Schreiber Foods, Inc.

Jeng-Jung Yee

Rajagopalan Narasimhan

Jeffrey L Kornacki

Charles C Hunt

Lawrence I Bell

Raj G Narasimmon

A method of making a processed cheese with improved firmness comprises mixing a protein cross-linking enzyme and optionally first other ingredients with a cheese material having a pH of less than 5.6, a moisture content of less than 60% and preferably containing one or more coagulating agents, to form a mixture; providing temperature and pH conditions and allowing time for the enzyme to react with protein in the mixture to cross link at least a portion of the protein; and combining one or more emulsifying agents and optionally second other ingredients with the mixture and heating the combination to thereby produce processed cheese from the combined cheese material contain cross-linked proteins, emulsifying agents and optional first and second other ingredients.

Processed cheese with improved firmness using cross-linking enzymes

A cheese that contains high levels of whey proteins, is free of emulsifying agents, and yet has good melt properties is disclosed. The cheese may be made from 100% UF cheese, containing most and preferably all of the whey proteins from milk, or from a blend of UF and conventional cheese. The preferred process of the present invention involves heating the cheese to a temperature of above 125.degree. F., and preferably below 165.degree. F., mixing the cheese in the absence of emulsifying agents and using low levels of shear, and rapidly cooling the heated, mixed cheese. A variety of full fat, low fat and zero fat natural cheeses equivalent to comparable conventional cheeses, including American-type cheeses, can be made. The cheeses have a Schreiber melt test score of 3 or above and a Mettler melt temperature of less than 200.degree. F.

Cheese with improved melt properties and methods of producing same

A process for making cheese that can include soluble proteins, such as whey proteins, comprises the steps of renneting the feed stock, heating the renneted feed stock, then adding lactic cultures to the renneted and heat-treated feed stock, removing excess water to produce unfermented cheese and allowing fermentation to proceed to produce fermented cheese. Varied textures of the fermented cheese are achieved by adjusting the degree of the milk clotting enzyme (rennet) action on feed stock, the heat treatment to which the renneted feed stock is subjected, the amount of water removed and the de-watering process conditions. The fermented cheese can be texturized. This process is capable of producing cheese having solids contents from about 40 percent to above about seventy percent by weight. The resulting cheese can be used as natural cheese or as a natural cheese ingredient in the making of processed cheese.

Cheese and proces and system for making it

Cheese and process and system for making it

A pasta filata-type cheese is made by combining casein having a desired level of calcium bound thereto, soluble proteins modified to render them less reactive with casein and other cheese ingredients to form a mixture and plasticizing the mixture to form the cheese.

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Green Bay, WI, United States of America

Jeng-Jung Yee