Fermented Dairy Ingredients 349sumers and suited for baking of cheesecake.
However, the cheese deteriorates quickly
under refrigerated conditions between one
and two weeks, producing yeasty, fruity, and
moldy defects (Kosikowski and Mistry
1997 ). The hot - pack cheese has a longer shelf
life due to the heat treatment of the curd.
Under refrigerated conditions the shelf life of
hot - pack cream cheese is about three months
(Fox et al. 2000 ).Use of Cream Cheese
Cream cheese ’ s characteristics such as
smooth texture, spreadability, and mild taste
can be conveniently covered with other
ingredients such as fruit puree to produce a
rich, spreadable mix with the desired fl avor.
Cream cheese is often spread on toast, bagels,
and crackers. It is an ingredient in dips with
various other ingredients such as herbs,
fruits, nuts, and spices (Teubner 1998 ), which
are good companions for other snacks and
wine. Cream cheese is used in baking, such
as in preparation of rugelach, or cream cheese
crescent, and cream cheese pastry. Rugelach
is a traditional Jewish delicacy containing
raisins and walnuts that is served during
Hanukkah. It is used in pies and tarts with
a wide selection of fi llings. In cheesecake
preparation, cream cheese is used either
alone or in combination with cottage cheese
and sour cream (Horn et al. 1997 ).Cultured Buttermilk
Cultured butter milk is, by far, the replace-
ment of conventional buttermilk (Walstra
et al. 2006 ). Conventional buttermilk is
widely used in the food industry because of
its emulsifying capacity and its positive
impact on fl avor. Commercial buttermilk is
sweet buttermilk, a byproduct from churning
sweet cream into butter (Sodini et al. 2006 ).
It is the aqueous phase that is released during
the churning, and it contains all of the water -
soluble components of cream such as milkQuality of Cream Cheese
Cream cheese manufacture, as in other fresh
acid - curd cheese varieties, involves pretreat-
ment of the raw material (standardization,
pasteurization, and perhaps homogeniza-
tion), slow quiescent acidifi cation, gel for-
mation, drying of gel (whey separation), and
in some cases further treatment of the curd
(pasteurization, cutting, addition of salt,
stabilizers, and homogenization) (Fox et al.
2000 ). Acidifi cation is arguably the crucial
step that determines the quality of the fi nal
product.
Acidifi cation slowly converts lactose into
lactic acid by the starter culture, resulting in
gel formation (Fox et al. 2000 ). Cream cheese
fi rmness is strongly infl uenced by the pH.
Adjusting the pH of the cheese upward or
downward by exposing the fi nished cheese
to an atmosphere of a volatile base or acid,
such as ammonia or acetic acid, changes
its fi rmness. The cheese fi rmness decreases
signifi cantly as the pH is increased (by expo-
sure to ammonia vapor) from an initial value
of about 4.6 to 6.3 (Almena - Aliste and
Kindstedt 2005 ). This pH - induced change
in fi rmness is reversible (Almena - Aliste
et al. 2006 ). Hence, altering the pH of cream
cheese provides a product with desired the
fi rmness.
The water holding capacity of the cheese
is also directly and substantially affected by
pH. However, the viscosity of the serum
phase and the distribution of calcium between
the casein - associated and soluble states are
not affected. This suggests that the observed
changes in fi rmness and water holding capac-
ity are caused by pH - induced changes in
casein - to - water interactions, and not by
changes in stabilizer function or calcium dis-
tribution (Almena - Aliste et al. 2006 ).
Shelf Life of Cream Cheese
The shelf life of cream cheese is relatively
short. The fresh, cold - pack cheese displays a
fi ne aromatic fl avor pleasing to many con-