Processed cheese with cultured dairy components and method of manufacturing

A processed cheese including natural antimicrobials, the processed cheese comprising:

• about 10 to about 90 percent natural cheese or a mixture of natural cheeses;
• one or more emulsifiers;
• about 1 to about 20 percent of a cultured dairy component;
• about 8 to about 25 percent protein;
• about 10 to about 30 percent fat;
• about 40 to about 60 percent moisture;
• about 1 to about 100 ppm of nisin, effective to prevent toxin formation from C. botulinum determined by toxin bioassay with mice, in the processed cheese at the protein and the fat levels thereof for about 9 days at 86° F.;
• and
• about 100 to about 2,000 ppm of exopolysaccharide effective to increase the melt of the processed cheese and increase the firmness of the processed cheese relative to a processed cheese without nisin and exopolysaccharide,
• wherein the nisin and the exopolysaccharide are included in the processed cheese in the form of the cultured dairy component,
• the nisin and the exopolysaccharide in the cultured dairy component are obtained from a fermentation of Lactococcus lactis strain ATCC PTA-120552 in a 2× to a 5× concentrated liquid dairy medium having a total solids of about 5 to about 36 percent, about 1 to about 14 percent protein, and about 0 to about 16 percent fat, and
• the processed cheese exhibits a firmness of about 1500 to about 2500 Pa, a consistency of about 50,000 to about 70,000 Pa/second, and an increase in melt of about 20 to about 75 percent compared to a processed cheese that does not include the cultured dairy component.