Dairy Ingredients for Food Processing

330 Chapter 12

quality of these products can be signifi cantly

enhanced by the use of EMC without increas-

ing the quantity of cheese in a product.

EMC also can replace cheese in food for-

mulations; the levels used depend on the

amount of cheese being replaced and the

fl avor intensity of the EMC. For example, if

a current formulation has 50% cheese and a

50% substitution is desired with an EMC that

is 20 times more potent than the cheese

fl avor, only 1.25% of the EMC is required

to reach the substitution target without affect-

ing fl avor intensity. However, this reduces

the weight of the formulation, and other

ingredients such as starch and oil may have

In some cases, cheese cultures are also
added. The resulting material has fi ve - to 15 -
fold strength of a regular cheese fl avor. The
exact reaction conditions and particulars are
closely held trade secrets. Figure 12.2 shows
the principles involved in EMC production.
After incubation to maximize the cheese
fl avor, the blend is heat treated to inactivate
the enzymes and cultures and spray dried.
EMC paste is also available.
A variety of fl avor profi les can be devel-
oped of varying compositions and product
forms. Typical applications include pro-
cessed cheese, cheese spreads, cheese dips,
cheese analogs, and cheese sauces. The fl avor

Figure 12.2. Principles of enzyme - modifi ed cheese production. Adapted from Wilkinson and Kilcawley (2003).

Comminuted

Cheese curd- Cream

Cone-bottom

Tank

Cone-bottom

Tank

Water,

Emulsifying Salts

Blend,

Pasteurize,

Cool

Incubate Mix-

Optimum Temp.,

pH, Time

Proteases

and

Peptidases

Heat treat to

inactivate culture

and enzymes

Blend,

Pasteurize,

Cool

Lipases/

Esterases

Incubate

Mix-

Optimum

Temp., pH,

Time

Heat treat to

inactivate culture

and enzymes

Enzyme Modified

Cheese Concentrate

Blend

Cheese culture