JP2010075133A - Method for producing natural cheese - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for producing pasta filata cheese, suppressing loss of milk fat in a production process, and improving an earned value of a final product and production efficiency. <P>SOLUTION: This method for producing the pasta filata cheese includes adding a heating kneading process of making cheese curd from raw material milk followed by kneading while heating, to the cheese curd. The heating kneading process includes a preliminary kneading process of adding steam to the cheese curd followed by kneading, and a main kneading process of arranging a plurality of auger screws in a straight line to the transport direction of the cheese curd, and kneading the cheese curd after the preliminary kneading process while putting an interval sandwitched by the auger screws adjacent to each other under a high pressure. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

 The present invention relates to a method for producing natural cheese, and particularly to a method for producing pasta filata cheese represented by mozzarella cheese.

  Pasta filata cheese typified by mozzarella cheese is named for the combination of Italian “dough (pasta)” and “break into filaments (filata)”. Pasta filata cheese is in a stringing state when heated and is used in pizza toppings and the like.

  Pasta filata cheese is generally kneaded while heating, such as adding hot water or steam to the cheese curd, after adding a curd enzyme to the raw milk and coagulating it to form a cheese curd (heating kneading step) ).

  By passing through this heating and kneading process, the cheese curd becomes an elastic fibrous structure, and when heated to a predetermined temperature or higher, the cheese curd is in a stretchable stringing state.

  Various proposals have been made for a method for producing pasta filata cheese (Patent Documents 1 to 5).

  Patent Document 1 proposes a method for producing pasta filata cheese, in which skim milk powder, milk protein concentrate, emulsifier, and the like are mixed in a curd and then kneaded while directly adding water vapor to the curd.

  In Patent Document 2, the process of kneading while directly adding water vapor to the card, and then a back pressure valve is arranged to adjust the pressure (back pressure) to 1 to 50 psi (about 6.9 to 344 kPa). However, a method for producing pasta filata cheese, which includes a step of mixing saline with a static mixer, has been proposed.

  Patent Document 3 discloses a mozzarella (pasta) that uses one auger screw in the cheese curd kneading process and adjusts the amount of hot water added to the curd by measuring the torque (rotational force) of the auger screw. Filata) A method for producing cheese is described.

Patent Document 4 proposes a method for producing mozzarella cheese, which is heated by directly adding water vapor at about 1.5 to 2.5 kg / cm ² (about 150 to 250 kPa) in the cheese curd kneading step. Has been.

  Patent Document 5 describes a method of delaying the decomposition of casein by making cheese a pressure higher than 400 MPa.

  A summary of these conventional methods for producing pasta filata cheese is as follows. One is to make cheese curd plastic by crushing cheese curd and adding it to hot water of about 70-80 ° C, and then cooling it after filling it into a desired mold. Is the method. The other is a manufacturing method in which cheese curd is crushed and kneaded while injecting water vapor (about 120 to 150 ° C.).

  In the former method of pulverizing the cheese curd and kneading it into hot water of about 70 to 80 ° C., milk components (milk fat content) are released from the cheese curd into the hot water. Therefore, in order to set the fat content of the final product as a target value, it is necessary to prepare curd with raw material milk containing a large amount of milk fat in advance in view of loss of milk fat.

  In addition, milk fat released in the hot water must be collected by a fat separator and reused in other dairy products or discarded, and the effort and cost for that amount are also required.

  On the other hand, in the latter method of crushing cheese curd and kneading while injecting water vapor, hot water is not used, so that milk fat is not released into the hot water, but a separation liquid containing milk fat is generated. It is necessary to collect, reuse, and dispose of the milk fat that has been released into the separated liquid, and the same effort and cost as the former are required.

That is, in the conventional method for producing pasta filata cheese, a large amount of milk fat is lost, which causes a decrease in the final product yield and a decrease in production efficiency.
U.S. Patent No. 6,440,481 B1 U.S. Pat.No. 4,898,745 B1 JP 2004-267091 A JP 2005-261434 A Special Publication 2006-506087 Publication

  In the conventional method for producing pasta filata cheese, there is room for improvement in suppressing the loss of milk fat in the production process and improving the yield and production efficiency of the final product.

  Then, this invention proposes the manufacturing method of the natural cheese which can aim at the improvement of the yield and production efficiency of a final product, especially the manufacturing method of pasta filata cheese, suppressing the loss of milk fat in a manufacturing process. Is aimed at.

The invention according to claim 1 of the present application is
After forming a cheese curd from raw milk, adding a heating kneading step of kneading while heating to the cheese curd, a method for producing pasta filata cheese,
The heating and kneading step includes
A preliminary kneading step of adding water vapor to the cheese curd and kneading;
A main kneading step in which a plurality of auger screws are arranged in series with respect to the transfer direction of the cheese curd and the cheese curd after the preliminary kneading step is kneaded while maintaining a high pressure between adjacent auger screws. It is the manufacturing method of the pasta filata cheese characterized.

The invention according to claim 2
The method for producing pasta filata cheese according to claim 1, wherein the pressure between the adjacent auger screws in the main kneading step is 10 to 130 kPa.

The invention described in claim 3
The production of pasta filata cheese according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pressure between the adjacent auger screws in the main kneading step is controlled by adjusting the rotation speed of each adjacent auger screw. Is the method.

  According to this invention, the loss of milk fat can be suppressed in the natural cheese manufacturing process, particularly the pasta filata cheese manufacturing process, and the final product yield and production efficiency can be improved.

  The inventors of the present application reduce fat loss (loss) from the cheese curd to the separated liquid in the conventional pasta filata cheese manufacturing method, and improve the yield and production efficiency of the final product (pasta filata cheese). We proceeded with the study for this purpose.

  As a result, in the conventional pasta filata cheese manufacturing method, the heating and kneading step of kneading while heating the cheese curd is divided into a preliminary kneading step of adding water vapor and kneading, and a subsequent kneading step. It has been found that by adjusting the pressure, the loss of fat from the cheese curd to the separated liquid can be reduced and the yield and production efficiency of the final product (pasta filata cheese) can be improved.

  In the present invention, after the cheese curd is formed from raw milk, the heating kneading step for kneading while heating is carried out in the conventional method for producing pasta filata cheese, the preliminary kneading step, and the subsequent main kneading. It consists of a process.

In the preliminary kneading step, steam is added to the cheese curd formed from the raw milk and kneaded. In the subsequent kneading step while raising the temperature, a plurality of auger screws are arranged in series in the cheese curd transfer direction, and the cheese curd after the preliminary kneading step is kneaded while maintaining a high pressure between the adjacent auger screws. To do.

  After the preliminary kneading step of adding water vapor to the cheese curd and mixing and kneading, a plurality of auger screws are arranged in series in the transfer direction of the cheese curd and kneaded while maintaining a high pressure between the adjacent auger screws Thus, the fat loss rate can be reduced and the yield of fat can be increased. This is considered to be because fat is taken into the casein tissue and the separation of fat is suppressed by the above.

  According to the inventors' experiments, in order to reduce the fat loss rate and increase the yield of fat, the pressure between the adjacent auger screws in this kneading step is preferably 10 to 130 kPa, It was determined that the pressure was more preferably 120 kPa, more preferably 10 to 110 kPa, and particularly preferably 10 to 100 kPa. In addition, if it was the range of 10-130 kPa, it was guessed that a fat loss rate could be 10% or less, and the yield of fat could be raised to 90% or more.

  The pressure between the adjacent auger screws can be controlled, for example, by adjusting the rotational speed of each adjacent auger screw.

  Hereinafter, although an example is given and explained about the present invention, the present invention is not limited by this.

  FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an example of a cheese manufacturing apparatus 1 in which the manufacturing method of the present invention is implemented.

  The cheese curd 2 formed by a conventional method is pre-kneaded in the pre-kneading unit 3.

  The preliminary kneading unit 3 is composed of a cylindrical outer frame 3b, and the cheese curd 2 formed by a conventional method is supplied as indicated by an arrow toward the opening 3d of the cylindrical outer frame 3b, and is passed through the opening 3d. Is fed into the cylindrical outer frame 3b.

  In the cylindrical outer frame 3b of the preliminary kneading unit 3, a stirring blade 3a that is rotated by a motor indicated by a symbol M is provided, and the inside of the cylindrical outer frame 3b is externally provided at a predetermined position of the cylindrical outer frame 3b. A steam nozzle 3c for supplying water vapor is provided. A plurality of steam nozzles 3c can be arranged depending on the size of the cylindrical outer frame 3b and the like.

  The cheese curd fed into the cylindrical outer frame 3b of the preliminary kneading unit 3 from the opening 3d moves toward the opening 3e while being stirred by the rotation of the stirring blade 3a.

  At this time, water vapor is introduced into the cylindrical outer frame 3b from the plurality of steam nozzles 3c. As the steam is introduced, the cheese curd is heated and heated.

  In this way, the preliminary kneading unit 3 performs preliminary kneading by kneading (stirring and mixing) with the stirring blade 3a while adding water vapor to the cheese curd. In this preliminary kneading, as described above, the cheese curd is kneaded while being heated by the addition of water vapor.

  The cheese curd thus pre-kneaded exits the cylindrical outer frame 3b from the opening 3e and is sent to the next main kneading step.

  The steam introduced into the cylindrical outer frame 3b from the plurality of steam nozzles 3c is directly in contact with the cheese curd moving toward the opening 3e while being stirred by the rotation of the stirring blade 3a. can do. That is, kneading can be performed while adding water vapor directly to the cheese curd 2 formed by a conventional method.

  By doing so, there are advantages such as a reduced risk of foreign matter entering the card and easy control of the heating temperature of the card.

  In this embodiment, the water vapor introduced into the cylindrical outer frame 3b from the plurality of steam nozzles 3c is stirred by the rotation of the stirring blade 3a and is moved toward the opening 3e. A configuration of directly adding was adopted.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, two main kneading units (main kneading unit 4 and main kneading unit 5) arranged in series with respect to the moving direction of the cheese curd in the main kneading that performs the kneading step after the preliminary kneading step. ) Is deployed.

  The main kneading unit 4 includes a cylindrical outer frame 4 c and an auger screw 4 d that is disposed inside the cylindrical outer frame 4 c and is rotated by a motor indicated by a symbol M. The auger screw 4d is provided with a spiral blade on a rotating shaft that is rotated by a motor indicated by a symbol M. The cheese curd sent from the preliminary kneading step is fed into the cylindrical outer frame 4c of the main kneading unit 4 through the opening 4a. By rotating the rotating shaft by the motor indicated by the symbol M and rotating the auger screw 4d, the cheese curd is kneaded and moved in the direction of the opening 4b, and pushed out toward the main kneading unit 5 through the opening 4b.

  The main kneading unit 5 is configured in the same manner as the main kneading unit 4. It includes a cylindrical outer frame 5c and an auger screw 5d that is disposed inside the cylindrical outer frame 5c and rotated by a motor indicated by a symbol M. The auger screw 5d is also provided with a spiral blade on a rotating shaft rotated by a motor indicated by a symbol M. The cheese curd sent from the main kneading unit 4 is fed into the cylindrical outer frame 5c of the main kneading unit 5 through the opening 5a. The rotating shaft is rotated by the motor indicated by the symbol M, and the auger screw 5d is rotated so that the cheese curd is kneaded and moved in the direction of the opening 5b. The card 2 is sent out from the main kneading part 5 in the direction of the arrow.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the main kneading sections 4 and 5 having the specifications (sizes) shown in Table 1 were used.

  A pressure gauge 6 is provided between the main kneading unit 4 and the main kneading unit 5. The pressure gauge 6 measures the pressure between the main kneading unit 4 and the main kneading unit 5 (referred to as “card pressure” or “back pressure” in this specification). The card pressure measured by the pressure gauge 6 is input to the control unit 7.

  The control unit 7 controls the rotation speed of the auger screw 4d and the auger screw 5d based on the card pressure, and an output from the control unit 7 is input to a motor M that rotationally drives the auger screws 4d and 5d.

  Thus, in the illustrated embodiment, the card pressure between the main kneading unit 4 and the main kneading unit 5 is adjusted by adjusting the rotational speeds of the auger screw 4d and the auger screw 5d.

  An example of the process of manufacturing cheese by the manufacturing method of the present invention will be described using the apparatus described in Example 1 shown in FIG.

  Based on the conventional manufacturing method of pasta filata cheese, the cheese curd of pH 5.2 was prepared by adding an enzyme to milk. The cheese curd had a moisture content of 45% by weight and a fat content of 43% by weight.

  This cheese curd was chopped into dimensions of about 15 mm × 15 mm × 30 mm, and this was designated as cheese curd 2.

  The cheese curd 2 is continuously supplied from the opening 3d of the cylindrical outer frame 3b to the preliminary kneading unit 3, and steam (temperature: about 143 ° C. (140) is supplied from the steam nozzle 3c to the cheese curd 2 in the cylindrical outer frame 3b. ˜145 ° C.)) and pre-kneading with the stirring blade 3a.

  The temperature of the pre-kneaded cheese curd in the opening 3e was 60 to 62 ° C.

  The pre-kneaded cheese curd is supplied into the cylindrical outer frame 4c of the main kneading unit 4 from the opening 3e of the cylindrical outer frame 3b through the opening 4a of the cylindrical outer frame 4c.

  The pre-kneaded cheese curd supplied into the cylindrical outer frame 4c of the main kneading unit 4 is kneaded by the auger screw 4d and then pushed out from the opening 4b of the cylindrical outer frame 4c, so that the cylindrical outer frame 5c. Was supplied into the cylindrical outer frame 5c of the main kneading unit 5 from the opening 5a.

  The cheese curd supplied into the cylindrical outer frame 5c of the main kneading unit 5 was kneaded by the auger screw 5d and then pushed out from the opening 5b of the cylindrical outer frame 5c.

  In the main kneading in the main kneading section, the rotation speeds of the auger screw 4d and the auger screw 5d were adjusted so that the card pressure indicated by the pressure gauge 6 would be 5, 10, 50, 100, and 150 kPa.

  The separation liquid generated together with the cheese curd 2 kneaded from the opening 5b of the main kneading section 5 was collected, and the weight of the separation liquid and the fat content contained in the separation liquid were measured.

  As a comparative example, when the kneading is performed only in the preliminary kneading unit 3 without passing through the main kneading units 4 and 5, that is, the separated liquid collected at the opening 3e of the preliminary kneading unit 3 without using the main kneading units 4 and 5. But it was measured in the same way.

  Moreover, the weight and fat content of the cheese curd 2 supplied to the preliminary kneading part 3 were measured.

The ratio of the fat content contained in the separated liquid to the fat content of the cheese curd 2 supplied to the main kneading unit 3 is indicated by a fat loss rate (fat loss rate), and used as an index of fat loss from the cheese curd. That is, the fat loss rate was calculated by the following formula.

  The auger screw 4d so that the card pressure indicated by the pressure gauge 6 is 5 kPa (Test Example 1), 10 kPa (Test Example 2), 50 kPa (Test Example 3), 100 kPa (Test Example 4), and 150 kPa (Test Example 5). Table 2 shows the fat loss rate when the rotational speed of the auger screw 5d was adjusted.

  In Test Example 1, the fat loss rate was 11.3%, and in Test Example 5, the fat loss rate was high at 12.1%, whereas in Test Examples 2, 3, and 4, the fat loss rate was 3.2. It was as low as ~ 5.5%. Particularly in Test Example 3, the fat loss rate was the lowest of 0.4%.

In the comparative example, the fat loss rate was higher than any of Examples 1-5.

  After the preliminary kneading step of adding water vapor to the cheese curd and kneading while raising the temperature, the main kneading is performed with two auger screws arranged in series in the cheese curd transfer direction, and between the two auger screws. The card pressure indicated by the deployed pressure gauge 6 is preferably adjusted to 10 to 130 kPa, more preferably 10 to 120 kPa, still more preferably 10 to 110 kPa, and particularly preferably 10 to 100 kPa. It was confirmed that the fat loss rate was reduced by main kneading the cheese curd after the preliminary kneading step while applying a back pressure in this pressure range.

  After the preliminary kneading step of adding water vapor to the cheese curd and kneading, the fat loss rate was adjusted to 10% or less by applying a back pressure of 10 to 100 kPa and main kneading the cheese curd. That is, pasta filata cheese could be manufactured by increasing the fat yield to 90% or more.

  This is because, after the preliminary kneading step of adding water vapor to the cheese curd and kneading, the back pressure of 10 to 100 kPa is applied and the cheese curd is finally kneaded, so that fat is taken into casein (tissue), This is probably because the separation is suppressed.

  When the back pressure of the main kneading part is less than 10 kPa, or when the main kneading process is not performed, it is presumed that fat is not taken into casein and fat separation is increased.

  A tendency was observed for the fat loss rate to increase as the back pressure of the main kneading part exceeded 100 kPa, but it was recognized that the fat loss rate could be reduced and the fat yield increased if the back pressure was 130 kPa or less. It was. When the back pressure exceeds 130 kPa, the physical load on the cheese curd increases, and it is assumed that fat separation increases.

The figure showing the schematic structure of an example of the manufacturing apparatus of cheese with which the manufacturing method of this invention is implemented.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cheese manufacturing apparatus 2 Cheese card 3 Pre-kneading part 3a Stirring blade 3b Cylindrical outer frame 3c Steam nozzle 4 Main kneading part 4c Cylindrical outer frame 4d Auger screw 5 Main kneading part 5c Cylindrical outer frame 5d Auger screw 6 Pressure gauge 7 Control unit M Motor

Claims (3)

After forming a cheese curd from raw milk, adding a heating kneading step of kneading while heating to the cheese curd, a method for producing pasta filata cheese,
The heating and kneading step includes
A preliminary kneading step of adding water vapor to the cheese curd and kneading;
A main kneading step in which a plurality of auger screws are arranged in series with respect to the transfer direction of the cheese curd and the cheese curd after the preliminary kneading step is kneaded while maintaining a high pressure between adjacent auger screws. A method for producing pasta filata cheese, which is characterized.   The method for producing pasta filata cheese according to claim 1, wherein the pressure between the adjacent auger screws in the kneading step is 10 to 130 kPa.   The production of pasta filata cheese according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pressure between the adjacent auger screws in the main kneading step is controlled by adjusting the rotation speed of each adjacent auger screw. Method.

Images