. During first three months of storage, there was a marked change (p≤0.05) in rehydration ratio; however, further storage did not affect it. Storage period did not significantly (p≥0.05) affect the lipid oxidation parameters, physical properties, textural profile and colour traits of the product. The standard plate counts and yeast and mould counts fluctuated within the range of 0.90±0.05 - 3.25±0.05 and 0.84±0.04 - 2.52±0.33 log cfu/g, respectively during storage. Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli, Salmonella and Shigella, however, were not detected in any sample throughout the storage period. Sensory evaluation revealed that rehydrated paneer, the product had excellent texture, and was very close to fresh ones (before drying) during storage for six months. An average sensory score were 7.5 to 8.7 on 9 point hedonic scale indicated the product was liked very much.