polymers Article Manufacture of Reduced Fat White-Brined Cheese with the Addition of β-Glucans Biobased Polysaccharides as Textural Properties Improvements Efthymia Kondyli 1,*, Eleni C. Pappa 1 , Alexandra Kremmyda 2, Dimitris Arapoglou 3, Maria Metafa 3, Christos Eliopoulos 3 and Cleanthes Israilides 3 1 Dairy Research Department, Institute of Technology of Agricultural Products, Hellenic Agricultural Organization-DEMETER, Katsikas, 45221 Ioannina, Greece;
[email protected] 2 Division of Food, Nutrition and Dietetics, School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE12 5RD, UK;
[email protected] 3 Institute of Technology of Agricultural Products, Hellenic Agricultural Organisation-DEMETER, 1 S.Venizelou, 14123 Lycovrysi, Greece;
[email protected] (D.A.);
[email protected] (M.M.);
[email protected] (C.E.);
[email protected] (C.I.) * Correspondence: kondyliefi@gmail.com; Tel.: +30-265-109-4780 Received: 17 September 2020; Accepted: 6 November 2020; Published: 10 November 2020 Abstract: β-Glucan, isolated from the mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus, at a concentration of 0.4%, was used in the manufacture of reduced-fat white-brined cheese from sheep milk. Control reduced-fat cheese was also produced from the same milk without the addition of β-glucan. The resultant cheeses were examined for their physicochemical characteristics, color and textural properties, and level of proteolysis and lipolysis. Furthermore, cheeses were evaluated organoleptically. In general, there were no statistical differences in the physicochemical characteristics and proteolysis levels found between both cheeses. The addition of β-glucan improved textural properties, and the cheeses received favorable grades for all the organoleptic characteristics. There were no flavor defects (such as a bitter taste) described by the panellists in this study.