Dairy Ingredients for Food Processing

Manufacturing Outlines and Applications of Selected Cheese Varieties 311

Another attribute is some cheeses ’ ability

to grate easily into small particles for use as

sprinkles in Italian cuisine, such as Parmesan

and Romano cheeses. Feta and blue cheeses

are crumbly, which makes their application

in salads very appealing. Cream cheese, pro-

cess cheese foods and spreads, cold - pack

cheese products, well - ripened Camembert,

and brie cheeses exhibit unique spreadability

characteristics. String cheese has a desirable

property to form long strands on peeling.

Mozzarella and other pasta fi lata cheeses

demonstrate desirable stretchability on

heating, as in pizza.

The performance of some cheeses on

heating is specifi cally associated with appli-

cations in foods. Figure 11.10 shows exam-

ples of cheese ingredients whose performance

dips, sauces, and fi llings are manufactured
using cheese as an ingredient. In this regard,
natural cheese, process cheese, dry cheese,
cheese sauce, and enzyme - modifi ed cheese
have been developed with specifi c functional
attributes which facilitate the use of cheese
in unheated or cooking form.
The fl avor profi le of cheeses is related to
their use in various foods, as shown in Figure
11.9. Cheese imparts a desirable background
fl avor and concomitantly acts as a fl avor
carrier of spices and herbs in the food.
The textural attributes of cheeses play an
important role in their applications. To facili-
tate their use, various cheeses must be con-
verted to usable form. Certain cheeses lend
themselves to better use than others because
of their functional characteristics. The ability
to form shredded strips of uniform length,
width, thickness, and resistance to clumping
during shredding is a unique attribute of
cheeses such as low - moisture mozzarella,
process cheese, medium cheddar, gouda, and
provolone, thus permitting their convenient
use in heated applications such as pizza,
Mexican dishes, Italian dishes, grilled cheese
sandwiches, etc. Some cheeses possess the
ability to form thin slices without breakage
to allow their use as inserts in cold and grilled
sandwiches, as exemplifi ed by low - moisture
mozzarella, Swiss, provolone, and process
cheese.

Table 11.19. General guidelines for ripening
periods of various cheeses.

Cheese variety Ripening period

Blue 2 months minimum

Brick 2 weeks

Cheddar 2 weeks to 12 months

Colby 2 weeks to 3 months

Cream cheese No ripening

Gouda 3 to 6 months

Monterrey Jack 2 to 6 months

Mozzarella Unripened to 3 weeks

Muenster 2 to 8 weeks

Parmesan 10 months minimum

Provolone 2 to 12 months

Romano 5 months minimum

Swiss 2 to 9 months

Figure 11.9. Popular cheese fl avor profi le related to

their applications in foods.

Popular Flavor Profile of

Cheeses

Creamy

Tangy

Nut-like

Sharp

Piquant

Pickle-like

Smoke

flavor

Cream cheese, Brie, Mozzarella

Feta, Blue, Cottage cheese,

Cream cheese

Swiss, Edam, Gouda

Cheddar, Romano, Parmesan,

Blue

Blue, Romano, Parmesan

Feta, Queso Blanco

Provolone, Swiss, Cheddar