JP3183488B2 - Low fat cheeses and method for producing the same - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to low-fat cheeses and a method for producing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, low-fat cheeses and processed cheeses using the same have been known, and there are two methods for producing them. The first method is a method of producing a cheese from raw milk in which the fat content of milk is reduced by reducing the fat content from milk as the raw material. In that case, the low-fat cheese is made of skim milk or milk-fat 2% (% by weight;
Hereinafter, in the present specification, "%" means "% by weight" in all cases, and is manufactured from raw material milk having a fat content of 10 to 40% in solid content. Also, the fat / protein ratio in the components is generally less than 1, with protein being more fat than fat. By the way, the conventional ripening type natural cheese is produced from raw material milk having a milk distribution fat of about 2.5% to 4%, the fat content in the solid content is 43 to 55%, and the fat / protein in the component. Is generally larger than 1. Therefore, the conventional low-fat cheese as described above is slow in ripening (proteolysis), takes longer than the ripening period of ordinary natural cheese, and generates a small amount of free amino acids. In order to solve such problems, a method of adding a protease as an aging accelerator has been attempted,
Defects such as bitterness have been pointed out and have not been put to practical use. Further, since the conventional low-fat cheese as described above has a low fat content, the creamy flavor of the fat and the flavor products related to the fat are poor, and the light-fat cheese is distinctly different from the cheese having a normal fat content. It has a delicious flavor of cheese. Further, processed cheeses produced using such low-fat cheese as raw materials are poor in flavor regardless of the addition of molten salt.

[0003] A second method is to separate fat from aged cheese. As such a method, a method in which a large amount of water is added to cheese and heated to fractionate the three components into a milk protein portion, a milk fat portion and a water-soluble portion (Japanese Patent Publication No. 46-2).
No. 0741), a method in which crushed cheese is heated by an indirect heating method, and the resulting melted fats and oils are separated (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 48-34909). A method of treating with a weight% aqueous solution and then melting by heating to separate and remove fat (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
-196256).

[0004] However, the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Publication No. 46-2074.
In the method described in JP-A No. 1 (KOKAI), since a large amount of water is added and heated, a soluble nitrogen content which is a flavor / taste component of cheese,
There is a drawback that free amino acids and the like are eluted in the water-soluble portion, and the flavor as a low-fat cheese becomes very poor. Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 48-34909 describes
According to the method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. H08-187, the fats and oils can be melted by heating, but there is a problem that the separation efficiency is poor because the emulsified state of cheese is not demulsified. further,
In the method described in JP-A-1-196256, the immersion efficiency or permeation efficiency of alkali metal chloride is poor, and therefore, as described in the publication, cheese must be actually cut. Otherwise, there is a problem that the efficiency of separating fat is poor. In addition, it is necessary to perform a treatment of immersion in an aqueous solution of an alkali metal chloride, and there is a problem that workability and production efficiency are poor and the process is complicated. Further, both of the above two methods have a problem that the degreasing rate is low and the fat content can be reduced only to about 10% by weight at most.

[0005]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and is intended to separate fat from aged cheese to produce low-fat cheeses.
Without special pretreatment, fat can be efficiently separated, and the low-fat cheeses obtained by separating fat in this way are equal to or more than the original natural cheese that does not separate fat. It is an object of the present invention to provide low-fat cheeses having a low flavor and a method for producing the same.

[0006]

Means for Solving the Problems The present inventors have found that fat can be significantly reduced by adding an emulsifier to natural cheese and heating and melting it while stirring at a low speed to obtain a fat. When the low-fat cheeses contain 1% by weight of free amino acids (= 1000 mg / 100 g of cheese; the content of free amino acids in cheeses is usually expressed in terms of the weight per 100 g. The present invention has been found to have a flavor equal to or higher than that of conventional natural cheese from which fat has not been separated.

That is, the present invention provides at least one kind of nut
Add emulsifier to Ral cheese and heat and melt while stirring
By doing so, it is made of low-fat cheeses having a free amino acid content of 1% by weight or more and a fat content of 23% by weight or less obtained by separating and removing fat . Before Symbol emulsifier, hydro-file-lipoic file balance (Hydrophile Lipophile Balance) (hereinafter referred to as "HLB"
It is preferably 10 or less . The present invention
Furthermore, at least one by adding an emulsifier to the natural cheese, and heating and melting with stirring at low speed to separate the fat, then the production method of low-fat cheese, which comprises removing the separated fat Consists of It is preferable that the emulsifier has an HLB of 10 or less.

Hereinafter, the method for producing low-fat cheeses of the present invention and the low-fat cheeses obtained by the method will be described in detail. The phrase "cheese" in the low-fat cheeses of the present invention, other than low-fat cheese in which the fat content of natural cheese obtained by ordinary production means is reduced,
Process cheese produced by adding a molten salt to the low-fat cheese, so-called sterilized natural cheese obtained by heat sterilization without adding a molten salt to the low-fat cheese, various seasonings in the process of producing the low-fat cheese , A cheese-like food produced by adding a colorant, a flavor, etc., a cheese food containing a cheese content of 51% or more, and a "milk or the like" containing a milk component as a main ingredient even if the cheese content is 51% or less. Foods whose main ingredient is ". Therefore, foods mainly composed of cheese foods and milk have a small amount of cheese, so amino acid-based seasonings, for example, those obtained by enzymatically decomposing animal-derived proteins, soybean proteins and wheat proteins by enzymes The amino acid type seasoning may be added in an amount of about 0.2 to several% to make the amino acid content 1% by weight or more.

The natural cheese used as a raw material in the present invention is a fermented and aged cheese, examples of which include Gouda cheese, Cheddar cheese, Emmental cheese and the like. It can be used in combination. Furthermore, sterilized natural cheese obtained by heat-sterilizing these cheeses can also be used. The fat content of the low-fat cheeses of the present invention can be prepared according to the type of the target low-fat cheeses, but is not more than 23% based on the weight of the cheese, and is about 2%.
Can be reduced. The fat content of the low-fat cheeses in the present invention is generally 3 to 23%. By the way, the general fat content of normal natural cheese is 32 ~
34%, typical processed cheese has a typical fat content of 28%
Before and after, the general fat content of ordinary cheese-like foods is around 28% to 35%, and according to the method of the present invention, the fat content of each of these cheeses can be reduced.

[0010] In the method of the present invention, first, one or more of the above-mentioned raw material cheeses are crushed by a grinder generally used in a process cheese process, for example, a chopper, to a diameter of 5 cm.
It can be crushed to about 2 to 3 cm in length. However, in the present invention, the degree of pulverization is not an essential requirement. This is because the effect of the addition of the emulsifier is exerted by heating and melting, and the size of the cheese by pulverization does not affect the effect of the present invention. Next, an emulsifier is added, which has an HLB of 10
It is particularly preferred that: The value of HLB is 10
Is the case where the hydrophilic group and the lipophilic group are present in equal amounts.

The reason why it is preferable to use an emulsifier having an HLB of 10 or less is as follows. Natural cheese has a colloidal structure in which a network structure in which a polypeptide chain and fat are emulsified wraps an emulsified phase (O / W type) composed of water and fat globules on the tissue. In addition, in natural cheese, the emulsification of the tissue has not progressed, and the cross-linked structure of paracaseinate via calcium (Ca) is held in a natural form. Can be separated. However, in order to efficiently turn off a large amount of oil and to increase the degreasing rate, attention was paid to the fact that demulsification enables efficient separation, and it was found that an emulsifier having an HLB of 10 or less was particularly suitable as a suitable emulsifier. That is, when the HLB is 10 or less, demulsification is performed, and oil can be more efficiently turned off to separate fat. Therefore, when the HLB is larger than 10, the demulsification cannot be performed efficiently, which is not preferable.

Specific examples of such an emulsifier having an HLB of 10 or less include sucrose fatty acid esters (DK ester F1).
0 (HLB1) and DK ester F70 (HLB8);
Ryoto Sugar Ester L-595 (HLB5) and Ryoto Sugar Ester ER-290 (HLB2) manufactured by Daiichi Kogyo Seiyaku Co., Ltd .; manufactured by Mitsubishi Kasei Food Co., Ltd .; glycerin fatty acid ester (glycerin monooleate (HLB4.3)) )), Sorbitan fatty acid ester (sorbitan tristearate (HLB2.5)), propylene glycol fatty acid ester (propylene glycol monostearate (HLB3.9)), polyglycerin fatty acid ester (diglycerin monooleate (H
LB8), decaglycerin decastearate (HLB)
2), tetraglycerin condensed ricinoleate (HLB0.
3)), lecithin (pasty lecithin (HLB4.
5)) and the like.

The amount of the emulsifier added is based on the raw material cheese.
The content is preferably 0.05 to 3.0% by weight, particularly preferably about 0.1 to 2.1%, and can be appropriately adjusted according to the amount of fat to be separated. If the addition amount of the emulsifier is insufficient, the separation efficiency is lowered, which is not desirable.On the contrary, if it is excessive, the bitterness, astringency, flavor of the emulsifier such as astringency will affect the flavor of the cheese, which is not preferable. .

After the addition of the emulsifier, the raw material is heated. The heating temperature is preferably set to 25 ° C. or higher. The upper limit of the heating temperature is not particularly limited, but the amount of fat separated can be adjusted by the heating temperature. The lower the temperature, the smaller the amount of separation, and the higher the heating temperature, the greater the amount of separation.
By adjusting the heating temperature and the amount of the emulsifier added, the amount of fat to be separated can be adjusted in a wide range. still,
When the heating temperature is lower than 25 ° C., the separation efficiency decreases.
As an apparatus used for such heating, for example, a kettle, a cooker, a cutter type, and the like, which are generally used for manufacturing process cheese, may be mentioned. Usually, ground cheese is put into these devices, and an emulsifier is added under the above-mentioned conditions.

The heating is performed while stirring at a low speed.
It may be performed at such a low speed that the temperature of the raw material can be made uniform. Specifically, the stirring speed is preferably about 10 to 500 rpm, particularly 15 to 350 rpm. It is not preferable to increase the stirring speed more than necessary, since the fat once separated and discharged tends to be taken in again by the stirring shear force. The heating time varies depending on various factors such as the heating melting temperature, the type of the emulsifier, the value of the HLB of the emulsifier, and the amount of the emulsifier added, but is generally about 2 minutes to 1 hour, particularly about 3 minutes to 40 minutes. Is preferred. The cheese melted by heating separates fat, but the separated fat is removed. The removal of fat may be performed by any known means, for example, decantation or separation of fat by applying a slight centrifugal force to equipment used for heating.

In the production method of the present invention, conventional conditions and conditions other than those specified above, such as a molten salt, an emulsifier, and an emulsifying condition, can be used.
Since the added emulsifier migrates into the residual fat in the low-fat cheeses of the present invention obtained after separating and removing the fat, the emulsifier in the fat of the low-fat cheeses of the present invention is analyzed. It can be confirmed by measuring and identifying. The HLB of the added emulsifier can also be measured.

The outline of the method is as follows. Add a small amount of water to the cheeses and homogenize with a homoblender. Next, an extraction solvent is added to extract lipids. This is spotted on an activated silica gel plate, developed using a developing solvent, and after removing the solvent, the color is developed with a coloring agent to confirm. The extraction solvent, developing solvent and color former used vary depending on the type of emulsifier, and examples thereof are shown in Table 1 below. The HLB of the emulsifier was determined by scraping the spot on the above silica gel plate, measuring the saponification value (S) and the neutralization value (A), and calculating the HLB = 20 (1-S / A) by the atlas method. Can be obtained by using

[0018]

[Table 1] Emulsifier Extraction solvent Developing solvent Coloring agent ------------------------------------------------------------------ Sucrose fat Chloroform: Chloroform: Methanol: Anthuronic acid ester Methanol (1: 1) Acetic acid: Water (40: 5: 4: 1) Reagent ------------------------------- Glycerin ether Benzene: Ethyl ether: Iodine Fatty acid S Methanol (32: 7: 1) Ter --------- Sorbitan Chloroform Ethanol: Ethyl ether Saturated iodine Fatty acid S (1: 1) Ter ----------- −−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−− propylene ethyl ether chloroform: acetone Polyethylene glycol (1: 1) Fatty acid ester ------------------------------------------ Polyglycerol chloroform: n -Butanol: methanol: thymophosphate fatty acid methanol (1: 1) chloroform (50:30:20) ester (in this case, extract and hydrolyze) --------- ----------------- Reagent ---------------------------------------------

The evaluation of the flavor components of cheese is usually carried out by measuring the amount of soluble nitrogen content and free amino acids in cheese, and it is said that the higher the amount, the better the flavor. It has been confirmed that the ratio is approximately proportional to a commonly used flavor evaluation scale. By measuring these ratios and amounts, objective evaluation of flavor and the like is performed. The low-fat cheeses of the present invention contain 10
00 mg / 100 g or more, preferably 1000 mg / 10
0 g to 2500 mg / 100 g, particularly preferably 1 g
It has a free amino acid amount of about 200 mg / 100 g to 1800 mg / 100 g. That is, the low-fat cheeses obtained by the present invention have a free amino acid content of 10
These are low-fat cheeses that are not less than 00 mg / 100 g (1% by weight) and have a fat content of not more than 23% by weight. On the other hand, with normal natural cheese, after aging for 4 months,
The amount of free amino acids is about 1000 mg / 100 g,
After ripening for a month, it will be about 1600 mg / 100 g in the same manner.
It has a free amino acid amount of about 00 to 2000 mg / 100 g.

The amount of free amino acids in the cheeses of the present invention is 230-600 mg / cheese 1 more than the amount of free amino acids in low-fat cheeses obtained by reducing the fat in conventional raw milk.
It is about 00 g, which is equivalent to about 2 to 4 months when converted to the aging period. Therefore, if the latter conventional low-fat cheese is to have the same flavor as the low-fat cheese of the present invention, the ripening period is increased by about 1.5 times as compared with the low-fat cheese of the former of the present invention. Although it must be, when the conventional low-fat cheese is ripened such that the ripening period is longer than the low-fat cheeses of the present invention, the fat content is low, and the protein content is relatively high. , Flavor defects such as bitterness are caused.

In other words, the low-fat cheeses produced by the method of the present invention are the same as those obtained by separating only the fat from the aged cheese having a normal fat content, and this is apparent from the following examples. In addition to holding a free amino acid amount equal to or more than the mature cheese having normal fat content, the free fatty acid amount is also equivalent to low-fat cheese produced by reducing the milk fat ratio of the raw milk, equivalent Or higher. Therefore, in terms of flavor, the cheese has a quality equal to or higher than that of ordinary fat cheese. Furthermore, the low-fat cheeses of the present invention have excellent meltdown properties and stringiness.

[0022]

The present invention will be described below in more detail with reference to examples. Example 1 A kettle was charged with 10 kg of cheddar cheese (32% fat, aged 6 months) crushed to 5 mm in diameter and 2 cm in length with a chopper, and sucrose fatty acid ester 19 of HLB1 was added thereto.
5 g was added and steam was introduced into the jacket while stirring at a rate of 25 rpm to indirectly heat to 62 ° C.
The heated cheese liberated fat, but except for the separated fat (2.7 kg), a low fat cheddar cheese of the present invention was obtained. The fat content of this cheese was measured to be 7%. Also, the flavor of cheese separates fat
It was nearly as good as or better than the original cheddar cheese before removal. Further, this cheese was put into a kettle again, and sterilized by heating to 80 ° C. without adding a molten salt to obtain a sterilized natural cheese. This cheese has a fat content of 7%, but has a rich flavor and a milk feed fat content of 0.
It had a preferred flavor equal to or higher than that of a conventional low-fat cheese produced at 8% and heat-sterilized similarly (fat content 8%).

Example 2 In a cooker, 10 kg of cheddar cheese crushed by a shredder (fat content 32%, ripening 8 months) and 10 kg of Gouda cheese crushed by a shredder (fat content 28%, ripening 3 months) were put. Then, 69 g of polyglycerol fatty acid ester of HLB5 was added, and
Heated to 60 ° C. at a stirring speed of 0 rpm. The heated cheese releases fat and the separated fat (2.
The fat content of the cheese excluding 7 kg) was 19%. When the flavor and texture of the obtained low-fat cheese were evaluated, the flavor and texture were equal to or higher than the original cheese. Further, this cheese was put into a cooker, and 290 g of sodium polyphosphate as a molten salt and pyrophosphate 4 were added.
80 g of sodium was added and sterilized by heating to 85 ° C.
Although the fat content of the obtained cheese was 17%, the flavor was also rich and the texture was the same as that of ordinary natural cheese. Furthermore, the low-fat cheese of the present invention has a distinctly higher flavor and taste as compared with a conventional low-fat cheese produced using 1.5% milk fat as a raw material and similarly heat-sterilized (fat content 17%). The texture was good.

Example 3 In a cutter type kettle, 10 kg of Gouda cheese (26% fat, 4 months of ripening) pulverized with a grater to a length of 10 cm, a width of 3 cm, and a thickness of 1 mm was put, and lecithin (HLB) was added thereto.
4.5) 110 g was added and heated to 53 ° C. while stirring at a rate of 350 rpm. The heated cheese liberated fat, and the fat of the cheese excluding the separated fat (0.65 kg) was 21%. Flavor and texture were comparable to the original Gouda cheese. 0.7 kg of sodium caseinate was further added to the obtained low-fat cheese,
3 kg of water, 230 g of sodium polyphosphate and 55 g of sodium citrate were added, and sterilized by heating to 95 ° C. Although the obtained cheese had a fat content of 15%, the flavor was rich and the texture was good. In addition, the flavor and texture were clearly superior to those of a conventional low-fat cheese made with 2.0% milk fat and heat-sterilized similarly (fat content 15%).

The results of measuring or evaluating the amount of free amino acids, free fatty acids, flavor and texture of the low-fat cheeses of the present invention obtained in Examples 1 to 3 above were compared with those of a conventional low-fat cheese (heat pasteurized). (Control a)
Cheddar cheese or gouda cheese used as raw material before separating fat and fat (normal cheese before fat separation)
Table 2 shows the results of (Control b). The measurement of the amount of free amino acids was performed by subjecting cheese to ultrasonic extraction using a sulfosalicylic acid solution, deproteinizing with a centrifugal separator, filtering this solution to prepare a test solution, and using a 835 type amino acid analyzer manufactured by Hitachi. It was measured. The flavor and texture of the obtained cheeses were evaluated by 18 expert panelists and indicated by the average of the evaluation points. 10 points perfect score, rich in flavor and very good in both flavor and texture, ~ 8 points; similarly good, ~ 6 points; lack of umami, slightly poor, ~ 4 points; poor, ~ 0 points; In the above, those having an evaluation of 7 or more were regarded as having achieved the object of the present invention.

[0026]

[Table 2] Example Free amino acid Free fatty acid Flavor / texture (mg / 100g) (ppm) (Average point) ------------------------------------ Example 1 1700 620 8.5 (control a) 900 400 5.9 (control b) 1500 800 8.7 -------------------------- ----- Example 2 1600 720 9.0 (Control a) 1000 650 6.4 (Control b) 1450 750 9.0------------------------------- Example 3 1000 430 7.5 (control a) 770 450 5.8 (control b) 900 500 8. 0 -------------------------

Comparative Examples 1 to 3 Comparative Examples 1 to 3 correspond to the above Examples 1 to 3, respectively, except that none of the emulsifiers was added. A low fat cheese was produced by the method described above. The fat content of the obtained low-fat cheese was measured, and the degreasing rate was compared with the examples of the present invention. Table 3 shows the results
Shown in

Comparative Examples 4 to 6 Comparative Examples 4 to 6 correspond to Examples 1 to 3 described in JP-A-1-196256 (page 19, upper left column, line 19). Comparative Example 4 of the method of Examples 1 and 2 described in the seventh line of the lower left column of the same page).
Is the method of Example 2 of the same publication, without adding an emulsifier, and comparing the cut size of the cheese and the alkali metal chloride with the method of Example 2 of the same publication. Low-fat cheese was produced in the same manner as described in each example of the present invention, except that the size and alkali metal chloride were carried out by the method of Example 1 of the publication. The fat content of the obtained low fat cheese was measured. Table 3 shows the results. Comparative Example 4 corresponds to Example 1 of the present invention, Comparative Example 5 corresponds to Example 2 of the present invention, and Comparative Example 6 corresponds to Example 3 of the present invention.

[0029]

Table 3 Degreasing rate (%) in each example------------Example 1 84 Comparative Example 1 35 Comparative Example 4 55 2 25 Comparative Example 5 32 −−−−−−− Example 3 25 Comparative Example 3 14 Comparative Example 6 20 −−−−−−−−−

As is clear from the results in Tables 2 and 3, the method of the present invention can increase the defatting rate of cheese, and the low-fat cheese of the present invention has a high free amino acid content. Also excellent in flavor and texture.

Example 4 10 kg of cheddar cheese crushed to 8 mm in diameter and 1 cm in length with a chopper in a kettle (fat content: 32%, ripened for 6 months)
Sucrose fatty acid ester 70 of HLB8
g, and heated to 62 ° C. indirectly by introducing steam into the jacket while stirring at a rate of 30 rpm. The heated cheese liberated fat, and the fat of the cheese excluding the separated fat (2.2 kg) was 13%. The flavor was comparable to the original Gouda cheese. In addition, this cheese was put into the kettle again and added without adding molten salt.
Heat sterilization to 0 ° C. The cheese had a fat content of 13%, but had a rich flavor and a good texture. Furthermore, a conventional low-fat cheese produced with a milk distribution fat of 1.2% was similarly heat-sterilized (a fat content of 1%).
3%) and both flavor and texture were clearly better.

Comparative Example 7 In this example, an emulsifier was added to HLB12
A low-fat cheese was produced in the same manner as described in Example 4, except that sucrose fatty acid ester was used instead. The fat content of the obtained low-fat cheese was measured, and the degreasing rate was compared with that of Example 4. Table 4 shows the results.

[0033]

Table 4 Degreasing rate (%) in each example Example 4 69 Comparative example 7 20 20---------------------

[0034]

According to the method of the present invention, an emulsifier having an HLB of 10 or less is added to natural fat-containing natural cheese, and the resulting mixture is heated while stirring to liberate and separate and remove fat efficiently. And the degreasing rate can be freely adjusted. According to the method of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the fat content to about 2%. Low-fat cheeses obtained by the method of the present invention,
It has a flavor and texture equal to or higher than that of conventional natural cheese, and also has good meltdown properties and stringiness. In addition, by sterilizing the obtained low-fat cheeses by heat, low-fat, sterilized natural cheeses having good storage stability can be produced. Further, by melting the obtained low-fat cheeses by heating, a low-fat processed cheese can be produced. In addition, low-fat cheese-like foods can also be produced by adding various food materials to the obtained low-fat cheeses. Since the low-fat cheeses of the present invention have a low fat content, they have high utility as low-calorie foods.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A23C 19/00-19/093

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A free amino acid-containing product obtained by adding and emulsifying an emulsifier to at least one kind of natural cheese and heating and melting it while stirring to separate and remove fat.
The amount is 1% by weight or more and the fat content is 23% by weight
Low-fat cheese, which is the following. 2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the emulsifier is HLB10.
Low-fat cheeses that are: 3. A method for producing low-fat cheeses, comprising adding an emulsifier to at least one kind of natural cheese, heating and melting the mixture while stirring at a low speed to separate fat, and then removing the separated fat. Method. 4. The emulsifier according to claim 3 , wherein the emulsifier is HLB10.
The following method for producing low-fat cheeses.