Revitalizing traditional Turkish tort cheese into spreadable form: Enhancing bioactive and sensory attributes with utilization of carob molasses pulp that is a food waste.

Tort cheese is a traditional cheese that is a gastronomically valuable product, especially in the Mediterranean Region of Turkey, obtained by prolonged boiling of whey, which is one of the most important dairy byproducts. Due to the difficulty of production and its short shelf life, this cheese, which is produced in limited quantities and has low nutritional value, is among the forgotten products. In this study, a spreadable new cheese formulation was developed to increase the edibility and nutritional value of traditional Tort cheese. In this context, pulp (carob molasses pulp (CMP)) from carob molasses production was added to the cheese in different proportions (5%, 10%, and 15%), and some physicochemical, textural, and sensory properties of the cheeses were examined. As a result of the research, it was determined that the addition of CMP caused a decrease in the pH, fat, and protein content of the cheeses, while significantly increasing the dry matter, acidity, ash, carbohydrate, antioxidant activity, and total phenolic content. With CMP addition, the hardness and water-holding capacity of the cheeses increased, while spreadability, adhesiveness, and syneresis decreased. As the concentration of CMP increased, the * and * values decreased, while the * value increased. In terms of sensory properties, the least preferred sample was the control, while the sample with 5% CMP addition, which is the most spreadable cheese, was the most preferred. As a result, a new product with lower fat content that was more durable and stable, rich in bioactive properties, and with improved sensory attributes was developed.