, NEW FORM OF PROCESSED CHEESE PRODUCT
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the conversion of bacteria ripened hard cheese (for example, parmesan), soft, semi-soft (for example, mozzarella), and firm cheese (for example, cheddar) into a new and unique processed cheese product capable of being granted or shredded.
Hard cheese is commonly viewed as cheese having a moisture on a fat free basis content of less than 50%, although this guideline is not rigid. Firm cheese is commonly viewed as cheese having a moisture on a fat free basis content of 50% or more and not more than 62%, although these guidelines are also not rigid. Semi-soft cheese is commonly viewed as cheese having a moisture on a fat free basis content of more than 62% and not more than 67%, although these guidelines are also not rigid. Finally, soft cheese is commonly viewed as cheese having a moisture on fat free basis of more than 67% and less than 80%, although these guidelines are also not rigid.
Examples of such bacteria ripened hard cheeses used in the process of the present invention are Parmesan, Romano, Sardo, Padano, or other similar cheeses.
The term Parmesan cheese is the name used for a group of hard cheeses which are typically used in a grated form and sold in containers for direct use on salads and in soups, and as a condiment and/or topping on a range of foods. Such cheeses can be referred to as either grating cheese or hard cheese. Such cheeses typically require long periods of ripening before they can be utilized. For example, in the United States, Parmesan cheese is cured for approximately ten months.
It would therefore be desirous if one could produce a processed cheese product that did not require a long ripening or curing process yet still exhibit the taste, texture and -_ 3 _ 2119313 consistency of the original bacteria ripened cheese, such as Parmigiana or Reggiano cheeses.
The production of processed cheese product is an age-old procedure. Improvements in the area of processed cheese products have, however, generally focused on improved processes of mechanization or packaging as found in United States Patent 4,039,695. However, improvements are appearing in providing new dairy-based foods with regards to low fat content or new forms of cheese cured as found in United States Patents 5,244,687 and 4,066,800 and Canadian Patent 1,261,197.
However, there does not appear to be any improvements that focus on providing a new dairy-based foods with the same, near, or better sensory properties as their analogous bacterial ripened cheese. The present invention is based upon research that ex~m;nes the feasibility of making new hard, firm, and semi-soft processed cheese products by a process adaptable to mechanization. An object of the present invention is therefore directed towards a process of cooking blends of hard, firm, semi-soft and soft cheeses with food additives and flavours to yield a gratable processed cheese product that resembles the analogous bacteria ripened cheese but all at lowered costs.
More specifically, this invention is directed towards a process for production of a dairy-based cheese product comprising the steps of: (A) particlizing one or more bacteria ripened hard, firm, or semi-soft cheeses and one or more bacteria ripened semi-soft or soft cheese; (B) mixing said cheeses; (C) introducing at least one of either emulsifiers, preservatives, milk ingredients, and modified milk ingredients and water and further mixing until a homogeneous cheese mass is obtained; (D) cooking of said cheese mass with further mixing introducing at least one of flavouring, butter or water; (E) molding resulting cheese mass into desired product shape; (F) shredding or cutting the - 3a - 2119313 product into desired size; and (G) directly packaging the resulting processed cheese product.

~4 -211931~

A further object of this invention is also directed towards the resulting new processed cheese product arising from this process. More specifically, the present invention is directed towards an improved hard processed cheese product such as a processed Parmesan or Romano cheese product that closely resembles in taste, hardness, texture, and gratability of the analogous bacteria ripened hard cheese. It is a further object of this invention that this process be applied to other bacteria ripened cheeses as well such as mozzarella or cheddar.
These and other objects will become more apparent from the following detailed description.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has several advantages over the existing prior art. This invention involves a new dairy based gratable processed cheese product that is prepared by a process involving the blending of a particlizied hard, firm, or semi-soft cheese with semi-soft or soft cheeses, along with additives, emulsifies and preservatives, cooking said blend with flavouring, water, and fats, and extruding resulting blend into molds and then placed it into cooling chambers prior to cutting and packaging. This process permits the production of a processed cheese product that closely resembles gratable bacteria ripened cheese but at a lower cost. Moreover, the product may be placed in the final package at the time of manufacture, eliminating the labour and waste associated with repackaging, and the product can be sold immediately thereafter eliminating the need for aging.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The process portion of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which are a flow sheet showing _ 5 _ 2119313 schematically the steps of a number of exemplary embodiment of the process.
Figure 1 illustrates the process for the production of a type of Parmesan Cheese Product.
Figure 2 illustrates the process for the production of a type of Cheddar or Mozzarella Cheese Product.
Figure 3 illustrates the process for the production of a type of a Hard Gratable Cheese Product.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The processed cheese product embodied in this invention is a smooth, homogenous plastic mass with qualities similar to the original bacterial ripened cheese it emulates.
In the past, some processed cheeses have been produced by procedures resembling the initial steps of the processes described herein. However, the advantages of the present invention over these processes will become evident in the description to follow. Throughout the specification, examples, and claims, all parts and percentages are by weight.
Generally, in accordance with various features of the present invention, grating bacterial ripened cheese is comminuted to provide a gratable processed cheese product.
The bacterial ripened cheese is initially particlized by means of any suitable apparatus to provide grated cheese or is put through a grinder. It is preferred that the particle size of the grated cheese be in the range of from about .4 mm to about 10 mm. Less than about 50 percent of the cheese particle should have their longest dimension less than about 20 mm.
It has also been determined that the cheese particles should have a length to width ratio of less than about 2:1 and preferably should have a length to width ratio in the range of from about 1.2:1 to 1:1.
A hard, firm, or semi-soft cheese after grating is preferably mixed with semi-soft or soft cheeses typically -having varying fat and moisture contents. Some of the possible choices for the hard, firm, semi-soft and soft cheeses are found in Table 1 below (derived in part, from Regulation B.08.033 of the Canadian Food and Drug Act R.S.C.
1985 c.F-27).
TABLE I
VARIETY OF TYPEMAXIMUM % MINIMUM % % MOISTURE
CHEESE MOISTURE FAT (FAT FREE
BASIS) Asiago firm 40.0 30.0 57.1 Bra hard 36.0 26.0 48.7 Brick firm 42.0 29.0 59.2 Camembert soft 56.0 22.0 71.8 (Carré de l'est) Canadian firm 42.0 29.0 59.2 Style Brick Feta soft 55.0 22.0 70.5 Jack semi-soft 50.0 25.0 64.9 Monterey firm 44.0 28.0 61.1 (Monterey Jack) Mozzarella semi-soft 52.0 20.0 65.0 (Scamorza) Neufchâtel soft 60.0 20.0 75.0 Parmesan hard 32.0 22.0 41.0 Part Skim firm 52.0 15.0 61.2 Mozzarella (Part Skim Scamorza) Part Skim Pizza firm 48.0 15.0 56.5 Pizza firm 48.0 20.0 60.0 Romano hard 34.0 25.0 45.3 (Sardo) Cheddar firm 39.0 31.0 56.5 Harzkase firm 55.0 3.0 56.7 (Harzer Kase, Mainzer Kase) Skim Milk firm 55.0 7.0 59.1 After the initial mixing, water is added, if required, along with flavouring agents, or butter with possible additions of acidulants, starches, milk products, modified milk products, emulsifying agents within the same processing vessel. In the process of this invention, the various cheeses are melted by direct steam injection or indirect heat at an _ 7 _ 2 11931~
elevated temperature at atmospheric pressure (or elevated pressures) with sufficient water and agitation until a molten mass is produced having no discernible particles present. The agitation and mixture can be carried out in the presence of emulsifying agents and at a temperature of about 65C. to about 90C., preferably at about 75C. to about 80C.
Emulsifying agents are not, however, always necessary. The time period required is that necessary to hydrate the mix and pasteurize the product. Typically, smooth homogeneous plastic cheese product mass is obtained in about 7 to about 20 minutes. Heating is preferably accomplished by steam injection heating of the mass to above 75C. Steam injection ends when the proper temperature has been reached. Mixing continues, however, until the process cheese mass becomes smooth, plastic and sufficiently pasteurized. This generally takes about 3 to 5 minutes after steam injection terminates.
Prem;x;ng of the aforementioned ingredients is not essential and all or only a portion of the above ingredients (the cheeses must be included) can be blended together in the mixer-cooker. However, it is important to agitate the mixture during heating. Severity of agitation during processing can also be used to adjust the body of the final processed cheese product. Cheddar, mozzarella, skim milk cheeses are commercially available cheeses made from milk using a lactic acid culture to form a smooth, acidic curd. Other suitable cheeses can be raquelet, emmenthal, mozzarella, brick, colby, monterey, and other semi-soft cheeses. Typically, the dairy products used in this process exhibit moisture and fat content, by % weight, as listed in Table II.

TABLE II
TYPICAL MOISTURE AND FAT CONTENT OF
COMMONLY USED DIARY PRODUCTS
PRODUCT MOISTURE FAT
(by % weight) (by % weight) skim milk cheese 55.0 7.0 mozzarella cheese 42-52 15-29 cheddar cheese 39.0 31.0 milk protein 10.0 1.5 parmesan style firm 38-42 20-29 cheese whey powder 5 1.2 buttermilk powder 5 2-12 15 skim milk powder 5 1.2 coloured rework 46 23 skim milk rework 56 7 sermia cheese 50 20 The produced processed cheese product can then be cast into loaves, sliced, or shaped into other packaging configurations as required. The finished product can also be cut into blocks, more specifically into block with the dimensions of 11/8 inches by 11/8 inches by 2~ inches. The product can also be grated or shredded by hand or machine prior to packaging. Furthermore, the packaging of the product can involve packing said product in sealed containers that have been flushed with an inert gas just prior to sealing.
An example of such an inert gas nitrogen (N2). The container can be any form of vessel in which to store the product.
However, it is preferred to be a sealed container more specifically a plastic pouch capable of holding one, two, or more of the above said blocks and/or shredded product.
More specifically, the invention comprises mixing about 5% to about 60% of a soft or semi-soft cheese, such as mozzarella cheese, with about 20% to about 75% of hard, firm or semi-soft cheeses, with about 0% to about 4% of an edible emulsifying salt and sufficient quantities of flavouring agents such as enzyme modified cheeses and acidulants to impart desired flavour and pH to the cheese analog with about 9 ~119313 35% to 48% water control. The mixture is blended under agitation conditions for a time sufficient to provide for pasteurization and a plastic homogeneous body being substantially free of unhydrated particles, said edible emulsifying salt being present at about 0% to about 4% by weight, said emulsifying agent being selected from the group consisting of alkali metal phosphate salts, citrate salts and mixtures thereof. The mixing/cooking time (will vary depending upon the volume of cheese and the capacity of the equipment) is generally about 12 minutes.
The term "hydrated" as used herein and in the appended claims characterizes bacteria ripened cheese that has been hydrated at an elevated temperature and dispersed in an aqueous system as a solution or a gel.
If the emulsifying agent content is less than about 1%, and in the absence of mechanical emulsification, incomplete hydration and excessive syneresis will occur. On the other hand, an emulsifying agent content in excess of about 4%
produces no additional benefits.
At a relatively high emulsifying agent concentration of about 2% to about 3.5%, hydration provides a homogenous plastic mass that is smooth and has a uniform body of process cheese product that can flow at elevated temperatures.
It has been determined that suitable phosphate-cont~;n;ng emulsifying agents include edible salts such as the alkali metal phosphates; examples of this are disodium phosphate, trisodium phosphate, sodium tripolyphosphate, sodium hexametaphosphate, tetrasodium pyrophosphate, monosodium diphosphate, disodium diphosphate, trisodium diphosphate, tetrasodium diphosphate, the sodium aluminum phosphates, and mixtures thereof. The preferred emulsifying agents for the production of the processed cheese product include: sodium citrate, calcium phosphate dibasic, potassium phosphate dibasic, sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium aluminum phosphate, sodium hexametaphosphate, sodium phosphate dibasic, sodium -lo- ~119313 phosphate monobasic, sodium phosphate tribasic, sodium pyrophosphate tetrabasic, calcium citrate, potassium citrate, sodium citrate, sodium potassium tartrate, sodium tartrate, sodium gluconate, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (carboxymenthly cellulose, cellulose gum, sodium cellulose glycolate), lecithin, monoglycerides, mono and diglycerides or a mixture thereof. Suitable citrate-cont~;n;ng emulsifying agents could include monosodium citrate, disodium citrate, trisodium citrate, and the like.
It has further been determined that suitable preservatives are propionic acid, calcium propionate, sodium propionate, sorbic acid, calcium sorbate, potassium sorbate, or sodium sorbate. All preservatives discussed herewithin are % weight and based on weights in their anhydrous state.
It has further been determined that suitable flavouring are one or more of enzyme modified cheeses, any other natural or artificial cheese flavourings. All flavouring discussed herewithin are in % weight.
It has also been determined that suitable fats are one or more of cream, butter oil, milk fat, butter, whey butter, or whey cream. All fats discussed herewithin are of % weight.
Suitable colouring where required has been determined to preferably be annatto or beta-carotene.
Water generally constitutes about 35% to about 48% by weight of the process cheese product, depending upon the desired consistency. Water can be added during either the premixing or cooking stages of the manufacturing process (to adjust the moisture content of the final product) of this invention. The water that is present serves, of course, to hydrate and control consistency of the hydrated mass. If too much water is added, the hydrated mass becomes too fluid and begins to no longer resemble the body of a cheese. A desired water content of the final cheese product is 35 - 48%.
While not essential, a thickener can be added such as modified starch or cellulose. A suitable starch is modified -corn starch at a level of between about 2% to about 15%, preferably at about 3% to about 6%. Such starches are commonly characterized by low viscosities at cooking temperatures but relatively high gel strength at or below room temperatures. In addition to starches, glycerin can be added as a carrier or dispersing agent for lipophilic ingredients such as flavours and colours (at level of about 1.0%, preferably at 0.2% to 0.5%).
During the mixing steps, food substances such as table salt, colouring, cheese flavours, emulsifiers, stabilizers and preservatives, and the like, are added depending on the final cheese product desired. The produced smooth mass cont~;n;ng all hydrated cheeses is then removed from the mixer-cooker and molded into the desired product shape. It can then be packaged and/or cooled in either sliced or loaf form according to practice. The resulting product has good texture and flavour, resembling a bacteria ripened cheese. When bacteria ripened parmesan cheese is the hard cheese used in the mixture, the resulting processed cheese product is not unlike parmesan cheese. For a product of this composition, a yield range of about 105% to about 180% is expected (i.e. 100 kilograms product per 95 kilograms soft and hard cheese, to 87 kilograms product per 47 kilograms soft and hard cheese).
Finally, it is preferred that the packaging material be impervious to gas. It is also preferred to use a packaging material that can be sealed to provide a gas tight package.
It is further preferred that the product in such packaging be under an inert gas.
The cheese of the present invention is shelf stable under refrigeration conditions for a substantial period of time and can be easily shredded or cut into blocks.
Therefore, the present invention has resulted on a relatively simple, but economical and superior advance in the art of process cheese product products and their formulations.

- 12 _ 2119313 The following Examples further illustrate various features of the present invention. However, they are intended to in no way limit the scope of the invention which is defined in the appended claims. For all the examples, the following terms are defined as:
'Wet Dom Parm~ means fresh Canadian parmesan but use of any imported parmesan or parmesan-type cheese is acceptable.
'Aged Dom Parm' means aged Canadian parmesan but use of any imported parmesan or parmesan-type cheese is acceptable, and more specifically, where AGED DOM PARM #1 means a firm ripened parmesan style cheese, and AGED DOM PARM #2 means another type of firm ripened parmesan style cheese.
'Pizza Mozz' means skimmed milk mozzarella cheese but could use any other mozzarella or similar type of cheese.
'Rework' means process cheese or process cheese product reused from prior manufacture.
'Sermia' means a partially skimmed milk cheese which would include cheeses such as swiss or similar type cheeses.
'Parm EMC' means enzyme modified cheese parmesan, flavouring.
'EMC~ means enzyme modified cheese flavour from other types of cheese as well.
'Cheddar' means cheddar cheese blocks or trim or any other similar type of cheese such as brick, colby, emmenthal, etc.
'Cheddar Trim' means cheddar cheese trimmings or any other similar type of cheese such as brick, colby, emmenthal, etc.
'Skim Cheese' means skimmed milk cheese and is obvious to one skilled in the art but other firm texture of cheese can also be used.
'Skim milk powder' or 'Buttermilk Powder' means any of the following in liquid, concentrated, dry, frozen or reconstituted form: buttermilk, milk, party skimmed milk, skim milk, calcium-reduced skim milk, casein, caseinates, -cultured milk productsl milk serum proteins, or ultrafiltered milk, whey.
'Casein' or 'Milk Protein' means a commercially available phosphoprotein being the principle protein in milk and the basis of curd and of cheese.
'Sodium citrate' is obvious to one skilled in the art but can also mean calcium phosphate dibasic, potassium phosphate dibasic, sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium aluminum phosphate, sodium hexametaphosphate, sodium phosphate dibasic, sodium phosphate monobasic, sodium phosphate tribasic, sodium pyrophosphate tetrabasic, calcium citrate, potassium citrate, sodium gluconate, sodium potassium tartrate, sodium tartrate, or sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (carboxymenthyl cellulose, cellulose gum, sodium cellulose glycolate).
'Sorbic acid~ means any of calcium sorbate, potassium sorbate, propianic acid, calcium propionate, sodium propionate, or sodium sorbate.
'Butter' means any of a cream, butter oil, milk fat, whey butter, or whey cream.
'Salt' means any of NaCl, KC1 or other similar common edible salts.
'Citric acid' means either acetic acid, calcium carbonate, lactic acid, malic acid, phosphoric acid, potassium bicarbonate, sodium bicarbonate, sodium carbonate, or tartaric acid.
'Colour' means annatto, beta-carotene, chlorophyll, paprika, riboflavin, tumeric, beta-apo-8'-carotenal, ethyl beta-apo-8'-carotenoate.
In spite of the significant variations shown in these examples, all products produced by them are homogenous and stable processed cheese product.
The various bacteria ripened cheeses differ in water and fat content. Therefore, as a particular type of such cheeses (e.g. Parmesan) can vary from batch to batch, their use requires that slight variations be implemented in any -- 14 - 211931~
processes used in manufacturing the product. For example, the moisture contents of Parmigiana or Reggiano cheeses varies from between 30% and 32% by weight and the fat content is between 22% and 32% by weight. It is therefore apparent that a great number of modifications and/or variations of this invention set out hereinbefore can be made to the process without departing from the invention's scope or spirit.

PREPARATION OF A PROCESSED PARMESAN CHEESE PRODUCT

The following processed cheese formulation was employed.

INGREDIENTS% MOISTURE BY WEIGHT % BY WEIGHT IN
IN INGREDIENT FINAL PRODUCT*
WET DOM PARM 38.1 22 SKIM CHEESE 50.0 05 PIZZA MOZZ 53.2 14 20 SKIM MILK POWDER 3.0 10 CHEDDAR TRIM 38.1 14 MILK PROTEIN 8.0 01 AGED DOM PARM 40.3 01 AGED DOM PARM 44.7 10 PARM EMC 46.0 03 SODIUM CITRATE 10.0 02 SORBIC ACID - .2 BUTTER 18.0 10 * Summation of all % may exceed 100% due to rounding up of %, in some cases.
The various cheeses were comminuted and listed ingredients were mixed and blended together in a mechanical blending vessel. The resulting mixture was blended until a homogenous mass was obtained. It was then mixed with water and injected with steam under agitation conditions, and cooked until the temperature reached about 75C and held for about 3 minutes.

-- 15 - 211931~
A smooth fluid mass was obtained which was then filled into the containers and cooled to about 4C. The edible processed parmesan cheese product had an appearance, taste, texture, and eating quality similar to a parmesan cheese. The fat content of the product was about 25% and the moisture content was about 37%.

PREPARATION OF A PROCESSED PARMESAN CHEESE PRODUCT

The following processed cheese formulation was employed.
INGREDIENTS% MOISTURE BY WEIGHT % BY WEIGHT IN
IN INGREDIENT FINAL PRODUCT*

WET DOM PARM 38.1 34 PIZZA MOZZ 50.7 14 SKIM MILK POWDER 3.0 01 CHEDDAR 3 7.1 14 MILK PROTEIN 8.0 03 20 BUTTERMILK POWDER 4.0 08 PARM EMC 46.0 0 3 SODIUM CITRATE 10.0 02 SORBIC ACID - .2 BUTTER 18.0 09 AGED DOM PARM 42.2 06 CITRIC ACID - .5 * Summation of all % may exceed 100% due to rounding up of %, in some cases.
The various cheeses were comminuted and listed ingredients were mixed and blended together in a mechanical blending vessel. The resulting admixture was admixed until a homogenous mass was obtained. It was then mixed with water and injected with steam under agitation conditions, and cooked until the temperature reached about 75C and held for about 3 minutes.
A smooth fluid mass was obtained which was then filled into the containers and cooled to about 4C. The edible processed parmesan cheese product had an appearance, taste, - 16 - ~119313 texture, and eating quality similar to a parmesan cheese. The fat content of the product was about 25% and the moisture content was about 37%.

PREPARATION OF A PROCESSED COLOURED CHEDDAR FOOD

The following processed cheese formulation was employed.
INGREDIENTS % MOISTURE BY WEIGHT % BY WEIGHT IN
IN INGREDIENT FINAL PRODUCT*
CHEDDAR TRIM 38.1 33 PIZZA MOZZ 50.7 06 - PIZZA MOZZ 53.2 11 COLOURED REWORK 46.0 11 BUTTERMILK POWDER 4.0 10 SODIUM CITRATE 10.0 02 SORBIC ACID - . 2 CITRIC ACID - .5 20 MILK PROTEIN 8.0 04 BUTTER 10.0 09 COLOUR 100 varies * Summation of all % may exceed 100% due to rounding up of %, in some cases.
The various cheeses were comminuted and listed ingredients were mixed and blended together in a mechanical blending vessel. The resulting admixture was admixed until a homogenous mass was obtained. It was then mixed with water and injected with steam under agitation conditions, and cooked until the temperature reached about 75C and held for about 3 minutes.
A smooth fluid mass was obtained which was then filled into the containers and cooled to about 4C. The edible processed cheddar cheese product had an appearance, taste, texture, and eating quality similar to a cheddar cheese but with characteristics necessary to permit shredding of this cheese and conserved in a gas flushed package. The fat 17 211931~
content of the product was about 23% and the moisture content was about 46%.

PIZZA PROCESSED MOZZARELLA CHEESE

The following processed cheese formulation was employed.
INGREDIENTS% MOISTURE BY WEIGHT % BY WEIGHT IN
IN INGREDIENT FINAL PRODUCT*

SKIM CHEESE 51.0 08 PIZZA MOZZ 53.0 49 SKIM REWORK 50.0 08 BUTTER 18.0 10 SKIM POWDER 3.0 04 CASIEN 8.0 07 CITRIC ACID - .5 SORBIC ACID - . 2 * Summation of all % may exceed 100% due to rounding up of %, in some cases.
The various cheeses were comminuted and listed ingredients were mixed and blended together in a mechanical blending vessel. The resulting admixture was admixed until a homogenous mass was obtained. It was then mixed with water and injected with steam under agitation conditions, and cooked until the temperature reached about 75C and held for about 3 minutes.
A smooth fluid mass was obtained which was then filled into the containers and cooled to about 4C. The edible processed mozzarella cheese product had an appearance, taste, texture, and eating quality similar to a mozzarella cheese but with characteristics necessary to permit shredding of this cheese and conserved in a gas flushed package. The fat - 18 _ 2119313 content of the product was about 16% and the moisture content was about 49%.

PIZZA PROCESSED MOZZARELLA CHEESE

The following processed cheese formulation was employed.
INGREDIENTS% MOISTURE BY WEIGHT % BY WEIGHT IN
IN INGREDIENT FINAL PRODUCT*
SERMIA 51.0 14 PIZZA MOZZ 50.0 72 SODIUM CITRATE10.0 01 SORBIC ACID - .2 15 MILK PROTEIN 8.0 06 SKIM MILK POWDER 3.0 02 * Summation of all % may exceed 100% due to rounding up of %, in some cases.
The various cheeses were comminuted and listed ingredients were mixed and blended together in a mechanical blending vessel. The resulting admixture was admixed until a homogenous mass was obtained. It was then mixed with water and injected with steam under agitation conditions, and cooked until the temperature reached about 75C and held for about 3 minutes.
A smooth fluid mass was obtained which was then filled into the containers and cooled to about 4C. The edible processed mozzarella cheese product had an appearance, taste, texture, and eating quality similar to a mozzarella cheese but with characteristics necessary to permit shredding of this cheese and conserved in a gas flushed package. The fat content of the product was about 16% and the moisture content was about 49%.

HARD GRATING PROCESS CHEESE PRODUCT

The following processed cheese formulation was employed.
5 INGREDIENTS% MOISTURE BY WEIGHT % BY WEIGHT IN
IN INGREDIENT FINAL PRODUCT*
SERMIA 48.0 59 WHEY POWDER 4.0 02 CHEDDAR TRIM 40.0 32 MILK PROTEIN 8.0 02 AGED PARM 41.0 02 PIZZA MOZZ 50.0 02 * Summation of all % may exceed 100% due to rounding up of %, in some cases.
No chemical emulsifiers were used in this embodiment.
All emulsification was performed by mechanical means.
The various cheeses were comminuted and listed ingredients were mixed and blended together in a mechanical blending vessel (water may be added to adjust the moisture of the final product). The resulting admixture was admixed until a homogenous mass was obtained. It was then heated in a jacketed vessel under agitation conditions, and cooked until the temperature reached about 75C and held for about 3 minutes.
A smooth fluid mass was obtained which was then filled into the containers and cooled to about 4C. The edible hard grating processed cheese product had an appearance, taste, texture, and eating quality similar to a hard grating cheese.
The fat content of the product was about 15% to 20% and the moisture content about 44%.