Crumble process cheese products and methods of production
AssigneeLand O'Lakes, Inc.
InventorsJason Thompson, Thomas Alexander Glenn
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Abstract
Crumble process cheese products may be produced by cooling process cheese to freezing temperatures below about 32° F. and holding the process cheese at the freezing temperatures for a sufficient amount of time to cause a freeze-induced denaturation of the protein bonds in the process cheese, thereby providing a modified process cheese with a texture adapted to crumble. A crumble process cheese product may include an emulsion of an emulsifier, protein, water and oil, with a portion of the protein bound to the oil and the water in the emulsion, and another portion of the casein is bound to the oil and is unbound to the water, thereby providing the crumble cheese product with a crumble-like texture.
Claims20
A method of producing a crumble process cheese, comprising:
- forming process cheese comprising an emulsion of an emulsifier, protein, water and oil, wherein the protein is bound to the water and the oil in the emulsification;
- and
- cooling the process cheese to a freezing temperature below about 32° F. during an equilibration period, the equilibration period sufficient to cause a freeze-induced protein denaturation thereby producing a modified process cheese comprising a texture adapted to crumble.
A crumble process cheese product comprising an emulsifier, protein, water and oil, wherein a portion of the protein comprises casein and is bound to the oil and the water in an emulsion, and another portion of the casein is bound to the oil and is unbound to the water, thereby providing the crumble cheese product with a crumble-like texture.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.