Method of producing a simplified cheese spread and products therefrom
AssigneeKraft Foods Group Brands LLC
InventorsJonathan Wiese, Judith Moca
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Novel cheese products and methods of producing such cheese products that include a biogenerated exopolysaccharide (EPS) formed in-situ and separate from the main cream cheese fermentation. In some approaches, the methods and cheese products herein build a unique texture and/or microstructure that permits the cheese to utilize a simplified ingredient line while still mimicking the desired organoleptic characteristics of more-conventional, full-ingredient cheese.
Claims21
A method of producing a cream cheese substantially free of xanthan gum, the method comprising:
- (a) preparing a cheese curd through fermentation of a dairy liquid;
- (b) inoculating a whey protein concentrate-containing dairy liquid having a whey protein content, based on solids, of about 30 to about 70 percent with an exopolysaccharide-producing culture, the inoculated whey protein concentrate-containing dairy liquid being separate from the cheese curd fermentation of step (a);
- (c) fermenting the inoculated whey protein concentrate-containing dairy liquid of step (b) for a time and temperature to produce an exopolysaccharide-containing dairy liquid;
- and
- (d) blending the cheese curd obtained in step (a), one or more stabilizers that are substantially free of xanthan gum, and the exopolysaccharide-containing dairy liquid obtained in step (c) to form the cream cheese that is substantially free of xanthan gum, wherein the cream cheese exhibits a cohesiveness of about 30 to about 40 percent, calculated by dividing a firmness of the cream cheese measured in pascals at 37° C. by a firmness of the cream cheese measured in pascals at 25° C.
A cream cheese substantially free of xanthan gum, the cream cheese made by a process comprising:
- (a) preparing a cheese curd through fermentation of a dairy liquid;
- (b) inoculating a whey protein concentrate-containing dairy liquid having a whey protein content, based on solids, of about 30 to about 70 percent with an exopolysaccharide-producing culture, the inoculated whey protein concentrate-containing dairy liquid being separate from the cheese curd fermentation of step (a);
- (c) fermenting the inoculated whey protein concentrate-containing dairy liquid of step (b) for a time and temperature to produce a microbial derived exopolysaccharide-containing dairy liquid;
- and
- (d) blending the cheese curd obtained in step (a) and the microbial derived exopolysaccharide-containing dairy liquid of step (c) with one or more stabilizers, wherein the one or more stabilizers are substantially free of xanthan gum, to form the cream cheese substantially free of xanthan gum, wherein the cream cheese exhibits a cohesiveness of about 30 to about 40 percent, calculated by dividing a firmness of the cream cheese measured in pascals at 37° C. by a firmness of the cream cheese measured in pascals at 25° C.
A cream cheese substantially free of xanthan gum, the cream cheese comprising a blended mixture of:
- a cheese curd obtained in a first fermentation;
- a fermented dairy liquid obtained in a second fermentation different from the first fermentation, wherein the fermented dairy liquid comprises an exopolysaccharide obtained in situ by fermenting a whey protein concentrate-containing dairy liquid having a whey protein content, based on solids, of about 30 to about 70 percent with an exopolysaccharide-generating culture;
- and
- one or more stabilizers, the one or more stabilizers being substantially free of xanthan gum;
- wherein the cream cheese includes about 20 to about 25 weight percent fat and about 2 to about 5 percent protein provided from casein and whey protein, has a fat-to-protein ratio of about 3:1 to about 5:1, and
- the cream cheese exhibits a cohesiveness of about 30 to about 40 percent, calculated by dividing a firmness of the cream cheese measured in pascals at 37° C. by a firmness of the cream cheese measured in pascals at 25° C.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.