Physically stable liquefied blue cheese composition and process for making it

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11510417-B2
Application number	US-201716089061-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 16, 2017
Priority date	Mar 30, 2016
Publication date	Nov 29, 2022
Grant date	Nov 29, 2022

Abstract

The present invention relates to a process for preparing a liquid cheese composition comprising a blue cheese, a fresh cheese and a vegetable oil, wherein the liquid cheese composition does not comprise a food additive added beyond the food additives present in the cheeses. A further aspect of the present invention is the resulting blue cheese composition.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A liquid cheese composition comprising:
30-60 wt % blue cheese;
20-35 wt % fresh cheese;
2-12 wt % vegetable oil; and
a liquid aqueous component selected from the group consisting of water, milk and whey;
wherein the liquid cheese composition has a pH from 4.5 to 6.0, and a viscosity from 50,000 to 350,000 cP at a temperature of 8° C.; and
wherein the liquid cheese composition does not comprise diglycerides.

2. The liquid cheese composition according to claim 1 , wherein the blue cheese is selected from the group consisting of Roquefort, Gorgonzola, blue Stilton, Stichelton, Bleu d′ Auvergne, and combinations therefrom.

3. The liquid cheese composition according to claim 1 , wherein the fresh cheese is selected from the group consisting of cottage cheese, cream cheese, curd cheese, fromage blanc, goat cheese, ricotta, mozzarella, and combinations therefrom.

4. The liquid cheese composition according to claim 1 , wherein the vegetable oil is selected from the group consisting of sunflower oil, safflower oil, rapeseed oil, corn oil, olive oil, soybean oil, peanut oil, palm oil and combinations thereof.

5. The liquid cheese composition according to claim 1 , wherein the liquid aqueous component is liquid skimmed milk or liquid whey.

6. The liquid cheese composition according to claim 1 having a pH from 5.0 to 5.5.

7. The liquid cheese composition according to claim 1 , wherein the total fat/oil content of the liquid cheese composition is less than 21 wt % of the composition.

8. The liquid cheese composition according to claim 1 , wherein the total content of saturated fatty acids is below 8 wt % of the liquid cheese composition.

9. A process for preparing a liquid cheese composition comprising 30-60 wt % blue cheese, 20-35 wt % fresh cheese, 2-12 wt % vegetable oil, a liquid aqueous component selected from the group consisting of water, milk and whey, wherein the liquid cheese composition has a pH from 4.5 to 6.0, and a viscosity from 50,000 to 350,000 cP at a temperature of 8° C., and wherein the liquid cheese composition does not comprise diglycerides, the process comprising the steps of:
a) mixing the blue cheese, the fresh cheese, the vegetable oil and the aqueous component in a mixer to form a mixture;
b) heating the mixture of step a) to a temperature above 55° C.; and
c) homogenizing the mixture of step a) at a temperature of above 55° C. and under pressure of at least 250 bars.

10. The process according to claim 1 , wherein homogenizing the mixture in step c) is at a temperature of at least 65° C.

11. The process according to claim 1 , wherein in step a) the aqueous component is liquid skimmed milk or liquid whey, and the liquid aqueous component is mixed with the vegetable oil first before adding and mixing with the blue cheese and the fresh cheese.

12. A food product comprising a liquid cheese composition comprising 30-60 wt % blue cheese, 20-35 wt % fresh cheese, 2-12 wt % vegetable oil, a liquid aqueous component selected from the group consisting of water, milk and whey, wherein the liquid cheese composition has a pH from 4.5 to 6.0, and a viscosity from 50,000 to 350,000 cP at a temperature of 8° C., and wherein the liquid cheese composition does not comprise diglycerides.

13. The liquid cheese composition according to claim 1 , wherein the total fat/oil content of the liquid cheese composition is less than 19 wt % of the liquid cheese composition.

14. The liquid cheese composition according to claim 1 comprising 3.0-9.0 wt % of the vegetable oil.

15. The liquid cheese composition according to claim 1 , wherein the total fat/oil content of the liquid cheese composition is less than 19 wt % of the composition.

16. The process according to claim 1 , wherein homogenizing the mixture in step c) is at a temperature of at least 70° C.

17. The process according to claim 1 , wherein homogenizing the mixture in step c) is at a temperature of up to 121° C.

Assignees

• Nestec Sa
• Nestle Sa

Inventors

• Parmantier Claude
• Soussan Elodie Audrey
• Upreti Praveen

Classifications

• A23C19/0682

  Mould-ripened or bacterial surface ripened cheeses · CPC title

• A23C19/068 Primary

  Particular types of cheese · CPC title

• A23C2250/05

  Emulsifying cheese · CPC title

• A23C19/09

  Other cheese preparations; Mixtures of cheese with other foodstuffs · CPC title

• A23C2250/30

  Blue veined cheeses, e.g. Roquefort, Gorgonzola, Stilton · CPC title