# Fermented Cashew Nut Cheese Alternative Supplemented with _Chondrus crispus_ and _Porphyra_ sp.
## 3 Results and Discussion
### Color  
The color of FCNCAs was significantly influenced by adding seaweeds (Table 3). The \(p\)-values are presented in the Supplementary Materials (Table S4). Lightness (\(L^{*}\)) is significantly different for FCNCA-C vs. FCNCA-CC, FCNCA-C vs. FCNCA-P (\(p\) = 0.0002), and FCNCA-CC vs. FCNCA-P (\(p\) = 0.0012). Fermented cashew nut cheese alternative with _Porphyra_ sp. (FCNCA-P) recorded the lowest value (38.30) for \(L^{*}\), followed by FCNCA-CC (43.77), with the highest value for FCNCA-C (53.33), i.e., the pigments from red seaweeds affected the lightness of FCNCAs, especially _Porphyra_ sp. The redness to greenness (\(a^{*}\)) shows significant differences among all the samples (\(p\) = 0.0002). Fermented cashew nut cheese alternative with _C. crispus_ (FCNCA-CC) exhibits the lowest value (3.19), followed by FCNCA-P (6.68), with the highest value for FCNCA-C (10.56). Seaweeds of the division Rhodophyta are a valuable source of chlorophyll \(a\) and \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c} \hline \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**Parameters**} & **Control** & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**Supplemented Products**} \\ \cline{2-4}  & **FCNCA-C** & **FCNCA-CC** & **FCNCA-P** \\ \hline \(L^{*}\) & 53.33 \(\pm\) 1.91 1  & 3.77 \(\pm\) 2.25 2  & 38.30 \(\pm\) 2.21 3  \\ \(a^{*}\) & 10.56 \(\pm\) 0.47 4  & 3.19 \(\pm\) 0.50 2 3  & 6.68 \(\pm\) 0.94 4 \\ \(b^{*}\) & 25.74 \(\pm\) 0.46 4  & 15.62 \(\pm\) 2.28 4 & 13.71 \(\pm\) 1.43 4  & 27.83 \(\pm\) 0.52 4 & 15.95 \(\pm\) 2.29 4  & 15.95 \(\pm\) 2.29 4 & 15.26 \(\pm\) 1.50 4  \\ _WI_ & 45.67 \(\pm\) 1.88 4 4 & 41.55 \(\pm\) 2.16 4  & 36.44 \(\pm\) 2.46 4  \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 3: Color parameters of fermented cashew nut cheese alternatives: fermented cashew nut cheese alternative control (FCNCA-C); fermented cashew nut cheese alternative with _Chondrus crispus_ (FCNCA-CC); and fermented cashew nut cheese alternative with _Porphyra_ sp. (FCNCA-P) *. \(d\), phycobilins (allophycocyanin (APC), R-phycoerythrin (R-PE), R-phycocyanin (R-PC)), carotenoids (\(\alpha\)-, and \(\beta\)-carotene), and xanthophylls (lutein) which influenced the color of FCNCAs [41,42]. _C. crispus_ has a lower value of total pigment content (0.52 mg/g), with \(\beta\)-carotene (73.76%) as the main pigment, followed by chlorophyll \(a\) (26.17%) and lutein (0.061%) [43]. However, in dried form (DF) and after hydration treatment (HT), \(\beta\)-carotene is not detectable in _C. crispus_. At the same time, phycoerythrin (\(\Delta\lambda\) = 10) decreases from 528.3 \(\pm\) 69.0 mg/Kg dry matter (DF) to 525.6 \(\pm\) 74.2 mg/Kg dry matter (HT); phycocyanin (\(\Delta\lambda\) = 40) increases from 149.2 \(\pm\) 22.8 mg/Kg dry matter (DF) to 232.5 \(\pm\) 27.0 mg/Kg dry matter (HT); and lutein increases from not detected (DF) to 1.80 \(\pm\) 0.17 mg/Kg dry matter (HT) [44]. In the case of _Porphyna_ spp., in addition to phycobiloproteins such as phycoerythrin (PE) and phycocyanin (PC) pigments, chlorophylls \(a\) and \(d\) are also present, as well as several carotenoids (\(\beta\)-carotene, \(\alpha\)-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, violaxanthin, and fucoxanthin) [45]. In the present case, the pigments of both seaweeds affect the redness to greenness (\(a^{\star}\)) parameter, being the values for the FCNCAs closer to the greenish direction. Due to the high fat content and the lower polarity of chlorophylls (compared to phycobiloproteins), it is possible that there was better solubilization of chlorophylls in the cashew paste. Yellowness to blueness (\(b^{\star}\)) is positive in all FCNCAs and therefore in the yellow range of color values, but significant differences were found between FCNCA-C and FCNCA-CC, between FCNCA-C and FCNCA-P (\(p\) = 0.0002), and between FCNCA-CC and FCNCA-P (\(p\) = 0.0494). Fermented cashew nut cheese alternative with _Porphyna_ sp. (FCNCA-P) presents the lowest value (13.71), followed by FCNCA-CC (15.62), with the highest value by FCNCA-C (25.74). These values also result from the presence of the various seaweed pigments referred to, contributing to less yellowness.