JP3004074B2 - Sliced cheese, method for producing the same, and forming nozzle used therefor - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a slice cheese having good peelability, which can be easily peeled one by one even after block packaging.
The present invention relates to a manufacturing method and a forming nozzle for slicing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A so-called slice-type cheese in which cheese is sliced into a predetermined shape in advance and then packaged in a block is extremely widely used because it is extremely easy to use.

[0003] However, in a processed cheese product produced by a conventional general production method, the adhesion between cheeses is extremely strong. If the cheese is cut and then brought into contact again and allowed to stand, the cut surfaces are bonded to each other again. Then, it is no longer possible to peel off each other.

[0004] Various production methods have been devised to realize sliced cheese. For example, a cold slice process cheese is the most well-known method for producing cheese having good peelability. This manufacturing method was started by Kraft Cheese of the United States in 1950. The principle is that in order to harden the melted cheese emulsion, it is pulled while passing over a cooling belt, and the cooled cheese is moved into a sheet. It is. This wide sheet is cut and divided in the vertical direction with a knife, the sheets are stacked alternately in eight layers, cut into a certain width, and then automatically packed.
However, it was difficult to improve the releasability to a practical level only by employing this system. Therefore, various improvement methods have been known as methods for improving the releasability of sliced cheese produced by this system. For example, by inserting a slip sheet as shown in US Pat. No. 2,902,804, this sandwiches a cellulose or plastic film between the sliced cheeses to prevent cheese binding. Also, butterfat is sprayed on the surface of each slice of sliced cheese as seen in USP 2,931,729 and immediately cooled by passing through a low-temperature roller. Alternatively, a cellulose-based solution as seen in USP 2927029 is sliced. It is a method of spraying on the surface of cheese.

[0005] Sliced cheese made by the above method,
Both will have good releasability, but as a production method, it takes time to insert or spray interleaf paper,
Further, the spraying method has problems such as a decrease in product specifications due to oxidation of butterfat or mixing of cellulose.

[0006]

As described above, in the prior art, in order to improve the peelability of sliced cheese to a practical level, it is necessary to use a different material other than cheese, which results in a complicated manufacturing process. Problems have arisen in places that are not directly related to the cheese manufacturing technology, such as deterioration of the heterogeneous material itself or the effect of mixing foreign substances into cheese on the quality.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned prior art, and by applying cheese manufacturing technology without using any kind of different material other than cheese, the cheese is cut into slices and then brought into contact again. An object of the present invention is to provide a sliced cheese which can ensure the releasability of each piece even if left alone, a method for producing the same, and a forming nozzle for slicing.

[0008]

According to the present invention, a ratio STN of acid-soluble nitrogen (STN) to total nitrogen (TN), which is an index of maturity, is used.
/ TN having a moisture content of 22% or less and a raw cheese having a low creaming action and a moisture content of
A cheese adjusted to 48% or less,
Sliced pieces of cheese come into direct contact with each other
The present invention relates to a slice cheese having good releasability, which is in the form of an aggregate collected together . In addition, the present invention
Is a method for producing the sliced cheese of the present invention ,
Acid-soluble nitrogen (STN) and total nitrogen (T
To a raw cheese having a ratio STN / TN of 22% or less of N), a molten salt having a weak creaming action is added, followed by stirring and heating.
And a step of adjusting the water content to 48% or less, and a step of cooling to a temperature at which shape retention can be maintained.
And supplying the cooled cheese to a molding nozzle,
At the same time as the cheese is discharged from the nozzle outlet,
For cutting cutters located a specified distance inside the exit
Therefore, the present invention relates to a method for producing slice cheese having good releasability, which includes a step of cutting into a plurality of cheese pieces while maintaining a molded shape . The present invention also relates to the production of the above sliced cheese.
Molding nozzle used in the manufacturing method, with a nozzle outlet
Nearby has a runway with the same cross-sectional shape as the exit,
Discharge molding of cooled cheese from the nozzle outlet
Can be cut in the vertical direction (longitudinal direction) and cut
Afterwards, the cutting cutter is used to maintain the specified molding shape.
Is located within the runway at least 15 mm inside from the nozzle outlet.
And the cross-sectional area of the nozzle outlet is larger than the cross-sectional area of the nozzle inlet.
The present invention relates to a forming nozzle characterized by being small.

According to the present invention, when the sliced cheese is re-contacted and used again after packaging and cooling, the sliced cheese, which can be easily peeled off one by one, controls the cheese production process. This can be easily realized.

[0010] The present inventors have conducted intensive studies on the above-mentioned problems, that is, on the relationship between the properties relating to the physical properties of the cheese, the manufacturing process and the raw material cheese in order to make cheese with good peelability, and found that under certain conditions. Found that the peelability of cheese was dramatically improved, and reached the present invention. This is based on the assumption that the physical properties of cheese are generally governed by many factors, such as the temperature of the cheese, the moisture content, the degree of ripening of the raw cheese, and also the melting conditions and the type and amount of the molten salt. However, the finding that the releasability under specific conditions is improved has not been known hitherto.

In the present invention, total nitrogen (TN) is measured by the Kjeldahl method, and acid-soluble nitrogen (STN) is measured by Va.
kaleris and Price (DG VA)
KALERIS AND W. V. PRICE; D
airy Sci. , 42264-276 (195)
According to 8)), the nitrogen dissolved in the citrate buffer (pH 4.4) was measured by the Kjeldahl method.
The water content is a value measured based on a hot air circulation drying method (99 ± 1 ° C., 3 hours). Further, in the present invention, the sliced cheese is a concept including both a piece of a divided cheese piece and an aggregate of cheese pieces regardless of the shape and means. In any case, the name may be used regardless of conventional wisdom or actual transaction. The main ingredient of sliced cheese is cheese, and other food materials such as nuts, herbs, and seasonings can be arbitrarily added as long as it does not substantially affect the physical properties and quality of the cheese.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail.

[0013] Sliced cheese is usually made by pulverizing one or more kinds of natural cheese as raw material cheese, adding a molten salt thereto, heating and melting, cooling and solidifying, and dividing the obtained cheese into a desired size. It is common to put this together and apply a gas pack or the like to produce a product.

In the present invention, the above-mentioned general production method can be basically employed.

However, the present invention differs from the prior art in the following three points.

1. STN / TN of the raw material cheese is 22% or less.

2. The molten salt has a weak creaming effect.

3. The product has a moisture content of 48% or less.

Only when all three requirements are satisfied, remarkable improvement in peelability can be achieved. On the other hand, in the prior art, there was no knowledge that the peelability could be improved without using different kinds of members by adjusting the above three requirements. Therefore, the cheese was not manufactured by measuring and evaluating them. Therefore, there is no example in which the three requirements are simultaneously adjusted for the purpose of improving the releasability, but if the individual requirements are considered separately, in the prior art, the STN / TN of the raw material cheese is empirically about 24 to 30%, as a molten salt. Is a combination with strong creaming salts such as diphosphate (pyrophosphate), triphosphate, tetraphosphate, pentaphosphate, hexaphosphate, polyham such as Graham salt, and the water content of the product Was generally about 44 to 52%. In the present invention, the releasability is significantly improved only through the interaction based on the above three requirements.

In the present invention, "raw cheese" means any cheese that can be used as a raw material for sliced cheese. Normally, it is natural cheese, but green cheese or fermented cheese that has not been fermented may be used. In addition, it is effective to mix not only one kind but also a plurality of kinds of cheese in order to obtain a sliced cheese having a desired quality. Taking into account that sliced cheese is generally classified as semi-hard-soft cheese, examples of raw cheese include cheddar, gouda, edam, glière, green cheeses thereof, and processed cheeses thereof. From the viewpoint of adjusting the ripeness, the use of green cheese is effective.

When two or more cheeses are blended, the degree of ripening, acidity, flavor and the like of each cheese are taken into consideration. Here, 22% or less of STN / TN of the raw material cheese is a value as an average value of the whole raw material cheese, and the raw material cheese to be used does not consider each value. Therefore, even if one raw material cheese has STN / TN of 22% or more, the total (as a mixture) STN / TN may be 22% or less. Actually, the STN / TN value of the mixed raw material cheese may be measured before production.

The value of STN / TN indicates the ratio of acid-soluble nitrogen contained in total nitrogen in cheese, and indicates the degree of protein degradation in cheese. This is related to the maturity of the cheese. Therefore,
In general, it can be said to use cheese whose ripeness is not advanced. In particular, when the STN / TN is 22% or less, preferably 20% or less, the peelability of the obtained sliced cheese is greatly improved. If the maturity of STN / TN exceeds 22%, the effect is remarkably reduced, and if it exceeds 25%, the effect of improving the releasability is insufficient even if other conditions are adjusted.

The reason for this is not clear, but it is considered that when the maturity is advanced and the molecular weight of the protein is excessively reduced, the tissue is softened structurally and the creaming effect is increased. The lower limit of STN / TN does not need to be particularly defined from the viewpoint of improving the releasability, but if it is too small, the structure becomes hard and the flavor becomes pale. Therefore, a preferable STN / TN is about 12 to 20%.

Next, a "molten salt" having a weak "creaming effect" is used.

The molten salt has an ion exchange power, which is an action of peptizing proteins in the raw material cheese in a molten state. In the present invention, a molten salt having an ion exchange force which is an essential action and effect, but having a low swelling and water absorption is used. The “creaming action” refers to an action that causes protein to swell and absorb water.

At present, the phenomenon of the creaming action has not been scientifically explained, but empirically, as the creaming action progresses, the protein in the cheese absorbs a large amount of water. Then, the protein network structure swells greatly to form a stable emulsion. As a result, the texture of the processed cheese becomes a dense and strongly bonded product.
On the other hand, when a molten salt having a weak creaming action is used, a cheese having a soft and loose structure is obtained. Therefore, from the viewpoint of improving the releasability of the sliced cheese which is sliced (divided) once produced and brought into contact with the cheese again to form a block, the creaming action should be weaker.

As a molten salt having an ion exchange power and a weak creaming action, monophosphate, citrate and the like can be exemplified. As these salts, sodium salts are generally used, but potassium salts and the like can also be used. Specific examples include disodium phosphate, trisodium phosphate, dipotassium phosphate, tripotassium phosphate, and trisodium citrate. These can be used alone or as a mixed salt of two or more.

On the other hand, examples of the molten salt having an ion exchange power and a strong creaming action are polyphosphates, all of which exhibit excellent effects such as water retention and peptizing properties.

Therefore, these molten salts are not preferred in the present invention. However, as long as the above-mentioned molten salt having a weak creaming action is used as a main molten salt and is used in combination with a secondary salt, this is not excluded. Here, the term "weak" in the creaming action is a concept relatively determined by the contrast between the degree observed in the above-described exemplary compounds having a weak creaming action and the degree observed in the example compounds having a strong creaming action. In other words, those having a weaker creaming action than molten salts such as polyphosphates can be said to be "weak."

Since the amount of the molten salt added affects the quality of the cheese, it is determined according to the desired quality of the cheese. Therefore, although the amount of addition is not particularly limited,
Usually, about 2.0 to 3.0% is good. In an extreme case, the emulsification system in which the amount added is insufficient or excessive may aggregate as a whole and, to varying degrees, cause fat separation and collapse.

Next, the product moisture content is required to be 48% or less. If the product moisture content exceeds 50%, the peelability of the cheese deteriorates extremely. The water content is related to the peelability and the physical properties of the cheese. If it is 48% or less, good peelability is exhibited, but if it is 48%, it is slightly soft in physical properties, it rolls up when peeling cheese, and it may be slightly deformed. In this respect, the content is preferably 46% or less. The lower limit of the water content is determined by the physical properties of the target cheese and is not particularly limited, but is preferably 44% or more. If the water content is too low, the tissue may be hard and may be present during exfoliation.

In the production of the above sliced cheese, a ratio ST of acid soluble nitrogen (STN) to total nitrogen (TN), which is an index of ripeness, is used.
The method includes a step of adding a molten salt having a weak creaming action to raw material cheese having an N / TN of 22% or less, stirring, heating, melting, adjusting the water content, cooling to a temperature at which shape retention can be maintained, and cutting. It can be implemented by a manufacturing method. Basic manufacturing techniques can be configured based on known techniques.

As a melter for adding and emulsifying the raw material cheese and the molten salt selected as described above, a melter having a structure in which the stirring is carried out at a low speed as much as possible and which does not promote the formation of an emulsion is preferred from the viewpoint of improving the releasability. The reason is that if the stirring speed is high, the emulsification progresses to a high degree, and even if a molten salt having a weak creaming action is used, the creaming action that occurs in the cheese structure is promoted, and as a result, the cheese is relatively dense and has a strong binding property. It is because it is easy to become.

However, as long as the above three conditions are satisfied, the influence of the stirring is not major, and under preferable conditions, even if the stirring is strong (high-speed stirring), an improvement in the peeling property of the cheese can be achieved. In particular, when the raw material cheese used has a maturity of 20% or less, the creaming action does not progress even with high-speed stirring, and the peelability is hardly deteriorated.

Preferred examples of the melting machine include a melting machine such as a kettle or a dam row cooker. When using a kettle melting machine, low-speed stirring is generally performed at 70 to 120 rpm.
Refers to the degree. In the case where another melting machine is used, the speed may be such that the stirring action corresponding to the melting machine is exhibited.

In order to adjust the target product moisture content, the added water is calculated from the solid content of the raw cheese and the solid content of the final product at the stage where the raw cheese composition is determined. The temperature for heating and melting may be generally about 80 to 85 ° C. After melting, the cheese is cooled and cut to the desired size after it has reached an extent where shape retention can be maintained. The temperature at which shape retention can be maintained varies depending on the type of cheese and the like, but usually about 25 ° C to 30 ° C is sufficient. As a cooling means, an extruder or a thermo cylinder is suitable from the viewpoint of cooling efficiency and the like.

The size of the cutting is not particularly limited, and may be set as desired. For example, thickness 1.5 to 3 mm, length 80
It can be in the form of a plate having a size of about 85 mm and a width of about 80 to 85 mm, or a bite-sized block (Carton cheese). Since the physical properties of the cheese differ depending on the desired thickness, the conditions are set in consideration of this point. That is, as the thickness becomes thinner, the raw material cheese may be lowered in maturity and the product moisture content may be reduced so that the cheese has a firmer texture.

In cutting, preferably, the cooled cheese is supplied to a forming nozzle, formed into a belt shape, sliced in a vertical direction (longitudinal direction) using a cutting cutter, and then cut in a horizontal direction by another cutting cutter. Perform slicing.

From the viewpoint of improving the peelability of sliced cheese,
It is effective to maintain the shape before cutting for a certain period of time or for a certain distance in the nozzle without immediately separating each other after cutting. It is considered that the reason for this is that, by maintaining the shape after cutting, separation is prevented by relaxing the pressure at the nozzle outlet.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a molding nozzle embodying this method. That is, a molding nozzle for performing cheese molding and longitudinal (longitudinal) slicing by cooling a melted cheese by using a heat exchanger such as a thermo cylinder or an extruder, and a cutting cutter is moved from a nozzle outlet by one.
It is a forming nozzle characterized by being arranged inside 5 mm or more. The forming nozzle forms the cooled cheese into a belt shape and slices it in the vertical direction by a cutting cutter provided inside. The maintenance of the shape after cutting is preferably 15 mm or more in the moving distance of the cheese moving in the nozzle.

After the cheese cut by the cutting cutter is maintained in the nozzle for a certain distance, it is continuously important to a predetermined size at the nozzle outlet.

The shape of the forming nozzle is not limited to the one shown in FIG. 1, but may be any as long as it has an outlet shape for forming a cooled cheese, and the outlet shape can be arbitrarily selected and designed. The feature of this nozzle is that the cutting cutter is arranged at a predetermined distance inside the outlet, and the cheese supplied to the nozzle is already cooled and has shape retention, so the nozzle is the same sectional view as the outlet The most important thing is to increase the cross-sectional area of the nozzle entrance portion rather than the cross-sectional area of the nozzle outlet. This fills the nozzle with cheese and improves the stability after molding. In the actual nozzle design, the pressure loss due to the nozzle shape is also taken into consideration.

As the cutting cutter, a piano wire or a blade can be used, but the blade is good in that it does not produce cheese chips and has a clean cut surface. However, since the push-out resistance is larger than that of the piano wire, it is preferable to reduce the resistance by subjecting the blade to Teflon processing or the like.

The cheese cut as described above can be packed in one container by a gas pack or the like without using any other foreign material such as individual packaging. This product can be refrigerated and distributed at room temperature.
Each one can be easily peeled off.

[0045]

The present invention will be described below with reference to examples. Example 1 Cheddar cheese 35 kg and green cheese (Gouda) 3
5 kg is ground and mixed, and this raw material cheese (STN / T
N = 18%) with 1.7 molten salt (sodium citrate)
5 kg was added, and the mixture was heated and melted to a temperature of 82 ° C. while stirring at 120 rpm using a kettle melter.

Next, the melted cheese was pumped to a thermo cylinder (manufactured by Iwai Machinery Co., Ltd.) by a pumping metering pump (manufactured by Crimary Package Co., Ltd.), and cooled at a stirring speed of 60 rpm. In addition, the cooling water of the jacket side refrigerant temperature of a thermo cylinder was -5 degreeC. In this way, the cheese cooled to a temperature at which shape retention can be maintained, that is, 25 ° C. to 28 ° C., is passed through the nozzle with a piano wire shown in FIG. Obtained. This cheese was cut by a piano wire to a length of 60 mm while being moved by a belt connected to the nozzle outlet, then pillow-packaged, and finally refrigerated by carton packaging. The water content of the product was 45%.

The obtained product had a favorable flavor, and the releasability of each product was very good.

The dimensions of the forming nozzle in FIG. 1 are as follows: the inner size of the outlet is 31 mm × 129.5 mm, the inlet of the nozzle, ie, the joint with the union is φ3 inch, and the length of the run-in portion is 190 mm. The cutting cutter was a Teflon-processed piano wire having a diameter of 0.5 mm and arranged at an interval of 6 mm and 20 mm from the outlet. Example 2 35 kg of cheddar cheese, 15 kg of Gouda cheese and 20 kg of green cheese (Gouda) were pulverized and mixed, and molten salt (70% sodium citrate and 30% sodium monophosphate) was added to this raw material cheese (STN / TN = 21%). 1.75 kg of a composite molten salt composed of
The mixture was heated and melted to a temperature of 82 ° C. while stirring at 20 rpm.

Next, the mixture was pumped to a thermo cylinder (manufactured by Iwai Machinery) using a pumping metering pump (manufactured by Crimary Package) and cooled at a stirring rotation speed of 60 rpm. In addition, the cooling water of the jacket side refrigerant temperature of the thermo cylinder -5 degreeC was circulated. After cooling, it was cut with a nozzle with a piano wire in the same manner as in Example 1, then pillow-packed and carton-packed and refrigerated. The water content of the product was 44%. The obtained product had a favorable flavor and a very good releasability. Example 3-9, Comparative Example 1-3 As in Example 1, the raw material cheese (mix) was ripened (S
TN / TN), the type of molten salt, the number of rotations of the kettle fusing machine, and the product moisture value were changed to produce sliced cheese. Table 1 shows the results. The peelability was measured at 10 ° C. and 48 hours after re-contacting the sliced cheese, and is expressed as a percentage of the number of sheets that peeled cleanly out of 20 pieces.

[0050]

[Table 1] As is clear from the table, the raw cheese has a ripeness of 22% or less,
Molten salt with weak creaming action (sodium citrate)
In Example 3-9, which has three requirements that the product moisture value is 48% or less, peeling is possible. Except for Example 8 in which the stirring rotation speed is high, all peeling is 100%. Rate. That is, even if the stirring rotation speed is high, if the ripeness of the raw material cheese is 20% or less, the peeling rate is 100%. In Comparative Examples 1-5, which did not have any of the above three requirements, the releasability was poor and 0%.

[0051]

As described above, by adjusting the ripeness of the raw cheese, the molten salt and the product moisture within a certain range, the releasability between sliced cheeses can be drastically improved without using any other member. Can be improved.
Therefore, since it is not necessary to perform another processing on the sliced surface, the manufacturing process can be simplified, and a sliced cheese having a good flavor can be provided without any deterioration in the quality of the cheese.
In addition, the manufacturing process can be a continuous process, and improvement in production efficiency can be expected.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a forming nozzle for forming and slicing a melted cheese after cooling, (a) is a plan view,
(B) is a side view, (c) is a front view.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 cutting cutter (piano wire) 2 forming nozzle 3 nozzle outlet 4 union

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Kimio Marui 382-1 Nakayama, Hanyama-shi, Saitama B-403 (56) Reference Albert Meyer "Proceded Cheese Manufacture" FOOD TRADE PRESS LTD, LONDON, AUG197 , P. 40, 58, 65, 182, 183 (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A23C 19/00-19/16

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. An acid-soluble nitrogen (STN) which is an indicator of maturity
And a raw cheese having a ratio STN / TN of 22% or less and total nitrogen (TN), and a cheese manufactured using a molten salt having a weak creaming effect and having a water content adjusted to 48% or less.
And a plurality of cheese pieces obtained by cutting the cheese.
Are in direct contact with each other on the cut surface
Sliced cheese with good peelability characterized by taking a form . 2. The method for producing sliced cheese according to claim 1, wherein acid soluble nitrogen (STN) and total nitrogen (T
To a raw cheese having a ratio STN / TN of 22% or less of N), a molten salt having a weak creaming action is added, followed by stirring and heating.
And a step of adjusting the water content to 48% or less, and a step of cooling to a temperature at which shape retention can be maintained.
And supplying the cooled cheese to a molding nozzle,
At the same time as the cheese is discharged from the nozzle outlet,
For cutting cutters located a specified distance inside the exit
Therefore, a method of producing sliced cheese having good releasability including a step of cutting into a plurality of cheese pieces while maintaining the molded shape . 3. Production of the sliced cheese according to claim 2.
A forming nozzle used in the method, the runway having the same cross-sectional shape as the outlet near the nozzle outlet
It has a discharge shaping Then the cooled cheese from the nozzle exit
Both can cut in the vertical direction (longitudinal direction) and
In order to maintain a predetermined molded shape even after cutting, a cutting cutter is arranged in the runway at least 15 mm from the nozzle outlet, and a sectional area of the nozzle outlet is smaller than a sectional area of the nozzle inlet. A characteristic forming nozzle.