Emulsifying salt-free and starch stabilized cheese

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2020359643-A1
Application number	US-202016986452-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Aug 6, 2020
Priority date	Dec 7, 2012
Publication date	Nov 19, 2020
Grant date	—

Abstract

Emulsifying salt-free processed cheese products as well as methods of preparing emulsifying salt-free processed cheese products are provided. The emulsifying salt-free processed cheese products are prepared with modified starch containing amylopectin and substantially no amylase and without emulsifying salts. The emulsifying salt-free processed cheese products are advantageously resistant to separation during heating and retain desirable organoleptic properties, such as texture and flavor, without using emulsifying salts.

First claim

1 . A processed cheese that does not contain significant levels of emulsifying salts, the processed cheese comprising:
a natural cheese or a mixture of natural cheeses providing from about 5 weight percent to about 30 weight percent dairy protein; about 30 weight percent to about 80 weight percent water; about 0.5 weight percent or less of emulsifying salts so that the processed cheese does not contain significant levels of emulsifying salts; about 0.1 weight percent to about 10 weight percent of a non-crosslinked modified starch having a degree of substitution of less than about 0.2 D.S. and containing amylopectin and substantially no amylose; and a uniform distribution of amylopectin with substantially no intact starch granules and substantially no starch agglomerates with less than about 0.1 weight percent amylose so that the processed cheese has substantially no amylose therein, the amylopectin and amylose from the modified starch in a form and in a ratio effective to provide substantially no texture or flavor to the processed cheese, wherein the modified starch is a monosubstituted hydroxypropylated waxy corn starch.

2 . The processed cheese of claim 1 , wherein the modified starch is effective to provide less than about 10 intact starch granules of amylopectin per about 900 mm 2 of processed cheese as determined by Lugol's iodine stain at about 20× magnification such that there are substantially no intact starch granules of amylopectin in the processed cheese.

3 . The processed cheese of claim 1 , wherein the processed cheese contains no intact starch granules, no starch agglomerates, and no amylose.

4 . The processed cheese of claim 1 , wherein the processed cheese has a ratio of amylopectin to amylose from about 20 to about 200.

5 - 7 . (canceled)

8 . The processed cheese of claim 1 , wherein the cheese product is selected from the group consisting of sauce, spread, slice, shred, stick, loaf and brick.

9 . The processed cheese of claim 1 , wherein the processed cheese containing the modified starch exhibits a viscosity decrease of about 50,000 cps to about 60,000 cps during heating at about 65° C. to about 75° C. upon the modified starch being initially added to the processed cheese after gelatinization of the modified starch.

10 . (canceled)

11 . A method of preparing an emulsifying salt-free processed cheese, the method comprising the steps of:
heating a blend of water and a non-crosslinked modified starch having a degree of substitution of less than about 0.2 D.S. and containing amylopectin and substantially no amylose to its gelatinization temperature to form a cooked starch paste; blending the cooked starch paste and natural cheese or a mixture of natural cheeses with water to form a cheese mixture where the cheese mixture contains about 0.5 weight percent or less of emulsifying salts so that the cheese mixture does not contain significant levels of emulsifying salts; heating the cheese mixture to form the emulsifying salt-free processed cheese, the amount of modified starch containing amylopectin and substantially no amylose being effective to form the processed cheese having a uniform distribution of amylopectin with substantially no intact starch granules and substantially no starch agglomerates and less than about 0.1 percent amylose so that the processed cheese has substantially no amylose in the processed cheese, the amylopectin and amylose in a form and in a ratio effective to provide substantially no texture or flavor to the processed cheese, wherein the modified starch is a monosubstituted hydroxypropylated waxy corn starch.

12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the cheese mixture containing the modified starch exhibits a viscosity decrease of about 50,000 cps to about 60,000 cps during heating at about 65° C. to about 75° C.

13 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the blend of water and modified starch containing amylopectin and substantially no amylose is heated to about 65° C. to about 75° C. to form the cooked starch paste having a viscosity from about 2500 cps to about 3000 cps.

14 - 15 . (canceled)

16 . The method of claim 11 , wherein a viscosity of the cheese mixture decreases from an initial viscosity of about 60,000 cps to about 65,000 cps to a final viscosity of about 2500 cps to about 3500 cps at about 65° C. to about 75° C.

17 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the cheese mixture contains about 1 percent to about 3 percent of the modified starch containing amylopectin and substantially no amylose.

18 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the processed cheese contains about 5 percent to about 95 percent natural cheese or a mixture thereof.

19 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the processed cheese is selected from the group consisting of sauce, spread, slice, shred, stick, loaf and brick.

20 - 21 . (canceled)

22 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the cooked starch paste is sheared prior to blending the cooked starch paste with the natural cheese or a mixture of natural cheeses with water to form a cheese mixture.

23 . The processed cheese of claim 1 , wherein the modified starch has a pasting profile comprising the following viscosities when the modified starch is mixed with water and heated from about 65° C. to about 95° C.:
a viscosity of at least about 2500 cps within 5 minutes of heating;
a viscosity of about 1400 cps to about 1500 cps at 8 minutes of heating; and
a viscosity of no more than about 1000 cps at 14 minutes of heating.

24 . The processed cheese of claim 1 , wherein if the modified starch is mixed with water to form a starch paste and the starch paste is heated from about 65° C. to about 95° C., the starch paste exhibits an initial viscosity increase of about 2500 cps to about 3000 cps, followed by a continuous viscosity decrease to below about 1000 cps.

25 . The processed cheese of claim 24 , wherein the initial viscosity increase occurs within a first 5 minutes of heating and the continuous viscosity decrease occurs during a following 10 minutes of heating.

26 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the modified starch has a pasting profile comprising the following viscosities when the modified starch is mixed with water and heated from about 65° C. to about 95° C.:
a viscosity of at least about 2500 cps within 5 minutes of heating;
a viscosity of about 1400 cps to about 1500 cps at 8 minutes of heating; and
a viscosity of no more than about 1000 cps at 14 minutes of heating.

27 . The method of claim 11 , wherein when the blend of water and modified starch is heated to about 65° C. to about 95° C. to form the cooked starch paste, the cooked starch paste exhibits an initial viscosity increase of about 2500 cps to about 3000 cps, followed by a continuous viscosity decrease to below about 1000 cps.

28 . The method of claim 27 , wherein the initial viscosity increase occurs within a first 5 minutes of heating and the continuous viscosity decrease occurs during a following 10 minutes of heating.

Assignees

• Kraft Foods Group Brands Llc

Inventors

• Mcpherson Andrew Edward
• Boomgaarden Tori Ann
• Levine Brian E
• Smith Gary Francis

Classifications

• C08L3/12

  Amylose; Amylopectin; Degradation products thereof · CPC title

• A23C19/0904

  Liquid cheese products, e.g. beverages, sauces · CPC title

• A23C19/08

  Process cheese preparations; Making thereof, e.g. melting, emulsifying, sterilizing · CPC title

• A23L29/219

  Chemically modified starch; Reaction or complexation products of starch with other chemicals · CPC title

• C08L3/02

  Starch; Degradation products thereof, e.g. dextrin · CPC title