In this work, spreadable cheese was enriched with flours from by-products (red and white grape pomace, tomato peel, broccoli, corn bran, and artichokes) as sources of fibres and antioxidant compounds. The physicochemical and the sensory properties of all the cheese samples were analysed. Results revealed that total phenolic content, flavonoids, and antioxidant activity of samples containing grape pomace significantly increased, followed by broccoli, artichoke, corn bran, and tomato peel by-products, compared to the control cheese. Specifically, cheeses containing white and red grape pomace recorded high phenolic content (2.74 ± 0.04 and 2.34 ± 0.15 mg GAEs/g dw, respectively) compared to the control (0.66 mg GAEs/g dw).
Keywords: bioactive compounds; by-products; functional food; spreadable cheese; waste reduction.