Method for manufacturing a cheese-based food product, advantageously a cheese, cheese specialty, or cheese substitute

A method for manufacturing a cheese comprising:

• cultivating at least one microorganism in a culture medium consisting of milk or a product obtained from milk to obtain a flavouring matrix;
• providing a dairy product for filtering that has not been subjected to a prior coagulation, including native casein in the shape of micelles and able to coagulate to form a gel;
• filtering the dairy product to obtain a retentate comprising 5% to 25% by weight protein and 3% to 30% by weight fat, with the protein not subjected to a step of destructuring and including the native casein in the shape of micelles and able to coagulate to form a gel, wherein the filtration technique implemented is chosen from the techniques of ultrafiltration, microfiltration, and nanofiltration, associated or not with diafiltration;
• mixing the retentate and the at least one flavouring matrix, with the flavouring matrix being 0.5 to 50% by weight of the total mixture, limits included, and wherein the at least one microorganism in the flavouring matrix is alive, wherein said at least one microorganism from the flavouring matrix remains alive in the mixture and wherein the mixture is devoid of melting salts;
• and, following the completion of the mixing;
• salting the mixture;
• and
• coagulating the protein both:
• (1) enzymatically using rennet, and
• (2) acid coagulation by either (2)(i) fermentation or (2)(ii) chemically using acid to adjust the pH,
• wherein the coagulating is within the following parameters:
• pH of 4-6.5,
• temperature of 15° C.-50° C.,
• NaCl concentration of 0.1-2%, and
• a dose of rennet extract between 3 g/100 L and 50 g/100 L,
• thereby forming a casein gel constituting the cheese,
• wherein said cheese is devoid of melting salts, and
• wherein said at least one microorganism from the flavouring matrix remains alive after coagulating the protein.