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Increasing soy protein isolate content may be a practical and cost-effective means to control the functional properties of imitation pizza cheese. Imitation cheeses containing 2, 3 and 5% (w/w) soy protein isolate as a partial caseinate substitute were manufactured and dynamic rheology of these products were compared to a control (0% w/w soy protein isolate) in temperature sweep analysis. The dynamic rheological properties of caseinate-based imitation cheeses containing various concentrations of soy protein isolate were investigated using a strain-controlled rheometer. The storage modulus (G’), the loss modulus (G”) and the loss angle (Tan‌) were measured as a function of temperature (35–100°C). The storage modulus and loss modulus of imitation cheeses was significantly decreased (P0.05) at all examined temperatures (35–100‌) with the inclusion of soy protein isolate. Inclusion of soy protein isolate significantly increased imitation cheese peak Tan‌ values compared to control (P0.05), and the inclusion of 5% (w/w) soy protein isolate as a partial caseinate substitute had the greatest effect. In sensory evaluation, in terms of texture and mouthfeel, flavour and total acceptance the highest score belonged to control, while in all of samples lowest score observed in sample containing 5% w/w soy protein isolate. The results of this study showed that varying the level of soy protein isolate altered dynamic rheological properties as a function of temperature and thus the functionality (for example, meltability), as well as sensory attributes of imitation pizza cheeses.

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Nowadays, cakes play an important role in feeding the people around the world, so that the wide types of cakes with the variety of flavors and nutritional value are produced. In this study, wheat flour was substituted with Phaseolus vulgaris flour at different levels (0, 15, 30 and 45 wt%) in order to enrich the cake. Also, some physical and sensory properties of the dough and cake were evaluated. The results showed that with increasing the level of Phaseolus vulgaris flour, the consistency of the dough and the moisture content of the cake samples were significantly reduced (P <0.05), while the minimum specific volume of the cakes was obtained when 15% of the wheat flour was replaced with Phaseolus vulgaris flour. According to the sensory evaluation results, the highest acceptance points were obtained for the control sample and the sample containing 15% Phaseolus vulgaris flour. Based on the results of this study, the sample containing 15% Phaseolus vulgaris flour had the best qualitative and sensory characteristics. Therefore, by replacing 15% wheat flour with Phaseolus vulgaris flour, a nourishing sponge cake with sensory and physical characteristics similar to the control sample could be produced.

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Shelf life is the amount of time that corresponds to an acceptable reduction in food quality under certain conditions. This feature depends on various intrinsic and environmental factors such as the nature of the food, storage processes, coating and the type of packaging, and it affects the stability of the product. The ability to estimate shelf life is of considerable commercial value, but there is no reliable method for this purpose for fresh pistachios. The aim of this study was to create mathematical models to predict the shelf life of food, using Badami's fresh pistachio samples coated with chitosan edible coating in different concentrations (0, 1, and 1.5%) under three atmospheres including ambient atmospheric condition, passive MAP, and active MAP. The shelf life study was performed at 5°C and a multivariate prediction of instrumental and sensorial firmness was performed through kinetic models. In this study, fresh pistachios coated with 1.5% chitosan under active MAP had the highest estimated shelf life (86 days). Also, obtained models were able to estimate the softening time to the end-point of shelf life in different conditions of coating and packaging of fresh pistachios.