Dairy Ingredients for Food Processing

308 Chapter 11

skim milk, buttermilk, whey, anhydrous milk

fat, dehydrated cream, skim milk cheese for

manufacturing) are permitted in cold pack

cheese food. Sweeteners (sugar, dextrose,

corn sugar, corn syrup, corn syrup solids,

glucose syrup, glucose syrup solids, maltose,

malt syrup, and hydrolyzed lactose) also can

be used. In the preparation of cold - pack

cheese food, guar gum or xanthan gum, or

both, may be used, but the total quantity of

such an ingredient (or a combination) is not

to exceed 0.3% of the weight of the fi nished

food. When one or both such optional ingre-

dients are used, dioctyl sodium sulfosucci-

nate may be used in a quantity not in excess

of 0.5% by weight of the gums. The product

may contain preservatives as in cold pack

cheese.

Cold - pack cheese food can contain par-

ticulates of fruits, vegetables, or meats. All

cold cheese products are made by thorough

grinding and mixing in a cheese blender

similar to a meat blender used in sausage

manufacture.

Cheese Substitutes/Analogs

Several cheese substitutes are now available

in the United States, including cheddar, moz-

zarella, Swiss, colby, gouda, provolone,

process, cream cheese, and cheese spreads.

They offer ingredient cost savings, special

functional properties (restricted melt), and

desirable dietary attributes (cholesterol free,

reduced saturated fat). The food and drug

regulations may require them to provide

equivalent nutrition to real cheese (Table

11.12 ). Accordingly, they may be fortifi ed

with vitamins and minerals. They are basi-

cally classifi ed as:

• Filled cheeses, in which vegetable oils and/
  or some milk fat are emulsifi ed in skim
  milk before normal cheese making. Filled
  cheeses are low in cholesterol and lower in
  saturated fatty acids, and thus are used in
  medically prescribed diets.

of fat of the varieties of cheese used, but in
no case is it less than 47%, except for Swiss
cheese and gruyere cheese, which is not less
than 45%.
The weight of each variety of cheese in a
cold - pack cheese is similar to that as in pas-
teurized process cheese. The pH of cold pack
cheese is adjusted with vinegar, lactic acid,
citric acid, acetic acid, or phosphoric acid to
4.5 or above. The other ingredients are water,
salt, color, spices, and fl avorings.
Cold - pack cheese in consumer - sized
packages may be preserved with sorbic acid,
potassium sorbate, sodium sorbate, (maxi-
mum level 0.3%), or sodium propionate
and/or calcium propionate (maximum level
0.3%).

Cold - pack Cheese Food

Cold - pack cheese food is similar to cold pack
cheese, except the moisture content is not
more than 44% and the fat content is not less
than 23%. The weight of the cheese ingredi-
ent constitutes not less than 51% of the
weight of the fi nished cold - pack cheese food.
Pasteurized dairy ingredients (cream, milk,

Table 11.16. Effect of processing conditions on
the functionality of process cheese.

Processing

condition

Description and effect on

fi nal process cheese

functionality and quality

Cook

temperature

Higher cook temperature

reduces the meltability

and increases the

fi rmness, and vice versa

Cook time Longer cooking time

reduces the meltability

and increases the

fi rmness, and vice versa

Amount of

agitation

during cooking

Increased agitation

reduces the meltability

and increases the

fi rmness, and vice versa

Rate of cooling Slower rate of cooling

reduces the meltability

and increases the

fi rmness, and vice versa