JPH07264980A - Whey protein cheese and production thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain whey protein cheese which is suitable for cottage cheese because it is excellent in water retention, heat resistance, storability and quality by treating a specific limitedly hydrolyzed whey protein with heat and then with an acid. CONSTITUTION:A protease is added to a solution containing whey protein to effect a limited degree of hydrolysis in the range from l% to 40%. Then, the product solution containing the hydrolyzed whey protein is heated at a temperature over 60 deg.C, and treated with acid of 5.0 to 5.6pH to provide the whey protein cheese.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to whey protein cheese and a method for producing the same. More specifically, the present invention relates to a whey protein cheese obtained by subjecting whey protein to a limited decomposition, followed by heating and acid treatment, and a method for producing the whey protein cheese. The whey protein cheese of the present invention is
By mixing it with other raw materials, which has excellent water retention and heat resistance, it is possible to obtain cottage cheese, cream cheese or the like having excellent quality.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For the purpose of more effectively utilizing whey produced as a by-product during cheese production, the use of whey protein for food has been expanded. Since whey protein has a high nutritional value, it is used as a raw material for infant milk powder, and it can be used as a binder or fat substitute, etc., which uses the functional properties of whey protein centering on its heat gelation property. It is being appreciated. On the other hand, whey cheese is produced by using whey protein for cheese production. Whey cheese, whey protein as a main component, by adding milk or milk fat to this, is a cheese obtained by coagulating, as a typical cheese,
Known is Mysost, Gjetost, and Ricotta cheese (F. Kosikowski: Chee).
se and Fermented Milk Product, R. Scott: Cheese Mak
ing Practice). In the production of whey cheese, the concentration of solid matter in the cheese whey liquid is concentrated or increased by adding milk or milk fat, and then heat-treated at about 80 ° C. to recover whey protein and obtain cheese as a coagulated product. Done by.

[0003] Whey protein is denatured when heat-treated at 60 ° C or higher, becomes an acid aggregate when heat-treated in a low pH solution, and has excellent water retention when heat-treated in the presence of salts. It has a characteristic of being a compound (Uenogawa: New Food Industry, 25 (3), 33 (1983)), and is different from the texture of cheese obtained by coagulating casein micelles with acid and rennet. Therefore, when only whey protein is produced, the structure of the coagulum is fragile and
y), which is different from the structure of normal cheese. Also, in cheese production, the addition of whey protein to milk delays the syneresis during coagulation of milk,
High water content causes a soft curd. On the other hand, in the process cheese production, whey protein is added to natural cheese and emulsified to obtain a cheese having a fibrous structure (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 02-23830), and a cheese and whey protein are mixed and subjected to an extruder treatment.
A food having a texture different from that of cheese is obtained (JP-A-63)
-230037) There is also a proposal.

[0004]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention, in view of the above-mentioned prior art, improves the texture of cheese containing whey protein as a main component, and provides a whey protein cheese having a smooth texture similar to that of ordinary cheese. The purpose is to get. In particular, it is an object to obtain a whey protein cheese having excellent water retention and heat resistance.

[0005]

Means for Solving the Problems As a result of repeated studies to achieve the above object, the present inventors have found that whey protein is decomposed in a limited manner, then heated and treated with an acid to retain water. And it discovered that whey protein cheese excellent in heat resistance could be manufactured, and completed this invention. That is, the present invention comprises whey protein cheese obtained by subjecting whey protein to limited decomposition, followed by heating and acid treatment. The present invention also comprises the whey protein cheese having a whey protein decomposition rate of 1 to 40%. The present invention is also a method for producing whey protein cheese, which comprises subjecting a whey protein solution to a limited decomposition by adding a proteolytic enzyme, heat-treating the resulting limited-decomposition whey protein-containing solution, and treating with an acid. Become. The present invention also has a whey protein degradation rate of 1 to 4
0%, the heat treatment is performed at a temperature of 60 ° C. or higher,
The method for producing a whey protein cheese described above, wherein the acid treatment is carried out at pH 5.0 to 5.6.

The present invention will be described in detail below. The whey protein used as a raw material in the present invention is a whey protein-containing liquid obtained in the process of producing cheese, and is mainly composed of α-lactalbumin and β-lactoglobulin. Whey protein concentrate (WP
C), whey protein isolate (WPI) and the like are suitable as the raw material of the present invention because they are easily available and easy to handle, but are not limited thereto. When the above WPC, WPI, etc. are used as raw materials, a whey protein-containing solution is prepared by first dissolving them in water. In that case, the whey protein concentration is
It is preferably about 1 to 30% by weight. If it is less than 1% by weight, the amount of whey protein is small and a cheese-like coagulum cannot be obtained, and if it exceeds 30% by weight, the viscosity of the whey protein solution increases, and the mixing and stirring operations in the subsequent steps become difficult. It is difficult to achieve the object of the present invention, but it is not practical.

Next, a protein hydrolase is added to the above solution for hydrolysis. The proteolytic enzyme used here is not particularly limited as long as it is derived from animals, plants and microorganisms. Examples of these proteolytic enzymes include trypsin, chymotrypsin, papain,
Examples include chymopapain, collagenase, kallikrein, metalloendopeptidase, actinase, pronase, proteinases A and K, various aminopeptidases, plasmin, acrosin, elastase, cathepsin, ficin, bromelain and chymosin. The effect of the present invention can be obtained with only one of the above enzymes, but enzyme treatment with a combination of two or more different enzymes is also more effective. Regarding the reaction conditions for hydrolysis, any one of the above enzymes or two or more enzymes are added to the whey protein-containing liquid, and they are allowed to act (react) at a temperature of 10 to 60 ° C. A temperature lower than 10 ° C is not preferable because the enzymatic reaction does not proceed so much. On the other hand, temperatures higher than 60 ° C. deactivate most of the enzymes and should be avoided. The enzymatic reaction time varies depending on the type and amount of the added enzyme and its specific activity, but it is desirable to carry out the reaction so as to be 1 to 40% depending on the proteolysis rate defined by the following formula (1). If the protein decomposition rate is less than 1%, the enzymatic treatment is insufficient and the coagulated product of the cheese-like tissue obtained in the present invention cannot be obtained, which is not suitable. On the other hand, if the rate of protein degradation exceeds 40%, the enzymatic reaction proceeds excessively, aggregates are formed after the next heat treatment, and the bitterness becomes strong in taste, which is not preferable.

Proteolysis rate (%) = {(A-A0) / (AT-A0)} × 100 ... Formula (1) A: Trichloroacetic acid is added to a whey protein-containing solution decomposed by a protein hydrolase. To precipitate the protein, and the amount of amino acids in the resulting supernatant AT: the total amount of amino acids in the whey protein-containing solution A0: The enzyme previously deactivated by heat was added to the whey protein-containing solution, and 20% trichloroacetic acid was added. Amount of amino acids in the supernatant obtained by adding and precipitating the protein

The whey protein is limitedly hydrolyzed by an enzyme, and then heat treatment is carried out. This is performed by associating the whey protein molecules limited by the enzyme with each other and simultaneously deactivating the enzyme. This is a process for stopping the decomposition reaction. The heat treatment is carried out by heating a whey protein-containing solution that has been limitedly hydrolyzed, and the heating temperature is 60 ° C. or higher, especially 60 ° C.
The temperature is preferably in the range of ℃ to 130 ℃. If the heating temperature is lower than 60 ° C, the whey protein becomes a liquid or an acid aggregate of fine particles after the subsequent acid treatment, which is not preferable, and at a temperature higher than 130 ° C, the whey protein is excessively denatured to cause significant discoloration. It is not preferable because it causes charring. By this heat treatment, the whey protein that has been limitedly decomposed by the enzyme treatment is partially denatured by heating, and a milky white whey protein-containing liquid is prepared.

Next, the heat-treated whey protein-containing liquid is acid-treated. By this acid treatment, the whey protein partially denatured by heating is solidified, and whey protein cheese is obtained as a solidified product having a cheese curd-like structure. This acid treatment is carried out by adding an acidifying agent such as lactic acid, citric acid, acetic acid or lemon juice, which is used as a food additive, to the heating liquid while maintaining the heating temperature at 60 ° C or higher,
It is preferable to adjust it in the range of 5.0 to 5.6. Here, if the pH value is less than 5.0, it becomes an acid aggregate of fine particles, which is not preferable, and if the pH value is higher than 5.6, coagulation does not occur. The production of the whey protein cheese of the present invention is not particularly limited, except for the steps specified above, and can be performed using other conventional steps and conditions.

The whey protein cheese obtained by the above method can be mixed with a dressing cream used for ordinary cottage cheese to obtain cottage cheese containing whey protein as a main component. The texture of cottage cheese produced using the whey protein cheese of the present invention is similar to normal cottage cheese,
Moreover, no water separation occurs during storage. Further, since it has excellent heat resistance, it does not harden or produce water even when it is heat-sterilized at a temperature of 80 ° C. or higher, and the cheese has excellent shelf life. Further, the whey protein-containing liquid as a raw material is mixed with other materials such as a stabilizer, a flavor (flavor), and a colorant (color) to improve the physical properties and flavor of the whey protein cheese obtained in the present invention. You can also Further, when cream is added to the whey protein-containing liquid as a raw material, a cream cheese-like structure is obtained, and it is possible to obtain cream cheese having whey protein as a main component, and the obtained whey also contains the whey of the present invention. The protein has the heat resistance and other characteristics.

[0012]

The present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the following examples, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Example 1 (Preparation of whey protein cheese and conventional whey cheese) 80 g of whey protein isolate (WPI: BIPRO, Bio-Isolates BIPRO, protein 97%) was dissolved in water to 1000 g. To this, 0.1 g of pronase (manufactured by Sigma) was added, and the reaction was carried out at 35 ° C. for 1 hour. The hydrolysis rate of the protein was 20%. Next, after heating in a hot water bath at 80 ° C. for 10 minutes to prepare a milky white liquid, lactic acid was added dropwise while maintaining this temperature,
The pH values were adjusted to pH 4.7, 5.0 and 5.9 respectively to obtain whey protein cheese. The product obtained by adjusting the pH to 4.7 is not suitable because it becomes a brittle aggregate.
The product obtained by adjusting to 5.9 did not solidify. on the other hand,
The one obtained by adjusting the pH to 5.0 has a smooth texture,
The water retention was also good, and it was good with no deterioration even when heated. Further, the whey protein solution which was similarly heated and acid-treated without the addition of pronase became an aggregate due to the acid of the sandy tissue (this was used as a whey cheese control product by the conventional method).

Example 2 (Preparation of whey protein cottage cheese and conventional whey protein cottage cheese) To 500 g of the whey protein cheese obtained in Example 1 and 200 g of a cream having a fat content of 30%, 10 g of salt was added to give 140 kg.
100 g of cream homogenized at a pressure of / cm ² was mixed to obtain whey protein cottage cheese. Using the whey protein cottage cheese obtained by the above enzyme treatment, the whey protein cottage cheese in the conventional method, and the cottage cheese that are usually commercially available, a sensory evaluation was conducted by 10 specialized panelists, and the results of comparison are shown. Shown in 1. The evaluation points were average values.

[0014]

[Table 1] Sensory evaluation results (panelists: 10 people) --------------------------------------------- Sensory evaluation −−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−− Tissue texture Texture tongue flavor −−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−− --------------- Whey Protein Cutty of the Present Invention 4.3 4.5 4.8 4.0 Di Cheese Conventional Commercially Available Cottage Cheese (Case 4.1 3.5 4.4 4.4 Prepared from In Protein) Conventional Whey Protein Cutter 2.2 2.1 1.5 2.3 Di Cheese ( (Non-enzymatic treatment) ------------------------------------------ Evaluation point: 5; Very good, 4; Good, 3; Normal, 2; Somewhat bad, 1;

As shown in Table 1, the conventional whey protein cottage cheese had a sandy texture and was inferior in texture and texture, whereas the whey protein cottage of the present invention obtained by enzymatic treatment was used. Cheese
The same sensory evaluation as that of cottage cheese which is usually commercially available was obtained. Moreover, when the obtained cottage cheese was subjected to retort heating at 100 ° C. for 15 minutes and 120 ° C. for 20 minutes, the curd became brittle and the water separation occurred in any of the retort conditions, which were usually commercial products. On the other hand, the whey protein cottage cheese of the present invention obtained by enzymatic treatment had no change in texture and no syneresis. In addition, it was confirmed that the whey protein cottage cheese of the present invention was excellent in preservability without generation of mold and yeast, deterioration of flavor and quality even after being stored at 5 ° C for 5 months. .

Example 3 (Example 1 in which the rate of protein degradation was changed) The cheese whey-containing liquid obtained by the production of Gouda cheese was concentrated with an ultrafiltration membrane having a molecular weight fraction of 50,000 so that the protein content was 5%. Then, 2500 g of concentrated cheese whey liquid was prepared. To this concentrated cheese whey solution, 0.6 g of trypsin (manufactured by Sigma) was added and reacted at 20 ° C. for 5 minutes, 30 minutes, 3 hours and 7 hours. The proteolysis rates were 0.5, 2, 15 and 45%, respectively. Next, each solution was heated at 55 ° C. for 10 minutes and at 70 ° C. for 10 minutes, and while maintaining this temperature, citric acid was added dropwise to adjust the pH.
The whey protein cheese was obtained by adjusting to 5.2. 55
The one heated at ℃ did not coagulate even when treated with an acid. Subsequently, as in Example 1, 500 g of this cheese was mixed with 100 g of homogenized cream to obtain whey protein cottage cheese. Proteolysis rate is 0.
A 5% content resulted in a hard acid aggregate, which was unfavorable in terms of texture and texture. In addition, when the protein decomposition rate was 45%, brittle aggregates were formed upon heating, resulting in poor texture.
On the other hand, those having a protein degradation rate of 2% had a hard casein curd-like texture and texture, and were good as cottage cheese. Further, those having a protein decomposition rate of 15% had a soft and smooth texture and had a good texture as cottage cheese.

Example 4 (Example 2 in which the proteolysis rate was changed) 80 g of whey protein isolate (WPI: BIPRO, Bio-Isolates BIPRO, 97% of protein) was dissolved in water to 1000 g, and the fat content of this solution was 30%. Add 100g of cream, 70
Homogenization treatment was performed at a pressure of kg / cm ² . To this solution, 0.1 g of papain (manufactured by Sigma) was added to give 5 and 3 respectively.
The reaction was carried out at 0, 50 and 80 ° C for 30 minutes. The hydrolysis rate of protein is 0.1, 10 and 2 respectively.
It was 5, 0.2%. Next, each solution was heated in a hot water bath at 80 ° C. for 10 minutes, and while maintaining this temperature, lactic acid was added dropwise to adjust the pH to 5.6 to obtain white and flaky whey protein cheese. Enzyme reaction temperature is 5 ℃ and 8
The one at 0 ° C had a protein hydrolysis rate much lower than 1%, and the one obtained after pH adjustment was unsuitable as a sandy tissue aggregate. On the other hand, the enzyme reaction temperature is 30
The cheeses obtained at temperatures of 50 ° C. and 50 ° C. both had a smooth texture, a strong cream flavor, and a texture and flavor similar to those of cream cheese.

[0018]

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a whey protein cheese containing whey protein as a main component and having excellent characteristics such as texture, water retention and heat resistance can be obtained. This cheese has a structure similar to that of a conventional cheese curd containing casein as a main component, and effectively has water retention and heat resistance, which are the characteristics of whey protein. Therefore,
For the purpose of sterilization, reheating can be performed, for example, at 90 ° C. Therefore, deterioration of quality during storage is small, and no water separation occurs during storage, and storage stability can be improved. Further, according to the production method of the present invention, it is possible to produce cheese with stable quality in a short period of time, as compared with ordinary cheese production.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A whey protein cheese obtained by subjecting whey protein to a limited decomposition, followed by heating and acid treatment. 2. The decomposition rate of whey protein is 1 to 40.
% Whey protein cheese according to claim 1. 3. A method for producing whey protein cheese, which comprises adding a proteolytic enzyme to a whey protein-containing solution for limited decomposition, and subjecting the resulting limited-decomposition whey protein-containing solution to heat treatment and acid treatment. . 4. The decomposition rate of whey protein is 1 to 40%.
The method for producing whey protein cheese according to claim 3, wherein the heat treatment is performed at a temperature of 60 ° C. or higher, and the acid treatment is performed at pH 5.0 to 5.6.