Cheese sauces: Characteristics of ingredients, manufacturing methods, microbiological and sensory aspects

During recent years, companies producing dairy products have observed an increase in the consumption of cheese sauces. The purpose of this review is to provide a critical overview of the most important properties of cheese sauces: ingredients, additives, processes, different methods used for their manufacturing, microbiological and sensory aspects, all of which is interesting both for the food industry and consumers. Because it is expected that the consumption of such products will increase, it is worth getting acquainted with current production processes for cheese sauces and the possibilities of modifying them in terms of consumer preferences, trends, and health-promoting properties. Practical applications This review shows how the interactions among ingredients, the usage of hydrocolloids, emulsifying salts, and other functional components, and processing conditions can be handled to obtain cheese sauces with targeted characteristics. Moreover, advancements in recent years have enabled cheesemakers to increase the quality of cheese sauces in terms of nutritional value. These aspects could be interesting for the food industry (product development technologists), scientists, and consumers.