Johnson Adejuyitan, Ezekiel Tejumola Otunola, Funke Moyinwin:
Development and Evaluation of Cheese-like Product from the Blend of Soy Milk and Coconut Milk

JOHNSON ADEJUYITAN, EZEKIEL TEJUMOLA OTUNOLA, FUNKE MOYINWIN
Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Food Science and Engineering, Nigeria

Cheese a popular milk product all over the world is also popularly known as `wara' in Nigeria, its imitation from soybean called soybean `wara' also known as `beske' in some parts of the country is nutritious and is prepared by curdling of the milk from soybean. Soybean (Glycine max), the basic raw material for the product, has great nutritional (source of proteins, minerals, etc.) and therapeutic values (e.g. prevention of chronic diseases such as menopausal disorder, cancer, atherosclerosis and osteoporosis), and it is also beneficial in products like soy milk and soy cheese. Coconut (Cocos nucifera) milk is being used by confectionaries, bakeries, biscuits and ice cream industries worldwide to enhance flavor and taste of various products. Coconut milk has been been reported to be high in minerals especially and vitamin content while total saturated fat was 10% of the total energy. In the light of this the research was taken to promote the use of coconut in the production of `Wara' (Curds). This was done by producing `wara' from the blend of soy milk and coconut milk extract. Samples of `wara' were produced using soymilk and coconut milk at different ratio, 90:10, 80:20,100 Soy, 70:30 and 50:50 (Soy: Coconut) respectively. The samples were subjected to analysis for proximate composition and sensory evaluation using standard methods.

The sensory evaluation results revealed that all the samples were acceptable, with the sample comprising of 50% soymilk and 50% coconut milk being the most acceptable with a protein content of 19.37$\pm$0.15, a fat content of 7.15 $\pm$0.02, a fiber content of 0.55 $\pm$ 0.01, a ash content of 1.64 $\pm$ 0.04, and a moisture content of 50.34 $\pm$ 0.02. It was therefore recommended that acceptable `wara' could be produced from soymilk and coconut milk blends.

Keywords: Cheese, coconut, milk, sensory evaluation, soybean

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Contact Address: Johnson Adejuyitan, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Food Science and EngineeringIkoyi Road, 24188 Ogbomoso, Nigeria, e-mail: jadejuyitanyahoo.co.uk