2024 Technical Program
Protein and Co-Products
Sustainable Protein
2024 Award Winner
Stacie Dobson, MSc (she/her/hers)
PhD Candidate
University of Guelph
University of Guelph
Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Jarvis Stobbs
Plant Imaging Lead – Associate Scientist
Canadian Light Source Synchrotron, Canada
Alejandro G. Marangoni, PhD (he/him/his)
O.C., F.R.S.C. Professor and Tier I Canada Research Chair
University of Guelph
Guelph, ON, Canada
Commercial cheddar, commercial plant-based, and novel high protein plant-based cheese were compared for their differences in functionality. Dairy cheese exhibited the best melt, reaching upwards of 185% spread, followed by high protein plant-based at 100% and commercial plant-based at 10% sample melt. The stretch of the product followed the same order with 95mm, 40mm and 8mm of stretch, respectively. The samples were studied using synchrotron X-ray computed tomography to analyze the distribution and size of the fat globules. Under cold testing, dairy cheese demonstrated the smallest fat particle size, ranging from 4-8µm and displayed distinct protein aggregates with identifiable calcium molecules at bridging sites between aggregates. The commercial plant-based product displayed a homogeneous distribution of fat globules ranging from 21-5µm in size, with additional native starch granules distributed throughout the sample. The novel formulation displayed a heterogeneous size distribution of fat globules, ranging from 130-6µm in size, with additionally dispersed protein globules and a significant incorporation of small air bubbles. The difference in structures became more evident after heating. Dairy cheese melted into a continuous system where the protein aggregates became interconnected, and the fat globules coalesced. The structural collapse and melted fat are essential for the melt and stretch of dairy cheese. The commercial plant-based cheese had limited connectivity of the continuous phase, and fat coalescence was limited. Most of the sample maintained a high density of small fat globules, as observed in the cold-imaged sample. The limited connectivity aligns with poor sample melt and stretch, as the continuous phase has too much residual structure. The novel cheese formulation, however, displayed network collapse and coalescence of the fat globules. The structures were similar to melted dairy cheese, where we hypothesize the ability for the continuous background to become interconnected after heating allows for superior cheese melt and stretch.