Cheese culture medium and method for making no fat and low fat cheese products

A method for preparing an adjunct cultured mixture for use in the preparation of a no fat or a low fat cheese product comprising:

• combining from about from about 1 to about 3 wt. % nonfat dry milk, from about from about 0.1 to about 0.5 wt. % of at least one food grade, polyanionic gum stabilizer selected from agar, xanthan, alginate, guar, locust bean, carrageenan, cellulose gels, and mixtures thereof, from about 2 to about 5 wt. % of a non-ionic food starch, and from about 91 to about 93 wt. %, water, whey, milk, reconstituted whey or milk or mixtures thereof, to form an adjunct culture medium;
• inoculating the adjunct culture medium with a flavor-producing bacteria selected from S. citrovorous, S. diacetylactis, S. cremoris, S. lactis, S. thermophilus, L. acidophilus, L. bulgaricus, L. brevis, L. casei, L. paracasei, L. delbruekii, L. fermenti, L. helveticus, L. lactis, L. plantarurn, L. pseudoplantarum, leuconostoc citrovorum, leuconostoc mesenteroides, Bacteriumlinesn, Micrococcus caseolyticus, Pediococcus cerevisiae, Pseudomonas fraga, Brevibacteriun, propionibacterium species;
• and
• incubating the thus formed mixture under conditions sufficient to form a cultured mixture.

A method for preparing a no fat or low-fat cheese product comprising:

• combining from about 1 to about 5 wt. % nonfat dry milk, from about from about 0.05 to about 1.0 wt. % of at least one food grade, polyanionic gum stabilizer, and from about 90 to about 97 wt. % of a liquid portion selected from water, whey, milk, reconstituted whey or milk or mixtures thereof, to form an adjunct culture medium;
• pasteurizing the adjunct culture medium;
• cooling the pasteurized culture medium to a temperature suitable for the growth of flavor-producing bacteria;
• inoculating the adjunct culture medium with a flavor-producing bacteria that does not significantly contribute to the overall production of acid to form a mixture;
• incubating the mixture to form a cultured mixture;
• forming cultured milk by mixing from about 1 to about 10 wt. % of the cultured mixture, with skim milk or low-fat milk and an acid-producing bacteria;
• ripening the cultured milk;
• adding sufficient clotting enzyme to the ripened milk to form a coagulum;
• cutting the coagulum to form a curd in whey mixture;
• cooking the curd while in whey;
• draining the whey from the curd;
• and
• further processing the curd to produce a no fat or low-fat cheese.

A method for preparing a no fat or low-fat cheese product comprising:

• combining from about 1 to about 3 wt. % nonfat dry milk, from about 0.1 to about 0.5 wt. % of at least one food grade, polyanionic gum stabilizer selected from agar, xanthan, alginate, guar, carrageenan, cellulose gels, and mixtures thereof, from about 2 to about 5 wt. % of a non-ionic food starch, and from about 91 to about 93 wt. % water, whey, milk, reconstituted whey or milk or mixtures thereof, to form an adjunct culture medium;
• pasteurizing the adjunct culture medium;
• cooling the pasteurized culture medium to a temperature suitable for the growth of flavor-producing bacteria;
• inoculating the adjunct culture medium with a flavor-producing bacteria selected from S. citrovorous, S. diacetylactis, S. cremoris, S. lactis, S. thermophilus, L. acidophilus, L. bulgaricus, L. brevis, L. casei, L. paracasei, L. delbruekii, L. fermenti, L. helveticus, L. lactis, L. plantarurn, L. pseudoplantarum, leuconostoc citrovorum, leuconostoc mesenteroides, Bacteriumlinesn, Micrococcus caseolyticus, Pediococcus cerevisiae, Pseudomonas fraga, Brevibacteriun, propionibacterium species and mixtures thereof to form a mixture;
• incubating the mixture to form a cultured mixture;
• forming cultured milk by mixing from about 1 to about 10 wt. % of the cultured mixture, with skim milk or low-fat milk and an acid-producing bacteria selected from S. cremoris, S. lactis, S. thermophilus., S. durans, S. faecalis, L. bulgaricus, L. helveticus, and L. lactis;
• is ripening the cultured milk;
• adding sufficient clotting enzyme to the ripened milk to form a coagulum;
• cutting the coagulum to form a curd in whey mixture;
• cooking the curd while in whey;
• draining the whey from the curd and further processing the curd to produce a no fat or low-fat cheese.

A method for preparing a no fat or low-fat cheese product comprising:

• mixing skim milk or low-fat milk with a sufficient amount of an acid-producing bacteria under conditions to form cultured milk;
• ripening the cultured milk;
• adding sufficient clotting enzyme to the ripened milk to form a coagulum;
• cutting the coagulum to form a curd in whey mixture;
• removing from about 10 wt. % to about 50 wt. % of the whey from the mixture;
• adding hot water to dilute the whey and extract lactose and whey solids from the curd;
• cooking the curd while in diluted whey;
• draining the diluted whey from the curd;
• and
• further processing the curd to produce a no fat or low-fat cheese.

A method for preparing a no fat or low-fat cheese product comprising:

• combining from about 1 to about 5 wt. % nonfat dry milk, from about from about 0.05 to about 1.0 wt. % of at least one food grade, polyanionic gum stabilizer, and from about 90 to about 97 wt. % liquid portion, to form an adjunct culture medium;
• pasteurizing the adjunct culture medium;
• cooling the pasteurized culture medium to a temperature suitable for the growth of flavor-producing bacteria;
• inoculating the adjunct culture medium with a flavor-producing bacteria that does not significantly contribute to the overall production of acid to form a mixture;
• incubating the mixture to form a cultured mixture;
• forming cultured milk by mixing from about 1 to about 10 wt. % of the cultured mixture, with skim milk or low-fat milk and an acid-producing bacteria;
• ripening the cultured milk;
• adding sufficient clotting enzyme to the ripened milk to form a coagulum;
• cutting the coagulum to form a curd in whey mixture;
• removing from about 10 wt. % to about 50 wt. % of the whey from the mixture;
• adding hot water to dilute the whey and extract lactose and whey solids from the curd;
• cooking the curd while in diluted whey;
• draining the diluted whey;
• and
• further processing the curd to produce a no fat or low-fat cheese product.

A method for preparing a no fat or low-fat cheese product comprising:

• combining from about 1 to about 3 wt. % nonfat dry milk, from about 0.1 to about 0.5 wt. % of at least one food grade, polyanionic gum stabilizer selected from agar, xanthan, alginate, guar, carrageenan, cellulose gels, and mixtures thereof, from about 2 to about 5 wt. % of a non-ionic food starch, and from about 91 to about 93 wt. % water, whey, milk, reconstituted whey or milk or mixtures thereof, to form an adjunct culture medium;
• pasteurizing the adjunct culture medium;
• cooling the pasteurized culture medium to a temperature suitable for the growth of flavor-producing bacteria;
• inoculating the adjunct culture medium with a flavor-producing bacteria selected from S. citrovorous, S. diacetylactis, S. cremoris, S. lactis, S. thermophilus, L. acidophilus, L. bulgaricus, L. brevis, L. casei, L. paracasei, L. delbruekii, L. fermenti, L. helveticus, L. lactis, L. plantarurn, L. pseudoplantarum, leuconostoc citrovorum, leuconostoc mesenteroides, Bacteriumlinesn, Micrococcus caseolyticus, Pediococcus cerevisiae, Pseudomonas fraga, Brevibacteriun, propionibacterium species and mixtures thereof to form a mixture;
• incubating the mixture to form a cultured mixture;
• forming cultured milk by mixing from about 1 to about 10 wt. % of the cultured mixture, with skim milk or low-fat milk and an acid-producing bacteria selected from S. cremoris, S. lactis, S. thermophilus., S. durans, S. faecalis, L bulgaricus, L. helveticus, and L. lactis;
• ripening the cultured milk;
• adding sufficient clotting enzyme to the ripened milk to form a coagulum;
• cutting the coagulum to form a curd in whey mixture;
• removing from about 10 wt. % to about 50 wt. % of the whey from the mixture;
• adding water having a temperature of from about 110° to about 150° F. over a period of from about 20 to about 40 minutes to dilute the whey, extract lactose and whey solids from the curd, and to bring the temperature of the curd to from about 90° to about 120° F., thereby cooking the curd;
• draining the diluted whey from the curd;
• and
• further processing the curd to produce a no fat cheese product.

A method for preparing a no fat or low-fat cheese product comprising:

• mixing skim milk or low-fat milk and a sufficient amount of an acid-producing bacteria under conditions to form a cultured milk;
• ripening the cultured milk;
• adding sufficient clotting enzyme to the ripened milk to form a coagulum;
• cutting the coagulum to form a curd in whey mixture;
• cooking the curd while in whey;
• draining whey from the curd;
• salting the curd with a mixture of salt and an emulsifying salt;
• and
• further processing the curd to produce a no fat or low fat cheese product.

A method for preparing a no fat or low-fat cheese product comprising:

• combining from about 1 to about 5 wt. % nonfat dry milk, from about from about 0.05 to about 1.0 wt. % of at least one food grade, polyanionic gum stabilizer, and from about 90 to about 97 wt. % water, whey, milk, reconstituted whey or milk or mixtures thereof, to form an adjunct culture medium;
• pasteurizing the adjunct culture medium;
• cooling the pasteurized culture medium to a temperature suitable for the growth of flavor-producing bacteria;
• inoculating the adjunct culture medium with a flavor-producing bacteria that does not significantly contribute to the overall production of acid to form a mixture;
• incubating the mixture to form a cultured mixture;
• forming cultured milk by mixing from about 1 to about 10 wt. % of the cultured mixture, with skim milk or low-fat milk and an acid-producing bacteria;
• ripening the cultured milk;
• adding sufficient clotting enzyme to the ripened milk to form a coagulum;
• cutting the coagulum to form a curd in whey mixture;
• cooking the curd while in whey;
• draining the whey from the curd;
• salting the drained curd with a mixture of salt and an emulsifying salt;
• and
• further processing the curd to produce a no fat or low fat cheese product.

A method for preparing a no fat or low-fat cheese product comprising:

• mixing skim milk or low-fat milk with a sufficient amount of an acid-producing bacteria under conditions to form a cultured milk;
• ripening the cultured milk;
• adding sufficient clotting enzyme to the ripened milk to form a coagulum;
• cutting the coagulum to form a curd in whey mixture;
• removing from about 10% to about 50% of the whey from the mixture;
• adding hot water to dilute the whey and extract lactose and whey solids from the curd;
• cooking the curd while in the diluted whey;
• draining the diluted whey from the curd;
• salting the drained curd with a mixture of salt and an emulsifying salt;
• and
• further processing the curd to produce a no fat or low fat cheese product.

A method for preparing a no fat or low-fat cheese product comprising:

• combining from about 1 to about 3 wt. % nonfat dry milk, from about 0.1 to about 0.5 wt. % of at least one food grade, polyanionic gum stabilizer selected from agar, xanthan, alginate, guar, locust bean, carrageenan, cellulose gels, and mixtures thereof, from about 2 to about 5 wt. % of a non-ionic food starch, and from about 91 to about 93 wt. % water, whey, milk, reconstituted whey or milk or mixtures thereof, to form an adjunct culture medium;
• pasteurizing the adjunct culture medium;
• cooling the pasteurized culture medium to a temperature suitable for the growth of flavor-producing bacteria;
• inoculating the adjunct culture medium with a flavor-producing bacteria selected from S. citrovorous, S. diacetylactis, S. cremoris, S. lactis, S. thermophilus, L. acidophilus, L. bulgaricus, L. brevis, L. casei, L. paracasei, L. delbruekii, L. fermenti, L. helveticus, L. lactis, L. plantarurn, L. pseudoplantarum, leuconostoc citrovorum, leuconostoc mesenteroides, Bacteriumlinesn, Micrococcus caseolyticus, Pediococcus cerevisiae, Pseudomonas fraga, Brevibacteriun, propionibacterium species and mixtures thereof to form a mixture;
• incubating the mixture to form a cultured mixture;
• forming cultured milk by mixing from about 1 to about 10 wt. % of the cultured mixture, with skim milk or low-fat milk and an acid-producing bacteria selected from S. cremoris, S. lactis, S. thermophilus., S. durans, S. faecalis, L. bulgaricus, L. helveticus, and L. lactis;
• ripening the cultured milk;
• adding sufficient clotting enzyme to the ripened milk to form a coagulum;
• cutting the coagulum to form a curd in whey mixture;
• removing from about 10% to about 50% of the whey from the mixture;
• adding hot water having a temperature of from about 110° to about 150° F. over a period of from about 20 to about 40 minutes to dilute the whey, extract lactose and whey solids from the curd, and to bring the temperature of the curd to from about 90° to about 120° F., thereby cooking the curd;
• draining the diluted whey from the curd;
• salting the drained curd with a mixture of salt and from about 0.1 to about 1.0 wt. % of an emulsifying salt selected from sodium citrate, potassium citrate, sodium phosphate, potassium phosphate, or combinations thereof;
• and
• further processing the curd to produce a no fat or low fat cheese product.