Processed cheese is manufactured by mixing natural cheeses with emulsifying salts and other ingredients and heating under agitation to produce a homogeneous product. Processed cheese, processed cheese food, and processed cheese spread are classified in the US standards for processed cheese. The functional properties of processed cheese, such as firmness and meltability, are regarded as a quality indicator assessing overall cheese quality and consumer preference. Various analytical methods have been developed to determine the functional properties of processed cheese. In this review, the classification and functional properties of processed cheeses are described and analytical tools for evaluating the functional properties of processed cheese are discussed.

• Ho-Kyung Ha(Dept. of Animal Bioscience (Insti. of Agric. & Life Sci.), Gyeongsang National Univ.)
• Mee-Ryung Lee(Dept. of Food and Nutrition, Daegu University)
• Chi-Won Noh(Gyeongsangnam-do Agricultural Research & Extension Services)
• Jin-Wook Kim(Dept. of Animal Bioscience (Insti. of Agric. & Life Sci.), Gyeongsang National Univ.)
• Won-Jae Lee(Dept. of Animal Bioscience (Insti. of Agric. & Life Sci.), Gyeongsang National Univ.) Corresponding author