Method for flavoring cheese products

A method for flavoring with a fruity, non-baked pressed paste and smoked flavor a cheese product by processing at least one initial cheese base, said initial cheese base being a cheese which can be retextured, and which may or may not be ripened, said method involving the following steps:

• a) thermally and mechanically treating the initial cheese base by a kneading processing operation, at a temperature T1 of between 30 and 60° C. for a period of time of from 20 s to 3 min, in order to obtain a mixture having limited destructuring of the protein network of the initial cheese base;
• b) cooling the mixture of step a) to a temperature T2 of between 25 and 50° C. for a period of time of from 1 to 5 min, in order to restructure the protein network and produce a stable emulsion to obtain a cheese product;
• c) optionally mechanically processing the cooled mixture of step b) in an endless screw device in order to complete the restructuring of the protein network and the stabilisation of the emulsion to obtain a cheese product;
• and
• d) optionally shaping the cheese product obtained after step c) or after step b) if step c) is omitted;
• wherein at least one flavoring agent, which is a flavor ferment which has an increased level of enzyme activity and weakness of the cell wall and which is obtained from the strain Lactobacillus helveticus BS121, registered in accordance with the Treaty of Budapest, 12 Jan. 2006, with the National Collection of Micro Organism Culture (CNCM, Paris, France) under the number I-3552, said at least one flavor agent is obtained by culturing under sub-optimal conditions in a medium which is deficient in nitrogen, and said at least one flavoring agent is incorporated before or during step a) and/or b).

A method for flavoring a cheese product by processing at least one initial cheese base, said initial cheese base being a cheese which can be retextured, and which may or may not be ripened, said method involving the following steps:

• a) thermally and mechanically treating the initial cheese base by a kneading processing operation, at a temperature 1 of between 30 and 60° C. for a period of time of from 20 s to 3 min, in order to obtain a mixture having limited destructuring of the protein network of the initial cheese base;
• b) cooling the mixture of step a) to a temperature T2 of between 25 and 50° C. for a period of time of from 1 to 5 min, in order to restructure the protein network and produce a stable emulsion to obtain a cheese product;
• c) optionally mechanically processing the cooled mixture of step b) in an endless screw device in order to complete the restructuring of the protein network and the stabilisation of the emulsion to obtain a cheese product;
• and
• d) optionally shaping the cheese product obtained after step c) or after step b) if step c) is omitted;
• wherein at least one flavoring agent which is a flavor ferment which has an increased level of enzyme activity and weakness of the cell wall, said at least one flavor agent is obtained by culturing under sub-optimal conditions in a medium which is deficient in nitrogen, wherein the flavor ferment which has an increased level of enzyme activity and weakness of the cell wall is selected from the group consisting of homofermentary or heterofermentary strains of thermophilic Lactobacilli, optional homofermentary or heterofermentary mesophilic strains of Lactobacilli, strains of Lactococci, strains of Pediococci, strains of Corynebacteria, strains of propionic bacteria, strains of yeasts and Geotrichum candidum, and said at least one flavoring agent is incorporated before or during step a) and/or b), and
• wherein step a) and/or b) is carried out in the presence of at least one amine group accepting compound and at least one flavor ferment which has an increased level of enzyme activity and weakness of the cell wall.