JP3157642B2 - Low fat cheeses and method for producing the same - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for producing a fat having a fat content of 4 to 23.
With respect to low-fat cheese and its manufacturing method, which are weight percent, in particular, while being low-fat, a moderate oil-off occurs during cooking, which is a characteristic of natural cheese, and melts uniformly,
The present invention relates to a processed cheese type low-fat cheese having stringiness and a method for producing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, natural cheese-like processed cheeses having stringiness and the like are known, but the fat content is as low as about 20% or less ("%" means "% by weight"). There is no known fat cheese which has stringiness like natural cheese. The expression of stringiness is based on the premise that moderate meltability during cooking, oil-off, etc. are premised, but it is necessary that the emulsification of cheese tissue does not excessively progress in order to keep oil-off moderate. It is necessary to reduce the amount of milk protein (casein) involved in the emulsifying action. Therefore, in normal fat cheese, emulsification was suppressed by reducing the ratio of milk protein to fat to lower the viscosity during emulsification. On the other hand, when the fat content of the cheese is reduced, the absolute amount of the fat decreases, and the relative increase in the protein content facilitates the emulsification. That is, cheeses having properties have not been realized.

[0003] Looking further at the relationship between emulsification and protein, generally, in the process of emulsification of process cheese, the form of protein in the raw material cheese is changed from insoluble Ca-paracaseinate to water-soluble Na-paragus by the action of molten salt. It is converted into caseinate and hydrated casein to form an O / W-type uniform emulsified state. This hydrated casein acts as an emulsifier to promote emulsification. In emulsification of processed cheese, the ratio of fat to protein has a significant effect on the state of emulsification. In normal fat (25-30%) cheese, the ratio of fat to protein is generally 1: 1 or the ratio of protein is less than 1. On the other hand, the fat content is 2
In the case of cheese of 0% or less, the protein ratio is 1: 1.5 or more, and the emulsification is easy to proceed. Further, the viscosity at the time of emulsification is 300 to 600 poise for cheese having a fat content of 20% or less, compared to 100 to 300 poise for normal fat cheese, which is about 2 to 3 times the viscosity. When the viscosity is increased, the shearing force due to stirring during emulsification is increased, so that the fat in the cheese is more easily emulsified. As a result, stringiness like natural cheese cannot be exhibited. Therefore, it was technically extremely difficult to impart natural cheese-like properties to low-fat cheese.

[0004] That is, even if low-fat process-type cheeses are manufactured by the conventional technique of adding a molten salt and heating and emulsifying, a moderate oil-off characteristic of natural cheese does not occur at the time of heating and cooking, so that the cheese surface is hardly removed. An oil film was not formed, the protein on the cheese surface was in a dry state, a so-called "skin" was formed, and good stringiness was not obtained.

[0005] As a method for producing processed cheeses improved in physical properties like natural cheese, a method in which a hydrophilic emulsifier such as sucrose fatty acid ester is added to the raw material (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
No. 0-110245), a compound having 14 to 18 carbon atoms in 10 or more glycerin units without using a molten salt.
To which a polyglycerol fatty acid ester composed of at least two acyl ester groups is added (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-14 / 1985)
No. 6556), HLB 10 or more to which a stabilizer such as polyglycerin fatty acid ester and locust bean gum is added (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 60-146557), a sugar ester having a monoester content of 80% or more and O / W
Adding a lecithin, a stabilizer and a polyglycerin fatty acid ester having enhanced emulsifying properties (JP-A-1-179)
648) and the like. The cheeses targeted in these are of normal fat, and the emulsifiers used are all expected to have basically hydrophilic emulsifying effects,
It functions to promote emulsification. If a molten salt is not used, emulsification tends to be insufficient, and separation or the melt-down or stringiness is not exhibited, so that an O / W type emulsifier that promotes emulsification is required.

The molten salt is indispensable when manufacturing process cheeses, and converts insoluble Ca-paracaseinate into water-soluble Na-paracaseinate, absorbs and swells proteins, and is stable. Although it has an effect of forming an emulsion, it does not use a molten salt such as a polyphosphate for the purpose of exhibiting stringiness and the like in low-fat cheeses because the structure is made dense and uniform.

As described above, a technique for imparting natural cheese-like stringiness to low-fat cheeses has not been known.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances of the prior art, and by combining a molten salt with a specific emulsifier, even if the fat is low in fat, the O / O is excessively reduced during heating and melting.
It is possible to prevent the progress of W-type emulsification and, despite being low-fat cheeses, has a moderate oil-off, uniform melting property and good stringing property during cooking as well as natural cheese. It is intended to be expressed.

Another object of the present invention is to further improve the physical properties such as the above-mentioned stringiness by using a specifically specified molten salt and emulsifier.

Still another object of the present invention is to ease and simplify the production conditions by using a specific molten salt and an emulsifier in a method for producing low-fat cheese.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention for achieving the above object is a W / O type emulsifier having an HLB of 5 or less in cheeses produced by using a molten salt and an emulsifier in combination. And low fat cheeses having a fat content of 4 to 23% by weight. The emulsifier acts to prevent O / W emulsification from progressing in the tissue. The combination of the emulsifier and the molten salt can inhibit O / W type emulsification by casein at the time of heating and melting, so that, despite being low-fat cheeses, it is possible to exhibit good stringiness and the like. it can.

Further, the present invention relates to a method for producing a molten salt, wherein the molten salt is citrate and / or monophosphate, and the HLB is 5 or less.
The low-fat cheeses wherein the / O type emulsifier is a polyglycerin fatty acid ester and / or lecithin. The above-mentioned specific molten salt acts to make the cheese structure loose, and the physical properties such as stringiness can be further improved by combination with a specific emulsifier.

Further, the present invention provides a method for producing cheeses using a combined use of a molten salt and an emulsifier, wherein the raw material has a citrate and / or monophosphate as a molten salt and an HLB of 5 or less as an emulsifier. A method for producing low-fat cheeses, comprising adding a W / O type emulsifier and melting by heating. Further, the present invention relates to a method for producing a W
The method for producing low-fat cheeses, wherein the / O type emulsifier is a polyglycerin fatty acid ester and / or lecithin. According to these production methods, the low-fat cheeses described above can be produced by a simple process.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail.

In the present invention, the cheeses are processed cheese type cheeses, not only processed cheeses, but also cheese foods containing 51% or more of a cheese component. It also includes imitation cheese or cheese-like foods having the same physical properties as cheese. That is, the basic structure containing casein protein is a form in which an emulsified network of polypeptide chains and fat wraps around moisture and fat globules, and is produced by the action of heating, emulsification, etc. in the manufacturing process. Those are called cheeses in the present invention. The production of these cheeses usually involves
Molten salts are indispensable, and emulsifiers are sometimes used to improve emulsifying properties.However, in principle, casein and fat are obtained by a production method including a process of melting and emulsifying by heating and emulsifying. Are cheeses according to the present invention.

The molten salt used in the present invention is insoluble Ca-
Since it has an ion exchange effect of converting paracaseinate into water-soluble Na-paracaseinate and a creaming effect of absorbing and swelling proteins to form a stable emulsion, it is indispensable when producing cheeses. is there. However, due to the creaming action of the molten salt, process-type cheeses have a dense and uniform structure, and it is difficult to exhibit oil-off, meltdown, stringiness, and the like. A typical example of the molten salt is a polyphosphate, which is widely used, but since it has an ion exchange action and a strong creaming action, it suppresses the expression of the above-described stringiness. For this reason, the polyphosphate is not particularly suitable for making natural cheese of low-fat cheese (for the sake of convenience, giving natural cheese-like stringiness and the like is called natural cheese). In the present invention, such a problem is solved by using a citrate salt and / or a monophosphate salt, which is a molten salt having an ion exchange power but a weak creaming action. When a molten salt having a weak creaming action is used, the resulting cheese has a loose structure.
These salts are monovalent alkali metal salts, and are generally sodium salts, but potassium salts and the like can also be used.

Specific examples include monosodium phosphate, disodium phosphate, trisodium phosphate, dipotassium phosphate, tripotassium phosphate, trisodium citrate, etc. Trisodium citrate is preferred.

These molten salts can be used alone or in combination. The amount of addition is preferably 0.2 to 2% with respect to the cheese raw material (the raw material of cheeses excluding additives such as molten salt and emulsifier). More preferably, it is about 0.3 to 1.5%. If the added amount of the molten salt is insufficient, the whole may coagulate during emulsification and cause fat separation or the like to collapse, and in the case of excessive amount, the emulsification proceeds, and the expression of stringiness or the like is suppressed. I will go.

Next, the emulsifier used in the present invention is W
/ O type emulsifier. The W / O type emulsifier refers to an emulsifier suitable for W / O type emulsification, and generally has an HLB of 10 or less . In the present invention, milk having an HLB of 5 or less is particularly preferred.
The agent is compatible. By using in combination with the molten salt described above,
It is possible to construct a tissue exhibiting natural cheese-like properties while having low fat. In normal process cheese, casein hydrated by the action of molten salt acts as an emulsifier,
O / W type uniform emulsified state is created. However, in order to impart the characteristics of natural cheese, it is necessary not to create such an O / W type uniform emulsified state. Emulsification is easy to progress in a low-fat cheese with a low fat content and a high protein content, so that it is particularly necessary to prevent excessive emulsification from progressing. In the present invention, by using an emulsifier suitable for the W / O type opposite to the emulsified state of the O / W type emulsified phase, it is possible to prevent excessive emulsification. This is because W / W makes the fat globules in the O / W type emulsified phase finer.
This is because the O-type emulsifier is suppressed. Further, this emulsifier also affects the protein-fat network structure and lowers the viscosity during emulsification, so that the progress of emulsification can be further suppressed. Such effects are further improved by using a specific emulsifier having an HLB of 5 or less.

As the W / O type emulsifier, lecithin and a polyglycerol fatty acid ester having an HLB of 5 or less are particularly preferable. As fatty acid residues of polyglycerin,
A saturated or unsaturated C14 to C22 or hydroxy fatty acid thereof is preferred, and particularly preferred is polyglycerin.
Fatty acid esters include polyglycerin condensed ricinoleate.

The lecithin used in the present invention is an ordinary commercially available lecithin such as soybean lecithin, which has not been subjected to any chemical or enzymatic treatment or the like, and has an amount of phosphatidylinositol and phosphatidylethanolamine of 1%. And the amount of phosphatidylcholine is less than 1.

Lecithin is usually used to enhance emulsifying properties. Examples of such lecithin include modified lecithin that has been chemically or enzymatically treated to enhance O / W emulsifying properties. Such lecithin is used in normal process cheese production. However, in a low-fat cheese made into natural cheese, such lecithin is not suitable because it promotes emulsification.

The above-mentioned emulsifiers may be used alone or in combination. The amount of the emulsifier is preferably 0.1-1.8%, more preferably 0.2-1.
About 2% is good. If the added amount of the emulsifier is insufficient, the above effect is not sufficient. If the amount is excessive, the emulsion proceeds excessively at the time of emulsification, and characteristics such as oil-off are deteriorated.

The fat content of the low-fat cheese thus obtained is about 4 to 23%. If it is less than 4%, oil-off or the like at the time of heating will not be exhibited, so that stringiness will not be exhibited, and it will be difficult to impart natural cheese-like physical properties. If it exceeds 23%, it cannot be said that the fat is low fat, and the O / W type emulsification hardly proceeds due to a sufficient fat content, so that the significance of applying the present invention is reduced. However,
Even if the fat content is higher than that, the present invention can be applied in some cases because the properties such as appropriate oil-off, meltdown, stringiness and the like are further enhanced. The fat amount at which the effect of the present invention becomes more remarkable is in the range of about 8 to 20%. Generally expressed as a ratio of fat to protein of 1: 6.
It is good to target cheeses of 5 to 1: 1.1, and more preferably, of 1: 4.0 to 1: 1.3.

The general analysis of the low fat cheese of the present invention is, for example, about 4 to 23% fat, about 10 to 40% protein, about 30 to 65% water, and about 0.5 to 8% ash. The stringiness is measured by the distance until the cheese is cut (the measuring method is described later).
At least 40 cm, more preferably at least 50 cm,
The degree of melting during heating is such that natural cheese has a suitable meltdown (heat melting property), oil is off and melts uniformly, and "skin" is not generated on the cheese surface. These properties are extremely innovative and surprising for low fat cheeses.

The low-fat cheeses of the present invention may optionally contain a pH adjuster, a coloring agent, a flavoring agent, a seasoning, and the like, which are acceptable as long as they do not deviate from the object of the present invention. . Particularly in cheese foods and cheese-like foods, thickeners such as guar gum, water retention agents such as corn starch as auxiliary ingredients,
Other foods and the like can be added.

Next, the method for producing the low-fat cheese of the present invention will be described.

This production method includes the steps of heating, melting and emulsifying, followed by molding and cooling in the production of ordinary process cheese type cheeses. In principle, casein and fat are heated and melted. This is a production method including a process of emulsification. For example, the raw materials are introduced into a closed emulsification kettle, and the above-mentioned molten salt and an emulsifier are added thereto,
Then, while injecting steam directly into the emulsification kettle and heating,
Stir to emulsify.

As a raw material used in the present invention, a mixture of casein, oil and fat, water and the like may be used in addition to using cheese depending on the target cheese. The raw material cheese may be hard type such as Gouda cheese, cheddar cheese, or semi-hard type natural cheese which is usually used as a raw material for process cheese, or a low-fat type of these cheeses, or defatted cheese. Content of 4 to 2
It should be 3%. The amount of water and the like may be appropriately adjusted. In the case of producing imitation cheese or cheese food, the fat content is 4 to 23% using casein, sodium caseinate, hardened soybean oil, hardened coconut oil and the like.
It may be adjusted so that That is, the amount of fat in the raw material may be adjusted according to the target fat content of the cheeses. In addition, the above-mentioned thickeners, water retention agents, seasonings, coloring agents, flavoring agents, and the like can be appropriately added.

From the viewpoint of lowering the viscosity at the time of emulsification as a raw material cheese and suppressing excessive emulsification, cheese with slightly advanced ripeness, that is, STN / TN (acid soluble nitrogen contained in total nitrogen in cheese) 7-25%,
Further, it is more preferable to use one having about 8 to 18%.

In the present invention, as a device for heating and melting and emulsifying the raw material, a device which does not excessively promote the formation of an emulsion by low- to medium-speed stirring is preferable.
Any of a cooker type, a cutter type and a continuous heat exchanger can be used.

In the present invention, since the above-mentioned molten salt and the emulsifier which do not promote the emulsification in the heating and melting process are used, the emulsification is not excessive even if the conditions such as the stirring speed and the cooling speed of the emulsifying vessel are set relatively gently. Cheese can be produced in a relatively short time and easily without promotion.

The stirring in the emulsification kettle may be about 50-1000 rpm, and the heating temperature may be about 75-85 ° C. The viscosity at the time of emulsification is 1 in the case of cheese having a normal fat content (25 to 30%).
While it is about 00 to 300 poise, the cheese having a fat content of 20% or less reaches 300 to 600 poise, has a viscosity about 2 to 3 times, and a large shearing force is applied to promote the emulsification. In the above, since the above-mentioned molten salt and emulsifier are used, the viscosity is 100 to 300 p.
Since it can be suppressed to about oil, excessive progress of emulsification is suppressed.

[0034]

The present invention will be described below with reference to examples. The viscosity immediately after emulsification, stringiness, and the degree of melting during heating were measured in the following manner.

Viscosity immediately after emulsification: The viscosity immediately after emulsification is measured by RION VISCOTESTER VT-04.
(Manufactured by Rion Co., Ltd.) using the rotor NO. 2 was measured. If it is less than 300 poise, the emulsification becomes difficult to proceed excessively.

Measurement of stringiness: The obtained cheese was subjected to 20
g in a petri dish, which was heated and melted at 90 ° C. for 1 minute. When the heated and melted cheese was pulled up at a speed of 10 cm / s by a stringiness measuring device, the cheese was threaded until cut. Measure length and express in cm. If the evaluation of stringiness is 3 or more, the object of the present invention is achieved.

Stringiness-distance until cheese is cut: 5 points: 70 cm or more 4 points: 55 cm or more to less than 70 cm 3 points: 40 cm or more to less than 55 cm 2 points: 35 cm or more to less than 40 cm 1 point: 10 cm to 25 cm Less than 0 point: less than 10 cm-Melting degree during cooking: ：: There is moderate oil off like natural cheese, and it melts evenly. メ ル: Melt down, but there is "skin" on the cheese surface. Not soluble Note that な お means that the object of the present invention has been achieved.

Example 1 Ground Gouda Cheese (STN /
TN = 12) 12 kg of protein (25% protein, 25% fat) and 8 kg of skim cheese (STN / TN = 22) (35% protein, 5% fat) are put into a cooker-type emulsification kettle and used as molten salt. After adding 200 g of sodium citrate and 160 g of soybean lecithin (HLB4) as an emulsifier, the mixture was heated and melted at 82 ° C. at a stirring speed of 90 rpm. Heated and melted cheese is shaped into sliced cheese to a thickness of 2 mm,
Cooled quickly to 10 ° C. The resulting product had a fat content of 15% (protein 28%).

When this product was placed on a loaf of bread and heated with an electric oven toaster, the melt-down and oil-off were both excellent and were quickly melted. The stringiness of the cheese on the bread taken out of the oven was good, and had the properties and flavor of natural cheese. Table 1 shows the evaluation results of the stringiness, the degree of melting during heating and the viscosity immediately after emulsification.

Example 2 Crushed low-fat Gouda cheese
(STN / TN = 15) (30% protein, 15% fat) 9 kg and cheddar cheese (STN / TN = 23) (27% protein, 30 fat)
%) 2 kg, rennet casein 2 kg, acid casein 2 kg,
5 kg of water is put into a kettle type emulsification kettle, into which 100 g of disodium phosphate as a molten salt and HLB as an emulsifier
After adding 100 g of the polyglycerin condensed ricinoleate of No. 1 each, the mixture was heated and melted at 80 ° C. at a stirring speed of 200 rpm. Heat-melted cheese is filled into a 30 x 26 x 4 cm container in 3.2 kg increments, and this is placed at 10 ° C in a refrigerator.
Until cooled. The resulting product had a fat content of 10% (protein 30%).

The product was put on bread and evaluated in the same manner as in Example 1. As a result, the product was as good as in Example 1. Table 1 shows the evaluation results such as stringiness.

(Example 3) Rennet casein 5.2k
g, acid casein 1.2 kg, soybean hardened oil 3.5 kg, water 1
0.1 kg is put into a cutter type emulsification pot, into which 75 g of sodium citrate and 75 g of disodium phosphate as molten salts, and soy lecithin (HLB4) 60 as an emulsifier.
g and HLB3 polyglycerin condensed ricinoleate 60 g
Are added at 80 ° C. at a stirring speed of 400 rpm.
Until heated. The heated and melted cheese was filled into a carton packed with 1 kg, and cooled to 10 ° C. in a cool box. The resulting product had a fat content of 18% (protein 26%).

The product was put on a loaf of bread and evaluated in the same manner as in Example 1. As a result, the product was as good as in Example 1. Table 1 shows the evaluation results such as stringiness.

(Comparative Examples 1, 2 and 3) Products were produced in the same manner as in Examples 1 to 3 except that only the emulsifier was omitted. Although the obtained product melted down during cooking, there was no oil-off, skin was formed on the surface, and stringiness was insufficient. The results are shown in Table 1.

Comparative Example 4 Comparative Example 1 was repeated except that the molten salt was replaced with 360 g of sodium polyphosphate in the formulation of Example 1.
The product was manufactured in the same manner as in Example 1. The obtained product did not have melt-down and oil-off during heating and cooking, and did not have stringiness. Table 1 shows the results.

[0046]

Table 1 Table 1 Example Viscosity immediately after emulsification Evaluation of stringiness Cooking Melting condition at time / Comparative example (poise) (dots) ──────────────────────────────── Example 1 2005 Example 2 300 4 Example 3 180 4 ──────────────────────────────── ──────────────────────────────── Comparative Example 1 300 2 ○ Comparative Example 2 600 1 △ Comparative Example 3 320 2 ○ Comparative Example 4 1100 × ─────────────────────────────── ─

[0047]

As described above, in the present invention, by using a W / O type emulsifier having an HLB of 5 or less as a specific emulsifier and combining them, even if the fat is low in fat, it can be heated and melted. O / W-type emulsification can sometimes be prevented from progressing excessively, so that, despite being low-fat cheeses, moderate oil-off and uniform melting properties can be achieved in the same manner as natural cheeses during cooking. It has become possible to develop good stringiness. Further, by using a citrate and / or a monophosphate as a specifically specified molten salt and a polyglycerin fatty acid ester and / or a lecithin as an emulsifier, it is possible to further improve the physical properties such as the above stringing property. did it. Furthermore, in the method for producing the low-fat cheeses, since the emulsifier is not excessively promoted by using the specific molten salt and the emulsifier, the heating and melting conditions can be set relatively wide and can be easily implemented. Was. In addition, the above-mentioned low-fat cheeses can be sterilized even though the flavor, appearance, properties, etc. are natural cheese-like, so that they are excellent in preservability and are further low-fat, so that they are more healthy and new low-fat cheeses. It has great benefits as fat cheeses.

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-1-247703 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A23C 1/00-23/00

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. In a cheese produced by using a molten salt and an emulsifier in combination, the emulsifier has a WLB of 5 or less.
Low-fat cheeses which are emulsifiers for type O and have a fat content of 4 to 23% by weight. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the molten salt is a citrate and / or a monophosphate, and the W / O type emulsifier having an HLB of 5 or less is a polyglycerin fatty acid ester and / or lecithin. Fat cheeses. 3. A method for producing cheese by using a molten salt and an emulsifier in combination, wherein the raw material contains citrate and / or monophosphate as a molten salt and HLB as an emulsifier.
A method for producing low-fat cheeses, comprising adding a W / O type emulsifier of 5 or less and heating and melting. 4. The method for producing low-fat cheeses according to claim 3, wherein the W / O type emulsifier having an HLB of 5 or less is a polyglycerin fatty acid ester and / or lecithin.