DE20020163U1 - Cheese preparation with parmesan - Google Patents

Description

Dellantonio Giovanni

51911KW/df 28.11.2000

CHEESE PREPARATION WITH PARMESAN

The invention relates to a versatile parmesan-containing foodstuff and in particular to a spreadable cheese preparation with parmesan according to claim 1, in which the hard cheese is converted in a simple manner into a spreadable preparation &iacgr;&ogr;.

Parmesan, a popular hard cheese, is mostly used as an ingredient in Italian dishes, especially pasta dishes, because of its intense flavor. Parmesan is usually shaved, grated or grated and used for gratinating and is used in particular as a flavor-enhancing ingredient that gives a dish a special flavor. Parmesan is known to be eaten with mixed salads, as a dessert with fruit, on pizza and of course with pasta, risotto, gnocchi, etc. Recipe books and Italian gastronomy also reveal various sauce variations in which Parmesan is mixed. Parmesan is rarely eaten whole with bread and wine.

The above examples of the use of Parmesan show that it has so far been seen primarily as a complementary ingredient for the preparation of dishes or as grated cheese, particularly for Italian cuisine, where the taste of the main ingredient (e.g. pasta or pizza) is in the foreground and Parmesan is only intended to give the dish a special flavour nuance.

It is therefore the object of the present invention to create a versatile foodstuff with a creamy consistency that tastes predominantly of Parmesan, but is not as intense as pure Parmesan, and that is particularly suitable as

Spread, cream, pate, filling or dip for snacks or as a basis for new recipes, whereby the present invention includes not only a normal version but also diet and functional food versions of the food.

This object is solved by the features of claim 1. Advantageous embodiments emerge from the subclaims.

According to the invention, a spreadable cheese preparation with Parmesan comprises a portion of grated or shredded Parmesan, which is processed with liquid, semi-solid and/or solid auxiliary substances to form a spreadable mass, whereby, for example, water, milk, stabilizers, thickeners, emulsifiers, spices, herbs and/or additives can be used. Further examples of such auxiliary substances are milk products such as cream, cream substitutes, and vegetable and animal proteins such as gelatin, milk protein, soy protein, polysaccharides such as starch, starch derivatives, flour, agar-agar, etc. Milk products which, in addition to Parmesan, form the basic substance of the cheese preparation are in particular cream, crème fraîche, sour cream, quark, butter, mascarpone, yoghurt, ricotta, whey, cream cheese, processed cheese, etc.

One advantage of cheese preparations containing parmesan is that they are very easy to make. Simply mixing grated parmesan with milk and/or cream quickly produces a spreadable mixture, and there are hardly any limits to the number and combination of additives that can be used to make the basic cheese preparation.

The proportion of Parmesan is at least 6-7% by weight, preferably at least 10% or at least 20% and especially over 30%. All percentages in this description are to be understood as percentages by weight.

The proportion of Parmesan is chosen in such a way that, after adding the above-mentioned additives, a spreadable mass is created which retains good spreadability even when cooled to refrigerator temperature.

It has been found that Parmesan can act as a thickener due to its liquid-absorbing properties. The ripening of hard cheeses such as Parmesan takes place simultaneously throughout the whole cheese. During the ripening process, peptones, peptides, amino acids and aromatic substances are formed. Parmesan cheese is also stored for several years and

In the process, the cheese gains valuable ingredients and flavourings. As the storage time increases, the cheese loses moisture, so that it becomes harder and harder. A network of calcium caseinate forms, which encloses fat and flavourings. The proteins broken down during cheese production initially form small aggregates in liquids with an irregular and often elongated shape, which then come together to form a three-dimensional network of a few μm. Parmesan can therefore be used in addition to or instead of conventional thickeners in all types of food. The speed at which Parmesan forms a gel increases with increasing temperature and this effect can also be exploited in the context of the present invention. Due to their bipolar structure, proteins and peptides contained in Parmesan, such as casein, can also take on an emulsifying function.

A great advantage of the cheese preparation according to the invention is that it generally does not require any artificial preservatives and yet has a sufficiently long shelf life. Aromatics and flavor enhancers are also generally not necessary, since the natural flavor of the Parmesan gives the cheese preparation sufficient flavor.

Depending on the type of Parmesan cheese chosen as the starting material, the preparation may have a nutty taste.

In this application, the term "Parmesan" refers in particular to the cheeses Parmigiano Reggiano, Grana Padano and Trentingrana, but also to cheeses with a similar consistency and taste. Parmesan of German and international origin or Parmesello can also be used.

Below you will find two recipe examples that can be used to make a creamy or foamy base mixture.

&iacgr;&ogr; Example 1 : creamy mass

100g liquid cream (30% fat content)
30-5Og grated Parmesan
15-2Og stiffly beaten egg whites
5-1 oz butter

The cream is heated to at least 50°C and Parmesan is added while stirring constantly. Stir until a creamy mass has formed. To loosen the mass, stiffly beaten egg whites and melted butter can be added. This gives the base mass according to the invention a particularly pleasant taste. The mass can also be made smooth by adding crème fraîche.

This preparation is particularly suitable as a spread on bread, as a dip for snacks, toast or cream soups, etc.

Example 2 : foamy mass

100g liquid cream (30% fat content)
30-5Og grated Parmesan
1-2 teaspoons liqueur

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The grated Parmesan is melted at at least 50° C and mixed with 3-4 tablespoons of liquid cream until a thick, creamy mass is formed. The remaining cream is whipped separately until (semi) stiff and then mixed with the thick mass until a foamy, homogeneous mass is formed. The liqueur is then added to this mass. Butter and foam stabilizers can be added if necessary.

This preparation is particularly suitable for dessert, especially fruit salad, ice cream or as a cake filling.

By adding other thickeners, the creaminess or spreadability of the Parmesan cheese preparation can be adjusted to the specific application.

Other thickeners and emulsion stabilizers that can be used in the present invention are, for example, alginic acid (E-400), locust bean gum (E410), guar gum (E-412), tamarind flour, pectins (E-440), starch and starch derivatives (E-1410 - E1451), dextrins, cellulose (E-460) and cellulose derivatives (E-461-E466), agar-agar (E-406), carrageenan (E-407).

In particular, low-esterified pectins with a degree of esterification below 50%, carrageenan, agar-agar and alginates (salts of polymannuronic acid) provide, with the calcium salts present in the preparation according to the invention, gels which can be used within the scope of the present invention to thicken the preparation and/or to stabilize the emulsions in the parmesan-containing cheese preparation.

Furthermore, within the scope of the present invention, cream or other high-calorie excipients can be replaced by cellulose derivatives and/or other low-calorie thickeners. In this way, as well as by using low-fat or low-cholesterol milk or quark, spreadable products suitable for low-calorie and/or balanced diets can be produced.

• · ·♦♦

Parmesan-containing preparations with a pleasant nutty taste can be produced as a dietary embodiment.

To better mix the Parmesan with the added ingredients, the mixture can be heated, preferably at a temperature above the melting range of Parmesan.

The mixing of the grated or shredded Parmesan with the other basic ingredients is preferably carried out at slightly elevated temperatures of at least 38°C, preferably at least 50 ^° C and in particular 60°-90°C.

If the production is also carried out under vacuum, i.e. a pressure below 0.5 bar, especially below 100 mbar, significantly less air and therefore less oxygen is incorporated into the preparation than when mixing under ambient pressure, which significantly improves the shelf life and stability of the cheese preparation. Production under protective gas can also lead to increased stability of the preparation. This process is particularly recommended for high-speed agitators and for the production of light cheese creams containing parmesan with a high gas content.

The preparation can also be manufactured and/or packaged under vacuum and/or protective gassing. The gassing can be carried out either by alternating evacuation and subsequent gassing with protective gas or by displacing the oxygen by flushing with protective gas. If the production has already taken place while avoiding oxygen, it may be sufficient to cover the cheese preparation containing parmesan with protective gas before closing the final container.

Common gases such as E 938 argon, E 939 helium, E 941 nitrogen or E 942

Nitrous oxide can be used. CO ₂ is also suitable for protective fumigation.

By adding flavorings, the cheese preparation can be given different flavors or the fine Parmesan flavor can be rounded off. The flavorings can be either artificial or natural flavorings, with natural nut ingredients such as pistachio, walnut, hazelnut or peanut going particularly well with the nutty flavor of Parmesan cheese.

Fruit flavors or pieces, such as pear, apple, lemon, etc., also give the cheese preparation a particularly pleasant taste. Finely chopped salads, herb and vegetable puree, radicchio, rocket, peppers, zucchini, etc. can also be added to the cheese preparation.

In order to increase the shelf life or to preserve the fine aroma even after a longer period of use, it is possible within the scope of the present invention to protect the parmesan-containing preparation with antioxidants. Natural antioxidants such as tocopherols (ε-vitamins) and esters of ascorbic acid are preferably selected for this purpose.

Flavorings and/or flavor enhancers are generally not required in the present invention, but can be added to intensify the flavor, for example in vegetable-containing preparations or ready-made gratins.

Additionally, cereal grains, especially wheat or oat grains, can be added in grated, ground or pressed form.

If desired, the present invention can be enhanced by adding minerals, trace elements, vitamins, bioflavonoids, choline, oligosaccharides, polyunsaturated fatty acids, omega-3 fatty acids,

Plant extracts, dietary fibre, probiotic cultures and/or other additives approved for nutritional supplementation in the form of a valuable dietary supplement with health-promoting effects (functional food).

An exceptional taste can be achieved by adding liqueurs such as almond, egg or lemon liqueur in proportions of 2-10%, especially 5-7%. A layer of red wine or red wine extract can turn the parmesan-containing &iacgr;&ogr; preparation into a tasty food supplement thanks to its content of valuable bioflavonoids and polyphenols.

To round off the overall visual impression, natural, natural-substance-like or synthetic dyes can be added. Natural dyes such as carotenoids E 160 ff are particularly preferred, some of which have vitamin effects in addition to their coloring properties.

The taste of the cheese preparation can finally be rounded off by adding spices such as salt or pepper.

As already mentioned, the cheese preparation has a sufficiently long shelf life even without the addition of preservatives.

If preservation of the cheese preparation according to the invention is desirable, a suitable preservative can be selected from the suitable, approved preservatives depending on the properties of the overall preparation (such as pH value, components of the recipe, etc.). For example, the high molecular weight natural peptide C ₁₄₃ H ₂₃₀ N ₄₂ O ₃₇ S ₇ nisin (E 234), which is commonly used in cheese preparations, propionic acid CH ₃ CH ₂ COOH, its salts (E-230 to E-238) or the universally applicable sorbic acid (E 200) shown in the following formula can be used:

Sorbic acid

Sorbic acid (E-200) occurs in the form of its &dgr;-lactone (parascorbic acid, (S)-2-hexen-5-olide) in the rowanberry (Sorbus aucuparia), from which it can also be extracted. E-200 is mainly antimycotic and can also inhibit the growth of other microorganisms by inhibiting physiological dehydration processes. The amounts used for this preservative are preferably in the range of 0.01 to 0.3%. Although sorbic acid is most effective in acidic conditions, its effect is by no means as pH-dependent as with benzoic acid (E-210).

&iacgr;&ogr; Adjustment of the preparation to the desired pH value can be achieved using a commercially available acidifier, e.g. adipic acid, malic acid (E296), succinic acid, citric acid (E-330), acetic acid (E-260), lactic acid (E-270), tartaric acid (E-334) or ascorbic acid.

Since some microorganisms are able to decarboxylate sorbic acid to 1,3-pentadiene, which can lead to off-flavors in cheese preparations, milk products containing live cultures should be tested for the formation of off-flavors before being used in a parmesan-containing cheese preparation according to the invention.

1,3-pentadiene
Sorbic acid

Claims (19)

1. Cheese preparation containing at least the following ingredients:
Parmesan cheese and
Milk and/or a milk product and/or protein, characterized in that the proportion of Parmesan cheese is at least 6-7% by weight. 2. Cheese preparation according to claim 1, characterized in that the Parmesan cheese is chosen from a group of hard cheeses comprising Parmigiano Reggiano, Grana Padano, Trentingrana, Parmesello or hard cheeses with a similar consistency and taste. 3. Cheese preparation according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the proportion of Parmesan is at least 10% by weight. 4. Cheese preparation according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the proportion of Parmesan is at least 20% by weight. 5. Cheese preparation according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cheese preparation additionally contains natural or artificial flavorings. 6. Cheese preparation according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cheese preparation contains vegetables or salad. 7. Cheese preparation according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cheese preparation contains pieces of nuts or grated nuts. 8. Cheese preparation according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cheese preparation contains pieces of fruit or a fruit flavor. 9. Cheese preparation according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cheese preparation contains a proportion of liqueur or wine. 10. Cheese preparation according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the Parmesan is grated or shredded. 11. Cheese preparation according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cheese preparation has been mixed at temperatures above the melting range of Parmesan. 12. Cheese preparation according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cheese preparation contains no preservatives. 13. Cheese preparation according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cheese preparation is mixed with whipped cream, in particular in a ratio of 30:40 (cheese preparation: whipped cream). 14. Cheese preparation according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cheese preparation contains stabilizers. 15. Cheese preparation according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cheese preparation contains spices. 16. Cheese preparation according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the milk or milk product used is low in calories or low in calories. 17. Cheese preparation according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it contains no melting salts. 18. Cheese preparation according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it contains a foamy whipped ingredient, in particular cream or whipped egg white. 19. Cheese preparation according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it contains vegetable proteins.