Manufacturing Outlines and Applications of Selected Cheese Varieties 2995.3 to 5.4. To coagulate 1 kg of hot milk, 2 to
2.5 g of citric acid monohydrate is required.
Citric acid is used in the form of 1% to 1.5%
citric acid solution heated to 70 ° C (158 ° F).
The curd is allowed to settle in quiescent
condition for 10 to 15 minutes. The whey is
drained and the curd is trenched. After the
curd is reasonably dry, it is dry - salted to
reach the 2.5% salt concentration in the curd.
The hoops are fi lled with hot curd and pressed
at the pressure of 11 lbs/inch^2 (75 kPa) for
three to four hours. After the hoops cool
down overnight, the cheese blocks are
removed and vacuum packaged in fi lm. The
yield of queso blanco is approximately 17 to
18 kg/100 kg milk. Queso blanco is ready for
sale because it needs no ripening.Process Cheese
Process cheese results from blending one or
several natural cheeses of different ages with
emulsifying salts, water, and other dairy and
non - dairy ingredients. The mixture is heated
with continuous agitation to produce a
smooth pasteurized product that has an
extended shelf life (Kapoor and Metzger,
2008 ). Walter Gerber and Fritz Stettler of
Gerber and Co., Switzerland, invented
process cheese in 1911 by heating Swiss
cheese with a citrate - based emulsifying salt.
In 1916 J. L. Kraft introduced process cheese
in the United States (Zehren and Nusbaum,
2000 ). Kapoor and Metzger (2008) and
Zeheren and Nusbaum (2000) extensively
cover scientifi c and technological aspects of
process cheese.
The CFR defi nes three major categories of
process cheese based on the requirements for
moisture, fat, pH, and the type and amount
of allowed optional ingredients (21CFR
133.169 to 133.180) (CFR 2009a ): pasteur-
ized process cheese (PC), pasteurized process
cheese food (PCF), and pasteurized process
cheese spread (PCS). Table 11.12 summa-
rizes the allowed ingredients and composi-
tional specifi cations for PC, PCF, and PCSimproved by the application of membrane
technology (ultrafi ltration).
Queso Blanco: This cheese is made from
whole milk, skim milk, cream, or their
mixture. The use of coagulating agents varies
with the type of cheese. The production
process involves either rennet coagulation of
warm milk or curdling of hot milk with lime/
lemon juice, fruit juice, or vinegar. Directly
acidifi ed cheese are include queso del pais,
queso de la tierra, queso de cincho, and queso
sierra. All are highly salted (salt level 2% to
4%) to improve their shelf life. Generally,
Latin American white (LAW) cheeses are
white, creamy in taste, highly salted, and
acidic in fl avor. They possess the body and
texture of young, high - moisture cheddar and
can be sliced for sandwiches.
Queso blanco made by direct acidifi cation
can be fried without melting, thus resembling
paneer. The white cheeses can be used as a
snack, in salads, as cooking cheese in cas-
serole dishes, grated for use in pizza and
other foods, or included as an ingredient in
the manufacture of process cheese. LAW
cheese is largely consumed fresh, but can be
fried with or without butter to prepare nutri-
tious snacks of excellent eating quality. The
pressed cheese is hard and crumbly with a
slightly open texture. Queso blanco typically
contains 52% to 53% moisture, 22% to 24%
protein, 16% to 18% fat, 2% to 3% lactose,
and 2.5% salt. The pH is in the range of 5.3
to 5.5.
Queso Blanco Process: A typical manu-
facturing procedure for Queso blanco is
shown in Figure 11.5. The procedure is
similar to that of paneer, except for the addi-
tion of salt to the queso blanco curd.
Furthermore, the blocks of pressed queso
blanco are not immersed in cold water. Milk
is fortifi ed with nonfat dry milk to standard-
ize it to a P/F ratio of 1.2. The milk is heated
to 85 ° C to 95 ° C (185 ° F to 203 ° F) and held
for 5 minutes to denature most of the whey
proteins. Suffi cient citric acid solution is
pumped to the milk tank to drop the pH to