Method of manufacture for shelf stable pasteurized cheese shreds
AssigneeKraft Foods Global Brands LLC
InventorsGary William Trecker, Stephen S. Williams
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Shelf stable cheeses, especially shredded cheeses, and the manufacture thereof. Cheeses of the invention have good melting properties, are microbiologically safe and resistant to the growth of mold and pathogens when stored at room temperature, and can maintain physical integrity when subjected to temperature abuse. The cheese may be comprised of a mixture of salts (e.g., sodium chloride, disodium phosphate, sodium hexametophosphate, sodium alginate, titanium dioxide, sorbic acid, and the like), starch (e.g., waxy maize and the like), water, cheese, and cheese for manufacture.
Claims34
A method of manufacturing a shelf stable shredded cheese product that resists agglomeration when stored above about 70° F. comprising:
- combining a fat source, a protein source, a filler, salts, and water to form a cheese composition that is about 45 to about 50 wt. % moisture, about 15 to about 22 wt. % fat, about 19 to about 24 wt. % protein, about 3 to about 5 wt. % total salt, and has a pH between about 5.4 and about 6.0, and forming the cheese composition into cheese shreds of a size and shape capable of maintaining physical integrity and resisting agglomeration when stored above about 70° F. and/or under temperature abuse of about 80-100° F. for at least about two weeks to form a shredded cheese product.
A method of manufacturing a shelf stable cheese product comprising:
- (a) developing a food safety predictive model through steps comprising:
- (i) selecting two varying characteristics selected from the group consisting of pH, moisture content, fat content, protein content, and total salt content;
- (ii) preparing a plurality of test cheeses, each of the plurality of cheeses having different amounts of the two varying characteristics and further having a pH between about 5.4 and about 6.0, a moisture content between about 45 to about 50 wt. %, a fat content between about 15 to about 22 wt. % fat, a protein content between about 19 to about 24 wt. % protein, and a total salt content between about 3 to about 5 wt. %;
- (iii) storing the plurality of test cheeses at a preselected temperature for a preselected period of time;
- (iv) testing the plurality of test cheeses for the presence of a preselected microorganism;
- (v) plotting the two varying characteristics of the plurality of test cheeses against one another on a graph and mapping the plurality of cheeses on the graph as points according to the two varying characteristics;
- and
- (vi) fitting a line on the graph so that all of the points mapped on the graph corresponding to cheeses in which the preselected microorganism is present lie on a first side of the line;
- (b) selecting a level of one of the varying characteristics and using the food safety predictive model to determine a level of the other varying characteristic such that a point representing the selected level of the one varying characteristic and the determined level of the other varying characteristic lies on a second side of the line fitted to the graph;
- (c) developing a formulation having the levels of the varying characteristics according to step (b) and the moisture, fat, protein, and total salt content of the test cheeses in step (a)(ii);
- (d) creating a first mixture comprising protein and fat in amounts determined according to the formulation and heating the first mixture at a temperature of about 150 to about 200° F.;
- (e) adding salts, emulsifiers, and stabilizers to the first mixture in amounts determined according to the formulation to form a second mixture while maintaining temperature at about 150 to about 200° F.;
- (f) adding a slurry comprising water and one or more fillers to the second mixture in amounts determined according to the formulation to form a third mixture while maintaining temperature at about 150 to about 200° F.;
- and
- (g) packaging and cooling the third mixture to form a solid, shelf stable cheese product, that maintains physical integrity, avoids oiling off and agglomeration at room temperature conditions and/or under temperature abuse of about 80-100° F.
A shelf stable shredded cheese product that maintains physical shred integrity and resists agglomeration for at least six months when stored at room temperature comprising:
- about 19-24 wt % protein, about 46.5 to about 48.5 wt. % moisture, about 16 to about 18 wt. % fat, about 4.4 to about 4.8 wt. % total salt, has a pH of about 5.45 to about 5.55, and maintains physical integrity, avoids oiling off and agglomeration at room temperature conditions and/or under temperature abuse of about 80-100° F.
A shelf stable shredded cheese product that does not exude oil when stored at 90° F. or higher for at least about 24 hours comprising:
- about 19-24 wt % protein, about 46.5 to about 48.5 wt. % moisture, about 16 to about 18 wt. % fat, about 4.4 to about 4.8 wt. % total salt, has a pH of about 5.4 to about 6.0, and maintains physical integrity, avoids oiling off and agglomeration at room temperature conditions and/or under temperature abuse of about 80-100° F.
A method of manufacturing a shelf stable shredded cheese product that resists agglomeration and oiling off when stored above about 90° F. g419-1a comprising:
- combining a fat source, a protein source, a filler, salts, and water to form a cheese composition that is about 45 to about 50 wt. % moisture, about 16 to about 18 wt. % fat, about 21 to about 23 wt. % protein, about 2-3% emulsifying salt, about 3 to about 5 wt. % total salt, and has a pH between about 5.45 and about 5.55, forming the cheese composition into cheese shreds of a size and shape capable of maintaining physical integrity avoids oiling off and resisting agglomeration when stored above about 90° F. for at least about two weeks to form a shredded cheese product, and/or under temperature abuse of about 80-100° F.
A shelf stable shredded cheese product that maintains physical shred integrity and resists agglomeration for at least six months when stored at room temperature comprising:
- about 19-24 wt % protein, about 46.5 to about 48.5 wt. % moisture, about 16 to about 18 wt. % fat, about 2-3% emulsifiers, about 4.4 to about 4.8 wt. % total salt, has a pH of about 5.45 to about 5.55, and maintains physical integrity, avoids oiling off and agglomeration at room temperature conditions and/or under temperature abuse of about 80-100° F.
A method of manufacturing a shelf stable shredded cheese product that resists agglomeration when stored at 90° F. for two weeks, the method comprising:
- combining a fat source, a protein source, a filler, NaC1 and at least one emulsifier salt, and water to form a cheese composition that is about 45 to about 50 wt. % moisture, about 15 to about 22 wt. % fat, about 19 to about 24 wt. % protein, about 3 to about 5 wt. % total salt, and has a pH between about 5.4 and about 6.0 to form a cheese composition;
- forming the cheese composition into cheese shreds, the fat source, protein source, filler, total salts and water in amounts and a ratio which is effective for providing cheese shreds which avoids oiling off and resist agglomeration when stored at 80° F. or for two weeks and/or under temperature abuse of about 80-100° F. when the cheese shreds have a size and shape capable of maintaining physical integrity and resisting agglomeration when stored at such time and temperature.
A method of manufacturing a shelf stable shredded cheese product that resists agglomeration when stored at 90° F. for two weeks, the method comprising:
- combining a fat source, a protein source, a filler, NaC1 and at least one emulsifier salt selected from the group consisting of orthophosphate, sodium hexametaphosphate, sodium acid pyrophosphate, trisodium citrate and mixtures thereof, and water to form a cheese composition that is about 45 to about 50 wt. % moisture, about 15 to about 22 wt. % fat, about 19 to about 24 wt. % protein, about 3 to about 5 wt. % total salt, has a pH between about 5.4 and about 6.0 to form a cheese composition;
- forming the cheese composition into cheese shreds, the fat source, protein source, filler, total salts and water in amounts and a ratio which is effective for providing cheese shreds which resist agglomeration when stored at 90° F. for two weeks and/or under temperature abuse of about 80-100° F. when the cheese shreds have a size and shape capable of maintaining physical integrity ,avoids oiling off, and resisting agglomeration when stored at such time and temperature.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.