FR2886519A1 - Firm, elastic and cohesive conditioned cheese portion in an envelope containing an internal flexible envelope of transparent heat sealable plastic material that is coated with a layer of a wax type adhesive coating material - Google Patents

Abstract

The firm, elastic and cohesive conditioned cheese portion in an envelope has a heat sealable plastic material with a sheet thickness of 80-200 mu m. The cheese portion: is completely coated with a first color layer and partially coated with a second color layer on an external wall of the cheese portion; has a firmness of 5.50-5.80, elasticity of 80-84 and a cohesion of 72-76; is pressed at 17[deg]C; and has weight lower or equal to 100 g. A flexible internal envelope: constitutes a closed pelable welding shell/sachet; and comprises two ear flaps that overflows to an outside of coating. The firm, elastic and cohesive conditioned cheese portion in an envelope has a heat sealable plastic material with a sheet thickness of 80-200 mu m. The cheese portion: is completely coated with a first color layer and partially coated with a second color layer on an external wall of the cheese portion; has a firmness of 5.50-5.80, elasticity of 80-84 and a cohesion of 72-76; is pressed at 17[deg]C; and has a weight lower or equal to 100 g. A flexible internal envelope: constitutes a closed pelable welding shell/sachet; and comprises two ear flaps that overflows to an outside of coating and allows easy opening of the envelope. The shell or sachet has a sealing surface of lower or equal to 3 mm and the ear flaps width is lower than 6 mm. An independent claim is included for a production of a firm, elastic and cohesive conditioned cheese portion.

Description

The present invention relates to the packaging of a cheese in

  an outer casing and in particular packaging a cheese coated in a wax or an equivalent material.

  Certain cheeses, in particular pressed cheeses, are preserved and marketed in the form of portions packaged in an external protection intended to prevent, on the one hand, the desiccation of the cheese and, on the other hand, its deterioration by the molds.

  Several types of protection are used for this purpose and these protections include coatings using coatings based on synthetic plastic material such as vinyl acetate polymers. Such a thin coating requires, for its use, the preliminary crusting cheese.

  Protective methods are also known from coatings which utilize the melting and crystallization properties of their constituent.

  These coatings use liquid components at coating temperatures which are then solidified by cooling, the coating being by soaking or spraying on the cheese portions.

  The materials used to make these protections, and in particular the materials used to make coatings, must have a high plasticity and maneuverability character, be slightly brittle and not adhere to the cheese at the time of their elimination.

  These materials generally consist of one or more layers of varying thickness based on hydrocarbon waxes, consisting for example of a mixture of paraffin, microcrystalline wax and optionally mineral oil.

  Such a coating of this type and its mode of application is described in patent FR 1453 977.

  It is also possible to use melt acetylated monoglyceride materials which have the advantage of solidifying as crystals upon cooling to room temperature to give waxy and relatively flexible products.

  Hydrocarbon waxes have the advantage of having excellent functional properties, however, they have the disadvantage of having an adverse effect on the environment.

  In addition, although the safety of the hydrocarbons used has been recognized, a doubt remains and their use is likely to be limited in the longer or shorter term by the regulations.

  This results notably from the fact that there remain risks of migration of certain compounds contained in the coatings to the cheese itself which is in direct contact with the coating.

  Several techniques have been proposed to avoid the direct contact of hydrocarbons with cheese. In particular, in the patent application EP 01 141 299, it has been proposed a coating for cheese which comprises an intermediate layer between the cheese and the coating layer made of hydrocarbon wax, this intermediate layer consisting of a mixture of esters, acetic acids and mono-glycerine fatty acids. However, these coatings require the presence of a means for removing the coating at the time of consumption, in particular. for products sold as single servings for ambulatory use.

  In order to allow easy opening of the coating of such cheese parts, it has been proposed to arrange the loops according to a process which is described for example in the patent FR 04 03602. According to this method, the naked cheese is surrounded by using a portion of a thin ribbon U-shaped and of a length substantially greater than that required to surround the portion of cheese. The cheese supported by the ribbon is suspended and soaked in a coating bath and then cooled in cold water to solidify the coating layer.

  When this layer is solidified, the two ends of the tape are cut beyond the area in which they have been impregnated with the coating material. The two ends of ribbon protruding then serve as a gripping member to begin tearing the wax and eliminate it. This technique however has the disadvantage of requiring specific equipment important for the installation of the loop.

  The object of the present invention is to overcome these disadvantages by providing a means for protecting cheese parts intended to be coated which avoids both the contact with hydrocarbon waxes and the cheese contained in the protection and which also avoids the setting of an opening loop but which, however, has the same product protection features and convenience of removing the coating at the time of consumption as the known coated cheese portions.

  For this purpose, the subject of the invention is a portion of cheese whose envelope consists of a flexible inner envelope made of heat-sealable material, coated with at least one layer of a coating material adhered to the internal flexible envelope.

  The sealable material of which the flexible casing is made is preferably of food grade and consists, for example, of at least one plastic material.

  The sealable material may be a multilayer material, for example of the PA / PE or PA / EVOH / PE or PP / PE / EVOH / PE type.

  Preferably, the sealable material is a sheet of thickness between 80 μm and 200 μm.

  The coating material is, for example, wax type.

  Preferably, the sealable material is transparent or the color of a coating layer.

  The portion of cheese may comprise at least one coating layer of a first color completely coating the cheese portion and a partial coating layer of a second color, on the outer wall of the cheese portion.

  The flexible inner envelope is, for example, a shell or a pouch closed by a peelable weld and having at least two atria projecting outside the coating and allowing easy opening of the envelope.

  Preferably, the shell or bag has a rim less than or equal to 3 mm and atria of width less than 6 mm.

  The cheese is, for example, a firm, elastic cheese of the pressed-paste type having, at 17 ° C., a firmness of between 5.50 and 5.80, an elasticity of between 80 and 84, and a cohesion of between 72 and 76. Its weight can be less than or equal to 100g.

  The invention also relates to a method according to which: - a flexible shell or bag made of sealable material having an opening is produced, - the shell or the bag of cheese is filled, - the shell or the bag is sealed, leaving free portions to facilitate the opening of the package, and - the shell or the filled bag is coated with at least one coating material.

  To make a shell or a bag, it is possible to: - place facing one another, two sheets of flexible material, sealable, and form a container by sealing the two portions of leaves, leaving free a hole of filling, and by blow-molding in the filling orifice.

  Preferably, the hot shell or pouch is filled and the filling is carried out at a temperature above 70 C.

  The invention will now be described in a more precise but nonlimiting manner with reference to the appended figures in which: FIGS. 1A and 1B show a portion of cheese contained in a protection; FIG. 2 schematically represents the succession of operations for manufacturing a portion of cheese contained in a protection comprising in particular a coating.

  The invention relates in particular, but not exclusively, to the production of portions of cheese of weight less than or equal to 100 g and preferably less than or equal to 50 g, which may constitute, for example, individual parts in any form, more preferably in disk form or of galette.

  As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the cheese portion has a round pancake-shaped body 1 contained in a removable casing and having a tab extending outwardly and peripherally of the wafer.

  This tongue has a neck 2 which is closed, and two tabs 3A and 3B, facing one another, and which can be used on the one hand, to grasp the portion of cheese and on the other hand, for open the protection around him. The cake 1 consists essentially of a cheese paste which has been prepared beforehand and introduced into a bag or double shell which has the shape shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. The cheese which constitutes the cake 1 of this portion of cheese may be a cheese of any type and in particular a cheese of traditional manufacture, or a processed cheese, a fresh cheese or a cheese obtained using the process which is described for example in the patent application FR 98 06319.

  The packaging that will be described is particularly suitable for firm and elastic cheeses of the pressed-paste type, the rheological characteristics of which are measured at 17 ° C. on a TAXT2 rheometer by double compression on a pressed dough aged one week with a probe of 12 x 12 millimeters in the plane plane, lubricated, correspond to a firmness of between 5.50 and 5.80, an elasticity of between 80 and 84 and a cohesion of between 72 and 76.

  Note that the cheeses that can be protected with the protection according to the invention are all cheeses derived from components of milk and / or components of plant origin.

  The protection which is arranged around the cheese slab consists firstly of a flexible plastic envelope made from materials such as multilayer materials suitable for food uses and which are, for example, materials of the PA type. / PE (polyamide / polyethylene), or PAIEVOH / PE (polyamide / copolymer of ethylene and vinyl alcohol / polyethylene) or PP / PE / EVOH / PE (polypropylene / polyethylene / ethylene vinyl alcohol / polyethylene copolymer), whose thickness is preferably between 80 and 200 microns. Such materials are chosen to be thermoformable and heat sealable by peelable welds, preferably transparent or of a color that will be adapted to the color of a wax-based coating that can be disposed outside of this envelope. made of flexible plastic material. In particular, the characteristics of the material and the coating, when there is a coating must be chosen so that the layer of flexible transparent polymer material is the most imperceptible possible.

  In general, the coating material is of the hydrocarbon wax type consisting of a mixture of paraffin wax, microcrystalline wax, and optionally mineral oil, or may also be coated with wax derived from organic synthesis, wax of agricultural origin. , polymeric coating or varnish.

  The materials used for the coating layer must be selected so as to adhere to the flexible plastic sheet which serves to make the first envelope which is in contact with the cheese.

  It will be noted that the portion of cheese may be coated with several coating layers, and in particular with a first coating layer which coats the entire portion of cheese in a first color and a second layer which does not only part of the cheese and that has a second color.

  To achieve these packages, several embodiments are possible. In a first embodiment, the first layer of flexible plastic material consists of a bag which is filled with cheese and which is pressed onto the cheese by evacuation, and which is sealed leaving the two upper edges partially free. The sealing of the different sheets that constitute the bag is achieved by means of welds that are peelable and thus allow the opening by pulling this solder.

  The bag filled with cheese and well sealed is then coated with wax for example by dipping or spraying, so that the unsealed portions of the upper edge protrude from the coating layer of the bag so as to serve as organs. grasping. In this embodiment, the two unsealed portions of the top edge of the bag may be spaced from each other and being apart cause opening of the bag.

  In a second embodiment, the envelope of flexible plastic material consists of a shell with a low rim preferably less than 3 mm, and has atria that can be up to 6 mm wide. In this second embodiment, the manufacturing is done using two flexible plastic material films which are uncoiled parallel to each other. The films 10A and 10B, facing each other in a sealing zone, and in a first step, marked El, in FIG. 2, are sealed by a peelable weld so as to form the periphery 12 of the container 11, leaving an unsealed area 13 which will subsequently fill the cheese and an unsealed area 14 which will allow the formation of opening tabs. In a second step E2, the container is formed by thermoforming, by blowing through the orifice 13, as indicated by the arrow, hot air so as to swell the area intended to receive cheese, and thus form two sealed half-shells which then constitutes a shell. Once this thermoforming has been performed, the top of the orifice 13 is partially cut out so as to create a slightly enlarged opening and a tube 15 is introduced into this opening through which cheese 21 is injected inside between the two halves. shells as shown in step E3 of Figure 2. In step E4 following step E3, the shell is sealed by closing the filler opening by heat sealing by a weld 16 peelable. In a next step E5 in the figure, it is allowed to cool the shell filled with cheese. In a step E6, the periphery 17 of the half-shells filled with cheese is cut off leaving the unsealed zone 14 attached. Then, in a step E7, the shell is dried and in a step E8 the shell of at least an outer coating layer 18, for example based on wax, either by dipping, by spraying, or by any other method and is allowed to crystallize in a step E9. In a subsequent step E10, the portion of cheese generally marked 20 formed in the central part 11 of a cheese slab 21 contained in a flexible shell of flexible plastic material having a welded collar, coated with a coating layer of material such as wax. The cutting is carried out so that the zone 13 forms two wider portions 3A and 3B which constitute two atria making it possible to grasp and open the shell.

  The two processes as just described have the advantage of making it possible to manufacture, in a simple manner, portions of cheese having a protection comprising in particular an outer coating which is separated from the cheese itself by a layer of flexible plastic material. which performs a function of physicochemical or bacteriological barrier between the cheese and the coating wax and which furthermore constitutes a convenient means for removing coating waxes at the time of consumption from the cheese.

  These methods also have the advantage of using a first protection in which the cheese can be introduced at high temperature and in particular at a sufficient temperature, that is to say greater than 70 C, better 72 C and better still 75 C for the cheese to be pasteurized. If the envelope is heat-sealed while the cheese is still hot, a cheese portion is obtained that is sterile and therefore has excellent stability properties over time.

  As a first example, a 22 gram pressed cheese is made by a traditional method from pasteurized whole milk, mesophilic lactic ferments (1.2%), rennet, salt brought by immersion in a bath of brine and rennet. The cheese thus obtained is round and forms a wafer with a diameter of 40 mm and a height of 15 mm, which has a rounded heel and has two flat faces. This cheese has a dry extract of 52.50%, it contains 24% fat, 1.6% sodium chloride and has a pH of 5.15.

  After pressing, brining and wiping the surface, the cheese is cooled to 8 C. It then has dry surfaces. This cheese is then deposited in a plastic bag made of a polyamide / polyester film, which is closed on three sides. The bag is then pressed onto the cheese by the vacuum corresponding to a pressure of 0.2 bars, and it is sealed so as to be sealed. The bag is chosen so that its width is greater than that of the cheese and so that, after sealing, a cut of the film is possible so that it has two atria located opposite each other that will allow the consumer to open it easily. Indeed, the materials were chosen so that the welds of the heat seal are easily peelable so that it can be opened easily.

  The set consisting of pressed cheese in the sealed and cut plastic film bag, is then coated by being dipped in a bath of wax at a temperature of 80 C for about 1 second, so that the amount of wax deposited is 10% of the weight of the cheese. The wax-coated cheese is then immersed in an ice-water bath at 7 ° C. for 1 minute.

  In a second example, the cheese is a cheese of the pressed-paste type, manufactured according to a method described for example in the patent application FR 98 06319, in order to constitute a portion of cheese of 25 grams which is in the form of a cake . It is made from 50% emmental and 50% maasdam to which 10% of water is added.

  The cheeses are grated and the water is added to the mixture and the whole is heated by injection of steam under pressure at a temperature of 55 ° C. in a cutter-type tool which provides agitation.

  The cheese thus obtained is cooled to a temperature of 12 ° C. and packaged in a plastic bag made of PAIEVOH / PE plastic film approximately 100 μm thick. The plastic bag is a closed bag on three sides and the lower half is rounded to fit the shape of the cheese. In this bag is emptied, sealed the upper half of the bag and cut so as to leave two tongues that will allow the consumer to open the product.

  The product is then coated with microcrystalline wax in a 78 C melt so that the amount of wax deposited is 12% of the weight of the cheese.

  The cheese is then soaked in an ice-water bath at 2 ° C. for 1 minute.

  In a third example, a firm processed cheese is made from 55% gouda, 10% butter, 10% skim milk powder, 1.3% cast iron salts, 0.3% sodium chloride and 23.4% water. For this, the ingredients are ground in a cutter and then baked under stirring at 1500 revolutions per minute with direct injection of steam under pressure, so that the maximum temperature reaches about 110 C. The dough thus obtained is cooled in the cutter. by injecting cold water so that this temperature drops down to about 82 C.

  The paste is then transferred to a dosing hopper and then injected into a flexible bag, for example PP / PE / EVOH / PE at a temperature of 76 ° C. The product form is ovoid. The bag in which the paste has been introduced is then sealed and cut by letting two tabs pass through which will serve as gripping members. The bag thus filled with cheese is cooled to a temperature of less than 12 ° C. and then the product is waxed in a bath of red paraffin wax at 80 ° C.

  After crystallization of the first layer of red paraffin, the product is partially covered with a second layer of wax of another color, on its lower part, to give it a different presentation.

  The product thus obtained is a bacteriologically stable product which can be marketed at ambient temperature even in hot countries. This bacteriological stability results in particular from the temperatures at which the operations of cooking, filling and sealing of the product are carried out.

  In a fourth example, fresh cheese is packaged in a flexible packaging and covered with latex varnish. In this example, a thermally processed fresh cheese is manufactured according to the methods known to those skilled in the art. In particular, a curd is produced by coagulation of milk from ferments, followed by extraction by centrifugation. The curd is then enriched in aromatics, and subjected to a temperature of 85 C.

  The hot paste thus obtained is transferred into a dosing hopper at 80 ° C. and then injected into a PAPE flexible bag at a temperature of 78 ° C. The sachet is defined so that the shape of the product is triangular and has a weight of 25 grams.

  The bag thus filled is then sealed and cut leaving two tabs that will serve as gripping members.

  The product is then cooled to a temperature below 30 C, then it is covered with a latex varnish by spraying the film. The product is then dried and packaged in its final packaging after cooling.

Claims (18)

  1. Portion of cheese packaged in an envelope characterized in that the envelope consists of a flexible inner envelope of heat-sealable material, coated with at least one layer of a coating material adhering to the envelope internal flexible.   2. portion of cheese according to claim 1, characterized in that the sealable material which is constituted by the flexible envelope is of food grade.   3. portion of cheese according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the sealable material is a material consisting of at least one plastic material.   4. Portion of cheese according to claim 3, characterized in that the sealable material is a multilayer material, for example of the type PA / PE or PA / EVOH / PE or PP / PE / EVOH / PE.   5. portion of cheese according to claim 3 or claim 4, characterized in that the sealable material is a sheet of thickness between 80 pm and 200 pm.   6. portion of cheese according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the coating material is of the wax type.   7. portion of cheese according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the sealable material is transparent or the color of a coating layer.   8. portion of cheese according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that it comprises at least one coating layer of a first color completely coating the cheese portion and a partial coating layer of a second color, on the outer wall of the cheese portion.   9. Portion of cheese according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the flexible inner envelope is a shell or a bag closed by a peelable weld and having at least two atria projecting outside the liner. coating and allowing easy opening of the envelope.   10. portion of cheese according to claim 9, characterized in that the shell or the bag has a rim less than or equal to 3mm and atria of width less than 6mm.   11. portion of cheese according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the cheese is a firm cheese, elastic type pressed pressed having, at 17 C, a firmness of between 5.50 and 5.80, an elasticity of between 80 and 84, and a cohesion of between 72 and 76.   12. Portion of cheese according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that its weight is less than or equal to 100g.   13. A process for producing a portion of cheese (20) according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that: one carries a shell (11) or a flexible bag of sealable material having an opening (13), fills the shell or the bag of cheese, the shell or the bag is sealed, leaving free portions (3A, 3B) to facilitate the opening of the package, and the shell or the bag filled with at least one coating material.   14. The method of claim 13, characterized in that to achieve a shell or a bag (11), is arranged opposite one another, two sheets (10A, 10B) of flexible material, sealable, and forms a container by sealing the two portions of sheets, leaving free a filling orifice, and by blow-molding in the filling orifice.   15. The method of claim 13 or claim 14, characterized in that fills the hot shell or pouch.   16. The method of claim 15, characterized in that the filling is performed at a temperature above 70 C.   17. The method of claim 13, characterized in that after filling the bag and before closing by sealing, it is evacuated to press the bag against the cheese it contains.   18. Process according to any one of Claims 13 to 17, characterized in that the coating is carried out by dipping or by spraying.