Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
1~778~5
MANUFACTURE OF CHEESE FLAVOUR POWDER
This invention relates to the manufacture of
cheese flavour powder.
Cheese flavour powder is conventionally produced
5 by macerating a selected cheese or mix of cheeses,
rendering in measured amounts of hot water together
with various other food grade ingredients, and raising
the mix to pasteurising/emulsification temperatures
prior to feeding to a conventional spray drier from
which the resultant powder is collected and bagged.
This conventional process suffers from a number
of disadvantages as follows:-
1. Cheese varies considerably in flavour profilesand physical properties and requires careful selection
and processing in order that end flavour and physical
properties are suf f iciently protected to meet consumer
requirements.
Under the most controlled conditions, end
flavour is variable and its intensity cannot be assured.
2. For large scale manufacture of cheese flavour
powder a considerable inventory of cheese is required,
creating cost pressures in financing and storing bulk
cheese for long periods under controlled temperatures
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rtem~l"dirl~ retri~eratiorl, ~lld in cos-Lly insulated storage
areas.
3. Labour costs o~ the overaLl process are high; cheese
must be decartoned, unwrapped, cut and macerated prior to
feeding to the mixing tank.
4. Addition of ingredients such as whey powder to the
formulated mix requires the addition of more water before
drying at a solids concentration of about 40%, thereby
substantially increasing energy costs of batch preparation
and eventual spray drying.
5. Such a process also requires the use of sodium based
emulsifying salts, resulting in increased sodium levels in
the end product.
6. Heat treatment associated with rendering macerated
cheese and other formulated ingredients causes substantial
flavour losses due to the volatility of most naturally
occurring cheese flavour compounds, because of the absence in
the mix of sufficient suitable proteins or other
encapsulating substances, which would prevent their escape.
7. Furthermore, the extent of heat treatment required for
rendering, emulsifying and pasteurizing the mix tends to
further denature the available protein, and may ca-lse
oiliness, eventual flavour deterioration due to oxidation of
the fat, and a tendency for the powder to lump under storage
26 conditions.
It is an ob~ject of the invention to provide an improved
process for the production of cheese flavour powder.
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The inventlvn accordingly provides a process for
manufactllring cheese flavour powder, Gomprising:
providing unpas~eurized milk containin~ cheese flavour
components;
heating the milk to a temperature sufficient to cause
previouslv uncoagulated whey protein naturally occurring in
the unpasteurized milk to encapsulate said cheese flavour
components, thereby facilitating subsequent conversion to
powder; and
converting the resultant product to a powder.
Using this process, it is possible to substantially reduce
the use of cheese and hence the attendant stora~e and
handling problems. The important short chain fatty acids,
which together with their derivative aldehydes and ketones
are the principal components of cheese flavour and comprise
in particular butyric, caproic, caprylic and capric acids,
are volatile and liable to be readily lost in processing
involving cheese maturing, storage and maceration, but are
preserved and enhanced in the final product by processing
directly into cheese flavour powder in accordance with the
invention. Moreover, the process of the invention avoids the
coa~ulation of the milk proteins which normally occurs in the
manufacture of cheese. Whey proteins in particular, because
of their long chain hydrophilic structure, are excellent
encapsulants and an adequate level of such material is
essential for the successful retention of f`lavour during
conversion of the mix to a dried powder. Without effective
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1'~778~5
en~apsul~tin m~t.erial most ~-olatile cheese tla~-ollring acids
would be lost in subsequent processing an~ s-toraae. Because
of the absence of aclequate contained encapsulating material,
the tradit.ional process for the production of ~heese flavour
powder requires the addition of emulsifiers. such as sodium
based emulsifying salts, which result in undesirable levels
of sodium or call for expensive caseinate ingredients.
In a preferred embodiment, the step o-f providing said
unpasteurized milk containing Gheese flavour components
comprises treating a volume of unpasteurized milk in a manner
effective to enhance lipolysis of triglycerides in the milk
to release short chain fatty acids and/or their derivatives
which are the principal components of cheese flavour. A
preferred feature of the invention is the utilization for
this purpose of the enzymes naturally present in the milk,
for example naturally occurring enzymes or incidental
bacterial enzymes, and particularly the lipolytic enzymes
: capable of hydrolysing fats and oils and thus liberating
fatty acids including the aroma producing short chain fatty
acids present in the milk fat. Because of possible health
hazards, milk for public consumption, including most milk for
cheese manufacture, has to be subjected to pasteurization, a
heat treatment designed to destroy pathogenic micro-organisms
which may be incidentally present in the milk. It happens,
however, that the pasteurization treatment either
substantially or totally inactivates t.he lipolytic enzymes
and also other beneficial bacterial enzymes present in the
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mi1k~ th~ls renderin~ the mi Lh sllhstantially inert as a medium
for biochem1cal change
rhis deieterious affect of pastellrizat10n on cheese
flavour has been recognised and to counteract it, lipolytic
enzyme preparations, derived from kids' or lambs' throat
glands, have been introduced as additives to the milk in the
manufacture of numerous cheese varieties, in order to promote
the release of the short chain fatty acids, necessary for A
full cheese flavour spectrum. In accordance with the
invention, however, such additions are unnecessary as raw
i.e. unpasteurized milk is provided: pasteurization can be
effected if desired at any later convenient stage.
As indicated, the principal feature of the invention is
the utilization of whey proteins as an encapsulating
material, which, being non-volatile, holds the volatile
flavour components within the product. Because the whey
proteins are not coagulable by rennet,
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most of them are lost in the whey in the traditional
cheese making process and therefore are not present in
the cheese in sufficient amounts to serve as flavour
encapsulants. Yet, because of their nature, they are
5 eminently suitable for this function. In fact, they are
considered more effective than most of the gums employed
by flavour essence manufacturers for this purpose.
But it is not only the structure of the whey proteins
that renders them so useful for encapsulation. It is
10 also their response to heat: the colloidal particles
of the whey proteins tend to coalesce when heated.
The invention provides a process by which this potential
utility of the natural whey proteins can be realized.
In the process of coalescing, the whey proteins
15 aggregate, locking within their framework the free
cheese flavour components and thus preventing their
escape into the atmosphere.
Said treatment of the milk preferably includes
storage of the milk for a period and at a temperature
20 selected to enhance said lipolysis. A preferred period
of storage is 6 to 12 hours and a preferred temperature
is in the range 7 to 10C. Below 7C, the lipolysis
process is unacceptably slow while above 10C other
degradation such as uncontrolled fat splitting begins
25 to occur. A storage period below 6 hours results in
a lower level of lipolysis while storage for more than
12 hours is of no additional advantage and thus becomes
unjustifiable on economic grounds.
The milk treated as just described, with or
30 without extra ingredients, may then be subjected
to evaporation by heat until the desired solids
content is achieved. Most preferably,
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such heating is to a temperature of about 80C and the most
preferred solids~content is in the range 40 to 50%. It
is during this heat treatment and consequent concentration
of the mix into a smaller volume, that there occurs the
5 aforedescribed encapsulation by the whey proteins of the
cheese flavour components. It is also noted that this heat
treatment should destroy any pathogenic micro-organisms
and thus may be viewed as a delayed but effective
pasteurisation.
The unpasteurised milk treated in accordance with the
invention is typically raw whole milk standardised to a
desired total solids to fat ratio, for example by addition
of buttermilk or unpasteurised cream.
Advantageously, the treated milk, preferably as said
15concentrate and preferably with agitation, is mixed with a
relatively small amount of selected natural cheese and/or
of an enzyme-modified cheese prior to said conversion to a
powder, in order to enhance desirable flavour characteristics
in the powder.
To the treated milk may be added skim milk, buttermilk
or blends thereof or reconstituted or re-wetted whole miIk,
skim milk, buttermilk, butter oil or blends thereof.
Food grade acids may be added to the concentrate for
flavour purposes and for adjustment of the pH to a
25preferred range 5.2 to 5.7. The mix may then be pumped via
a colloiding system for intimate integration and is
preferably maintained at a temperature between 50 and 70C,
most preferably about 60C, prior to conversion to a
powder.
The conversion of the mix to a powder is preferably
effected in a spray drier of conventional construction, to
which the aforesaid integrated heated mix may be fed after
retention in a holding silo for a preferred period of at
least two hours. The dwell time in the holding silo
35further enhances flavour development, through inter-
action of the added cheese(s) with components in the
milk concentrate. This further intensifies
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the base flavour present in the milk concentrate and
improves the quality of the spray dried flavouring.
The advantages of the process of the invention
are substantial. First and foremost, the financial
5 outlay for the purchase and the storing of substantial
quantities of cheese is avoided: for example, 90%
less cool room space may be required. By processing
with a higher solids contents in the mix, higher throughput
and significant energy savings can be obtained. A
10 substantial quantity of cheese, a costly product,
is eliminated.
There are substantial savings in labour costs
as the decartoning, unwrapping and then cleaning of
substantial quantities of cheese, and considerable
15 waste disposal problems are avoided. In general,
the process of the invention substantially eliminates
the need for human involvement in the handling of
the product and allows a stricter control of the processing
environment. The process substantially reduces off-flavours
20 which may arise in flavourings produced in conventional
cheese based processes.
It is estimated that the cost benefits relative
to the traditional process are at least of the order
of 50%.
~ As earlier indicated, the invention permits the
use of reconstituted or re-wetted whole milk, skim
milk or buttermilk powders or blends thereof, in sub-
stantial amounts. The process may also be effected
with or without additions of part hydrogenated vegetable
oil, salt, colour, spices, together with small amounts
of enzyme modified cheeses and/or small amounts of
selected raw milk cheese to adjust the final flavour
to desirable level and spectrums.
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It should also be understood that the process
of the invention is applicable to the use of polyunsaturated
milk, whether obtained by altering the milch animal's
metabolism to incorporate polyunsaturated fatty acids
or vegetable oils, or by admixing such acids or oils
to the milk or the mix.
The invention is also directed to a cheese flavour
powder in which the bulk of the components of the
cheese flavour, typically short chain fatty acids,
are encapsulated by whey proteins. In a preferred
aspect, the invention affords a cheese flavour powder
manufactured by the afore-described process.
EXAMPLE 1
Cheddar cheese flavour powder for use in snack
foods, with a final desired specification of 24~ butterfat
and 7% sodium chloride, was produced as follows:-
Raw whole milk previously held at 7C wasstandardized by the addition of buttermilk at 37C
to a total solids to fat ratio of 9.6 to 2.65. The
thus standardized milk was held for six hours at 9C
under constant agitation, then heated to 80C in a
plate heat exchanger and concentrated in a triple
effect evaporator to 45% total solids. The concentrate
left the evaporator at 37C and was fed to a mixing
facility. It should be noted at this point that con-
centration of the milk might equally be achieved by
ultrafiltration at suitable temperatures.
After a holding time of 75 minutes~the quantity of total
milk solids in the mix was determined and,on a total
solids basis,1.7% of selec~ed enzyme_modified cheese
solids and 4% of selected natural cheese solids were
1,~77865
added to the milk concentrate. An appropriate amount
of salt was separately dissolved then pumped into
the concentrate mix. A measured amount of a food
grade organic acid, a blend of lactic and citric acids,
5 was diluted five-fold and added to achieve a pH of
5.6.
The concentrate mix was then passed through a
colloid mill for final integration and reheated in a
tubular heat exchanger to 60C en route to a tank
where it was held for two hours. The product was
then spray dried, in a conventional spray drier fed
by a high pressure pump, to a final moisture of 3.5%
+ 0.5%.
Allowing 48 hours for product and flavour stabilization,
the product was organyleptically evaluated and compared
with a product made by conventional methods and of
similar composition. The following table compares
the fatty acids present in mg/kg of total solids for
the cheese flavour powder produced according to
the example and a commercial cheddar cheese flavoured
powder produced by conventional methods from macerated
cheese.
TABLE 1
Fatty acids present,expressed in mg/kg of total solids.
25 SAMPLE BUTYRIC CAPRIC CAPROIC CAPRYLIC
Standard process
cheese powder 40 65.5 20 20
Product made by
claimed process 135 112.5 77.5 65
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The trial product was found to have a full and
true cheddar cheese flavour with a pleasing aftertaste
and was preferred by tasters to the commercial product
mentioned above which had a blander flavour.
EXAMPLE 2
A swiss cheese flavour powder with a final desired
specification of 23% butterfat and 4% sodium chloride
was produced as follows:
Raw whole milk previously held at 7C was standardised
10 by the addition of buttermilk at 38C to the appropriate
desired total solids to fat ratio.
This standardised milk was held for six (6) hours at
9C under constant agitation, preheated to 80C in a
plate heat exchanger and concentrated in a triple effect
15 evaporator to 42.6% total solids.
The concentrate left the evaporator at 37C, the
quantity of total milk solids in the mix was determined
and, on a total solids basis, 2.4% of selected enzyme-
modified swiss cheese solids and 3% of selected natural
20 swiss cheese solids were added to the concentrate.
An appropriate amount of salt was separately dissolved
and added to the concentrate mix.
A measured amount of a food grade organic acid, a
blend of propionic and lactic acids, was diluted five
25 fold and added to achieve a pH of 5.6.
The concentrate mix was then passed through a
colloid mill and reheated in a tubular heat exchanger to
60C and held for 4 hours. The product was then spray
dried, in a conventional spray drier fed by high pressure
30 pump, to a final moisture of 3.8%.
Allowing 48 hours for-product and flavour
stabilisation the product was organolepticoly evaluated
and was found to be a fine textured powder having a
very distinctive swiss cheese flavour and aroma.
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EXAMPLE 3
A Bleu cheese flavour powder with a final desired
- specification of 28 5~ butterfat and 5.6% sodium chloride
was produced as follows:
Raw whole milk previously held at 7C was standardised
5 by the addition of unpasteurised cream at 38C to the
appropriate desired total solids to fat ratio.
After holding for six (6) hours at 9C under constant
agitation the standardised milk was preheated to 80C
and concentrated to 46.5% total solids.
The concentrate left the evaporator at 37C and
after a holding time of 75 minutes the quantity of
total solids in the mix was determined and, on a total
solids basis, 2.6% of selected enzyme modified Bleu
cheese solids and 7% of selected natural Bleu cheese
15 solids were added. An appropriate amount of salt was
added to the concentrate mix.
The pH of the mix was corrected to 5.8 by the
addition of lactic acid diluted five fold.
The mix was colloided, preheated to 60C and held
20 for 2 hours. The product was then spray dried to a
final moisture of 3.4%.
After 48 hours, the product was found to have a
very distinctive Bleu cheese flavour aroma, and a
plea~sant textured mouth feel.
Whi~stthe examples just provided describe the
production of cheddar, swiss and bleu cheese flavour
powders, the process is equallyapplicable to the
production of cheese flavour powders having the flavour
characteristics of most known cheese types, e.g. Gouda,
30 Ramoni, Parmesan, by factorial control of the variables
embodied in the process.
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Similarly" the production of cultural flavour
cheese powders may be achieved by the inventive process
by the addition of suitable bacterial cultures in place
of or in addition to the described preferred step of
5 adding a relatively small amount of selected natural
cheese and/or of an enzyme-modified cheese.
Further experiments have shown that powders
produced by the process of the invention are highly
suited as a cheese coating for snack foods, either
10 singularly or as a component base in specialised blended
coatings. With slight compositional changes to suit
individual and user requirements, they are also highly
suited for use in bakery goods, in soups, sauces and
general prepared foods.
