Effect of whey protein-iron based edible coating on the quality of Paneer and process optimisation

Whey protein concentrate (WPC)-based edible coating containing one of the four different iron salts was used to enhance the nutritional quality of Paneer in the study. Ferric ammonium citrate containing WPC coating solutions decreased the L* but increased a* and b*. Principal component analysis identified three significant principal components that accounted for 88.85% of the variation in the sensory and instrumental colour data. Response surface methodology predicted that maximum iron content in Paneer (93.5ppm) could be achieved with 100mL of dipping volume, 1.5cm of cube size and 10-min dipping time as processing parameters.