Optimizing the Coagulation Potential of Pineapple ( <i>Ananas comosus</i> ) Extract for Chickpea Cheese Production

In recent years, the market demand for plant-based cheese analogue is growing. This study aimed on the development and characterization of chickpea cheese coagulated with pineapple (<i>Ananas comosus</i>) extract. Box-Behnken design was employed to optimize the experimental conditions. According to the experimental design, the optimum point was obtained at 0.24 milk to extract ratio, 40°C coagulation temperature and 58.72 min coagulation time. The yield, hardness, cohesiveness, and adhesiveness, L*, a* and b*, and pH of chickpea cheese using the optimized formula were estimated to be 27.96%, 35.25 N, 0.59 N, 2.04 N, 81.83, 1.91, 30 and 5.74 respectively. Pineapple (<i>Ananas comosus</i>) extract showed high milk clotting activity U/mL (50.18 ± 0.3 U/mL), inhibition zone against <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> (13.99 ± 0.02) and <i>Escherichia coli</i> (6.45 ± 0.05). As the DPPH and ABTS assays pineapple extract exhibited notable antioxidant activity with IC50 values of 233.021 and 227.33 μg/mL, respectively. The yield, hardness, cohesiveness, and adhesiveness, for optimized cheese (27.54% ± 0.1%, 35.04 ± 0.01 N, 0.57 ± 0.01 N, 2.14 ± 0.01 N) and (18.89% ± 0.13%, 24.22 ± 0.01 N, 0.29 ± 0.01 N and 1.68 ± 0.01 N) for control cheese (chickpea cheese without pineapple (<i>Ananas comosus</i>) extract) was observed, respectively. The protein content of optimized cheese was 9.77 ± 0.05 whereas the control cheese was 6.2 ± 0.03. Addition of pineapple extract significantly increased (<i>p</i> > 0.05) the nutritional composition (Potassium, Magnesium, and Calcium) of optimized cheese. The sensory properties for optimized cheese were 4.5 for appearance and aroma; 4.4 for texture, taste and overall acceptability while the control cheese obtained 3.2 for appearance, 3.1 for aroma, 2.8 for texture, 3.9 for taste and 2.7 for overall acceptability. Generally, the study offers innovative utilization of pineapple (<i>A. comosus</i>) extract as a natural coagulant to develop chickpea cheese offering a nutritious and sustainable option that aligns growing demand for plant-based dairy products.