AU2005239793A1 - Method for producing soft, semi-soft and/or hard cheese containing seasoning and/or herbs - Google Patents

Abstract

Spices and/or herbs are added to the raw- or cheesemaking milk used as the starting material. They are alternatively added to an intermediate product arising during cheesemaking. Their addition is made as a preparation containing water, spices and/or herbs. Before addition, however, the preparation is treated to reduce its germ content.

Description

Patents, Trade Marks and Designs Acts VERIFICATION OF TRANSLATION I Thomas Ermer of Wordmaster Translation P/L, 19 High Road, Camberwell, 3124 am the translator of the English language document attached and I state that the attached document is a true translation to the best of my knowledge and belief of a)* PCT International Application No. PCT/EP2005/002060 (WO 2005/107488 Al) as filed on 26.2.2005 (with amendments). b)* A certified copy of the specification accompanying Patent (Utility Model Application No. filed in on c)* Trade Mark Application No. filed in on d)* Design Application No. filed in on *Delete inapplicable clauses Dated this.............1 . . .............. day of ................... November - 2006 S ig n a t u r e o f T r a n s la t o r ...... . . . . . . . 1ER 7E R B TRANSLATOR wr GERMAN-> ENGLISH F.B. RICE & CO. PATENT A o Method for producing soft, semisoft and/or hard cheese, containing seasoning and/or herbs The invention concerns a method to produce soft, semisoft and/or hard cheese, 5 containing seasoning and/or herbs, whereby raw milk and/or cheese-making milk is processed by a conventional cheese-making process. It is known to produce according to the state-of-the-art soft, semisoft and/or hard cheeses which are mixed with herbs and/or seasonings. Thus, for example, there 10 are soft cheeses like camembert, containing peppercorn, chives or other herbs as well as semi-soft cheeses containing, for example, stinging nettle, paprika or bear's garlic. For the production of cheeses of this type as basic products dried seasonings 15 and/or herbs are presently used as additives for herbs and/or seasonings. So that they would not impair the microbiological process and the ripening of the cheese when introduced into the cheese-making process, they have to be as germ-free as possible. In the ripening process the germs, adhering to the herbs, lead namely to an undesirable formation of gases and misfermentation and 20 consequently to non-typical and undesirable properties of the cheese, e.g. an uncontrolled crack formation. Although in the case of certain types of cheeses the formation of holes is desirable, this is achieved applying a targeted technology. The misfermentations mentioned lead to a decrease in the quality of the cheese up to rendering it unusable, i.e. to its rejection. 25 So that to prevent this, the dried herbs and seasonings, which are usually contaminated with germs in the order of 500.000 to 2.5 million/gram, are sterilised. This is carried out either by irradiating the herbs/seasonings with radioactive y-radiation, a process that in the meantime was illegal at least in 30 Germany and has been permitted again, but due to compulsory marking is used with reluctance; or the herbs/seasonings are treated with saturated steam, usually at a pressure of approx. 10 bar and temperatures between 170-180*C.

2 A disadvantage of the latter method is that although it reduces the germs to below 100.000/gram, usually in the region around 50.000/gram, it leads to a considerable reduction of the quality of the herbs/seasonings. The herbs and seasonings lose their colouring (in particular herbs become grey instead of green) 5 and also partly their fragrance, since the volatile oils, carrying the fragrance, will evaporate during this treatment. In addition, the germ counts of below 10.000/gram, desirable for herbs used in the cheese production, are achieved only in exceptional cases. 10 Although it is known to add to cream cheese or curd cheese herbs in the form of a preparation comprising herbs, water and possibly other additives, which can be more gently sterilised, this is not always possible in the production of soft, semisoft and/or hard cheeses, since these cheeses have a markedly lower moisture content than cream cheese or curd cheese and the water of the 15 preparation would impair the progress of the cheese-making, in particular the ripening process. Based on the state-of-the-art the object of the invention is to make the production of soft, semisoft and/or hard cheeses with herbs and/or seasonings possible, 20 which contain, when compared with the sterilisation of dry herbs/dry seasonings, herbs/seasonings exposed to a more gentle sterilisation. In a surprising manner this objective is achieved by a method specified in claim 1. A further aspect of the solution of this objective is given in the application 25 specified in claim 7. In contrast to the prevailing opinion, whereby only dry herbs/dry seasonings could be added during the production of soft, semisoft and/or hard cheeses, it has come to light that the ripening process "functions" also when a preparation, 30 containing herb or seasoning as well as water, is used to add the herbs/seasonings. This is even a greater advantage, since this preparation from "normal", i.e. of non-sterilised herbs and water can be mixed and then sterilised in a gentle 3 manner (claim 2). According to the requirements of claim 3 in particular a sterilisation of the preparation leads to a reduction of the germs without the loss of colour and taste, while depending on the initial product and the actual method a germ count of below 1.000, as a rule even merely below 200/gram can be 5 achieved. Thus a further advantage is achieved, namely that not only herbs/seasonings with better colouring and fragrance can be added during the cheese-making process, but also with a lower germ count. The sterilisation process of the preparation, described in claim 3, can be used, of course, to sterilise all preparations of this kind, independently whether they are used for 10 cheese production or otherwise. Consequently a self-contained invention is described. To increase the storage period of the preparation, according to claim 4 it can contain stabilisers. During a long storage of the preparation in a container or 15 other receptacle these prevent a decomposition, i.e. a settling of the herbs and seasonings. The protective colloids, also disclosed in claim 4, offer as additives an additional protection of the herbs/seasonings with regard to colour and/or fragrance during a heating up. Xanthene and/or carob bean flour (claim 5) are possible additives, acting as stabiliser and protective colloid. As stabiliser corn 20 starch may also be used. As a particularly suitable time in the cheese-making process, at which the preparation can be added, the time mentioned in claim 6 becomes apparent. 25 Further advantages and features of the invention become obvious from the following description of an embodiment. A conventional procedure of the production of semisoft cheese looks something like this: 30 The raw milk is standardised: purified, thermised and subsequently stored at 8 10C. The resulting cheese-making milk is sterilised, pasteurised at 30-31OC and tempered. Additives, namely bacterial cultures and rennet as well as further additives like calcium, saltpetre and/or dyes are added to the tempered cheese- 4 making milk. The cheese-making milk coagulates, is cut, stirred; the whey is removed and washing water is added. This is followed by stirring, pre-pressing the curd, apportioning to form cheese loaves and pressing to further reduce the moisture contents of the cheese. Afterwards the loaves are stored in the salt bath 5 and subsequently conveyed to ripening. Soft cheese and hard cheese are produced by a basically comparable process, they differ by the amount of rennet and bacterial cultures added, by the step of washing and temperature management as well as the residual moisture finally 10 obtained. Whereas the soft cheese has a residual moisture of 67% and more, semisoft cheese has a residual moisture of 54-69%, while the maximum residual moisture of hard cheese is 56%. Attempts have been made to introduce in this process a preparation from water, 15 herbs and seasonings and possibly stabilisers and protective colloids. On this occasion it has been found, that the preparation can be best added after the stirring, prior to the pre-pressing of the loaves, without disturbing the ripening process. 20 A possible procedure to obtain herb mixture with low germ contents for adding into the cheese-making process is as follows: Potable water is provided in the required quantity. If desired, stabilisers and hydrocolloids are added to the water and dispersed. The herbs/seasonings are 25 admixed. The mixture is preheated to a temperature of approx. 60*C and held at this temperature for approx. 40-50 minutes. Following this a rapid heating to 120*C for 2 minutes is carried out. Afterwards the mixture is cooled in a controlled manner to 20 0 C over approx. 10 minutes, aseptically filled into containers and after-cooled in a cooling space to 8-10 0 C. 30 The present invention is further explained in the following based on an example: First the production of an aqueous herb preparation is described.

5 First of all hydrocolloids are dispersed in potable water. Following this herbs and/or seasonings are added in the desired quantity. The mixture obtained is heated to approx. 60 0 C and held at this temperature for approx. 1 hour. The mixture is subsequently heated to 120*C for 2 minutes. Following this the mixture 5 is cooled in a controlled manner to 20*C (room temperature) over 10 minutes. The mixture is then filled into receptacles, containers or the like and after-cooled at 8-10OC. This mixture then can be used for the production of a soft, semisoft or hard 10 cheese. An example of the production of such a cheese is as follows: On the first day raw milk is purified, thermised at 650C and subsequently stored at 15 6-80C. On the second day the milk is pasteurised to be sterilised. This is carried out by heating it to 720C for 50 seconds. Subsequently the milk is tempered at 30-31*C. Then necessary additives, namely bacterial cultures and rennet as well as 20 possibly calcium, saltpetre and/or dyes are added. The mixture obtained is left to stand for 20 minutes, during which it congeals due to the microbiological process taking place. The curd will be cut and stirred. A portion of the whey is drained off and tempered washing water is added. A stirring 25 will be carried out for approx. 30 minutes. In this phase herb preparation, obtained in accordance with the above described method, is added and the herbs are distributed in the curd by continuous stirring. Further whey, and with the whey also a portion of the added water of the herb preparation, is drained off together with the additives (hydrocolloid). 30 The curd is then pre-pressed, apportioned (dispensed into cheese moulds) and pressed. Afterwards the pressed loaves are conveyed to a salt bath and subsequently to ripening.

6 After ripening the completed cheese is packed and can be conveyed to further processing, for example stored for the time being.

Claims (7)

1. A method to produce soft, semisoft and/or hard cheese containing seasoning and/or herbs, whereby raw milk and/or cheese-making milk is processed by a 5 conventional cheese-making process, characterised in that the seasonings and/or herbs are added to the raw milk and/or cheese-making milk as initial product or to an intermediate product produced during the cheese-making process in the form of a preparation containing at least the herbs and/or seasoning as well as water. 10

2. A method according to claim 1, characterised in that the preparation is sterilised prior to being added to the raw milk and/or cheese-making milk or to an intermediate product occurring during the cheese-making process. 15

3. A method according to claim 2, characterised in that the preparation is sterilised in accordance with the following treatment: 1) heating the preparation to a first temperature between 40-80*C, preferably between 55-650C, particularly to 60*C, 2) holding the preparation at this temperature over a period of between 10-60 20 minutes, preferably between 20-50 minutes, in particular between 40-50 minutes, 3) rapidly heating the preparation to a temperature >90*C, preferably >1000C, in particular to 1200C in a period of <10 minutes, preferably <5 minutes, in particular approx. 2 minutes, 25 4) holding the preparation at a temperature according to step 3) for a period of <10 minutes, preferably <5 minutes, in particular 2 minutes, 5) rapidly cooling the preparation to room temperature within a period of <20 minutes, in particular <15 minutes, preferably 10 minutes. 30

4. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the preparation further contains a stabiliser and/or a protective colloid.

5. A method according to claim 4, characterised in that the preparation contains xanthene and/or carob bean flour as stabiliser and protective colloid. 8

6. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the preparation is added to the intermediate product occurring during the cheese-making process during or after the so called stirring, in particular to the curd before the pre-pressing. 5

7. The use of a preparation as an additive, comprising at least herbs and/or seasonings as well as water, as further additive possibly a stabiliser and/or a protective colloid, during the production of soft, semisoft and/or hard cheese, containing seasoning and/or herbs. 10