METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MAKING SLIC CHEESE
Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to a method and system for making shredded or sliced cheese. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Shredded cheese, or cheese in the form of elongated crumbs or other figures, is commonly used as a cover for foods, such as a cover for pizza, etc. Sliced cheese is commonly used for making sandwiches or for use as a snack, such as in Lunchables packages. Automatic conversion of bulk pieces of cheese, such as blocks or bars, to shredded or sliced as part of a continuous operation is technologically a challenge. Equipment commercially available for shredding or automated slicing of cheese in large volumes is scarce. Cheeses, such as Mozzarella, which can be relatively elastic in bar or block form at ambient conditions can be particularly difficult to form directly into shreds of substantially uniform dimensions. Grinding has been used as a way to convert Mozzarella bars into shredded. However, the elasticity of Mozzarella cheese can make the shredded grinding type difficult to put into practice. Depending on the configuration of the process, the bars
and blocks of Mozzarella cheese can be stored under refrigerated conditions until they are subjected to subsequent shredding operations. Chilled cheese tends to harden, making it even more difficult to crumble into pieces or similar to shredded strands of substantially uniform size. The cheese bar
Mozzarella has been heated to a melt condition in an extruder, and then discharged under compressive force through die holes in a die plate to form cheese strips, which are cooled in brine solution. The cheese extrudates are immediately cooled before extrusion before they deform, stick to each other, and / or otherwise lose the discrete elongated shape imparted by the extruder die. The conversion of cheese to melted form and post-extrusion brine treatment increase the complexity and cost of the process. There is also demand for low-fat Mozzarella cheeses in particular, which tend to have higher moisture content than the counterparts of whole fat. At higher moisture content, some cheeses, such as Mozzarella cheese, tend to become softer, making them even more difficult to shred the cheese using conventional shredding techniques. In addition, some cheeses can be sliced instead of crumbled. The slices of cheese can be produced in pieces of slat in bulk which lugo is cut into slices
by using wires to cut the slats into sheets and subsequently into slices. Cheese slices cut in this manner tend to stick together and the slices may require separation from the other stacks of slices by hand. There is a need for arrangements to form bars, blocks or pieces of directly shredded cheese or stable elongated slices, and particularly cheese bar of high moisture content cooled in a non-manual, automatic manner, without the need to heat-process the cheese . As will be apparent from the descriptions that follow, the invention addresses these needs as well as provides other advantages and benefits. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention provides a method and system for forming shredded cheese directly from a quantity of cheese in an automatic manner without the need to thermally process the cheese. In general, cheese crumbs are formed from a quantity of cheese in which at least one piece of discrete cheese is introduced into an elongated chamber which houses an operable conveyor to form homogenous cheese dough from at least a piece of cheese The resulting cheese mass is transported forward and longitudinally of the chamber by a conveyor of a discharge outlet of the chamber. The cheese dough is pumped to a low die plate
positive pressure The cheese dough is extruded as continuous extruded cheese strands at a temperature of less than about 50 ° F through a plurality of elongated holes in the die plate that receives the cheese dough after discharge from the chamber. The extruded cheese strands are cut intermittently along their lengths to form discrete cheese crumbs. The shredded cheese products obtained by the method and system of the present invention have figures of cross section substantially corresponding to the figures of the holes in the die plate. Processing the cheese mass at temperatures below about 50 ° F improves the microbiological stability of the product. They also reduce and prevent heat distortions from occurring in the shredded product figure. Additionally, it eliminates the need for rapid exhaustion of hot cheese extrudates. The method and system of the invention avoids the need for process control over complex systems by incorporating heating jackets or internal heating systems in the extruder, pipes, pumps, dice, etc. This reduces complexity, requirements and process costs. The shredded cheese can be deposited directly into food products or in food packaging tray cells as part of a food product manufacturing line. For example, this method and automated system eliminates the need to use intense labor to place
shredded cheese as covers for pizza products or in food packaging tray cells, or hard-to-control conventional shredding dusting systems such as vibrating belts. Alternatively, they can be collected for packing as a product of shredded cheese per se. In a particular embodiment, the cheese shreds can be deposited directly onto an intermediate food product, such as dough-containing products such as pizza, facilitating food production such as by minimizing processing losses and weight variability. The types of cheese that can be processed according to embodiments of this invention include natural cheeses, processed cheeses, and analogs or cheese substitutes, or mixtures thereof. In one embodiment, the cheese is Mozzarella or another Pasta Filata cheese, or other varieties of cheese, such as Emmental (Swiss), Cheddar, Gouda, Edam, etc. In a particular embodiment, shredded cheese are produced from chilled, high moisture content cheese, with the method and system of embodiments of the present. In a more particular embodiment, the cheese being processed is a Filata Pasta with high moisture content, such as bars, blocks, etc., of Mozzarella, having at least about 52% moisture content. The methods according to the embodiments of this invention make it possible to extrude cheese of high moisture content at temperatures
less than about 50 ° F in the form of strands. In one embodiment, the high moisture cheese may comprise chilled ozzarella cheese having a moisture content of at least about 52%, which is processed under unheated conditions in the shredding system of the invention. In a particular embodiment, the pieces of cheese are introduced inside, processed inside the extruder, and extruded in the form of strands in a die plate, at a temperature of less than about 45 ° F, more particularly, less than around 40 ° F. In one aspect, chilled cheese is fed into the extruder chamber, and the cheese dough formed therefrom in the extruder is transported to the die plate, while being maintained under refrigerated temperature conditions. In one aspect, the cheese temperature when extruded on the die plate is around 32 to about 45 ° F, particularly from around 35 to around 45 ° F. In this manner, it is possible to directly convert chilled or otherwise chilled cheese pieces to shreds of roughly uniform dimensions without the need to heat the cheese to a fluid or melted state to aid extrusion, which avoids the need to provide for post-extrusion exhaustion to stabilize and prevent distortion of figures in hot extruded figures from occurring otherwise. In another particular embodiment, a pump is
used to force cheese through single or multiple large-diameter shower-type dies with elongated holes resembling the desired cross-sectional shape of a cheese crumble. This pump includes a screw-type vacuum filling which receives the cheese in blocks of equal or different sizes and compresses the cheese in a homogeneous, air-free flow without damaging the physical or flavor characteristics of the cheese. The cheese dough is extruded at a temperature of at least about 50 ° F through the elongated die orifices after it leaves the discharge outlet of the chamber, providing strands of cheese extrudate. In one embodiment, a reciprocating multi-wire cutter that rotates relative to the die plate is used to cut the extruded strands into strands of desired length. In a more particular embodiment, the die plate used in methods according to embodiments of the present invention includes a plurality of passages extending from the above-indicated plurality of elongated holes in a discharge side of the die plate. to an input side thereof to receive mass of cheese discharged from the discharge outlet of the chamber. For purposes of the present, "elongated" orifice shapes have a larger diameter dimension that is at least 25%, preferably at least about 50%, larger in dimension than a smaller diameter dimension oriented at approximately 90 degrees of it. In
one embodiment, the passages have a substantially uniform cross-sectional shape corresponding to the elongated shape of the holes. The holes are non-circular and in particular they are generally oval in shape or almond-shaped. In one embodiment, the holes have a greater diameter / diameter ratio of less than about 2.25: 1 to about 1.75: 1. The holes have a dimension greater than about 6 to about 6.5 mm, and a smaller dimension of about 3 to about 3.25 mm. In one embodiment, the die plate may have a thickness, which corresponds to the length of the passages therein, from about 6 to about 13 mm. Alternatively, the elongated holes may be grooves that are generally rectangular in shape and are located between cutting elements to produce slices. In another particular embodiment, the mass of cheese formed in the extruder is divided into multiple output streams with a hydraulic turbine, which feeds the output streams under pressure to respective die plates, which are operable to extrude extruded continuous cheese through elongated holes, which are cut into discrete crumbs, in a plurality of food production lanes. Shreds can be deposited directly into a food product such as a cover or in a food tray cell in each lane.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a flowchart of a method for converting pieces of cheese into cheese crumbs according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a side elevational view of portion of a cheese crumbling system including a vacuum assisted loading extruder according to an embodiment of the invention. Figure 3 is a side elevational view of a shredded reservoir portion of the cheese shredding system of Figure 2. Figure 4 is a schematic perspective view of a die and cutter assembly, including a die plate having holes elongate, forming part of the shredded reservoir portion of Figure 3. Figure 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of the die plate of Figure 4. Figure 6 is a partial front elevational view of the given in Figure 4. Figure 7 is an enlarged plan view of a single die plate orifice representative of the die plate of Figure 4. Figure 8 is an isolated plan view of a die plate configuration. alternative which can be used to form part of the die and cutter assembly of figure 4.
Figure 9 is a side elevational view of a shredder cutter which can be used with the shredded reservoir portion of the cheese crumbling system of Figure 2. Figure 10 is a flowchart of a process for converting parts. of crumbled cheese cheese according to alternative embodiments of the present invention. Figure 11 is a side elevational view of portion of a cheese crumbling system including a vacuum assisted loading extruder according to the embodiment of Figure 10. Figure 12 is a side elevational view of a portion of shredded magazine of the cheese shredding system of Figure 11. Figure 13 is a side cross-sectional view in the pump discharge showing the funnel and die plate attached. Figure 14 is a front perspective view of the discharge side of the die plate in a pipe or funnel outlet. Figure 15A is an exploded view, in lateral cross-section, of an alternate die / funnel assembly, including a die plate, a harp plate with wires, and a cleaning plate. Figure 15B is a front plane view of a
alternative die plate of figure 15A. Figure 15C is a front plane view of the harp plate of Figure 15A. Figure 15D is a front plane view of the cleaning plate of Figure 15A. Figures 16A-D are microscopic representations of processed cheese and extruded cheese, in amplification of either 50 or 20 microns. Fig. 17 is a flow diagram of a method for converting cheese pieces into cheese slices according to an embodiment of the present invention. The figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. Elements similarly numbered in different figures represent similar characteristics unless otherwise indicated. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention relates to a method and system for producing shredded or sliced cheese from cheese extrudates. More specifically, this invention relates to extruding Mozzarella cheese of high moisture content at a temperature of less than about 50 ° F through a single die comprising a die plate containing a plurality of holes having elongated figures, such as almond or oval figures, etc., and the resulting cheese extrudate strands are cut intermittently throughout
of their lengths to provide individual cheese strands. This invention also relates to extruding a processed or natural cheese at a temperature of less than about 50 ° F through a single die comprising a die plate containing a plurality of holes having elongated figures, such as slots, and the sheets of extruded cheese products are cut intermittently along their lengths to provide discrete cheese slices. Fig. 1 is a flow chart of a method 10 for converting cheese pieces into cheese shreds according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this illustration, a barrel or block of large cheese is sub-divided into smaller blocks and then cubes, which are fed into an operable extruder to work the cheese pieces towards a homogenous mass under ambient or cooled conditions (not heated ) and then transporting the cheese dough to a multi-lane pressure gauge operable to divide the primary cheese dough stream into sub-currents of a given proportion which are fed to a respective die and cutter configuration operable to form shredded cheese at a product temperature below about 50 ° F. With reference to Figure 2, a system 100 is shown to form shredded cheese, which includes a cheese dough forming and pumping assembly 200, and a plate assembly
of die 300 (illustrated in greater detail in Figure 3). The conversion of the cheese pieces to shreds begins in the system 200. In this non-limiting example, a barrel or large block of cheese (e.g., about 640 Ib) is cut initially into blocks of about 20. -40 Ib, which in turn are converted into cubes (or alternatively, bars, blocks, etc., shredded, etc.) into the cube former 201. The cubes are introduced into a 2002 feed tank of an extruder screw 203 equipped with a vacuum pump (not shown). The screw extruder works cheese into cheese dough under ambient or cooled (unheated) conditions of less than about 50 ° F, and the resulting homogeneous cheese dough is discharged from the extruder and transported under pressure to a turbine hydraulic 204, which subdivides the flow of cheese dough into sub-currents of cheese dough. These sub-streams of cheese dough are pumped to respective die sets 300 for discharge as extruded strands, which are cut intermittently to form shreds of discrete length. Cheese pieces used as food material in system 100 may be natural cheese (e.g., Mozzarella, strong Cheddar, medium Cheddar, soft Cheddar, Swiss, etc.), processed cheese (e.g., American cheese) , tofu, imitation cheese, or combinations thereof. In one embodiment, the pieces of cheese are made of natural cheese. In one embodiment, the pieces of cheese are Mozzare cheese.
11a, particularly Mozzarella cheese with high moisture content. In a particular embodiment, the Mozzarella cheese feed and shredded product obtained therefrom with the system of the invention have a fat content (on dry basis) of less than about 30 percent, humidity of about 52 at around 60 percent, salt around 1.6 to about 1.8 percent, and a pH around 5.1 to about 5.3. Loose pieces of cheese can be used in any geometric shape as long as the larger dimension of the figure is compatible with the feed capacities of the feed tank and the extruder. For example, in one embodiment, natural Cheddar cheese can be pre-cut from a large block or other source into cubes or other regular figures of smaller size weighing about 4.5 kg (10 pounds) or less. For example, cubes having a size of about 5.1 to about 10.2 cm (about 2 to about 4 inches) can be used for introduction into an extruder system fed by a frusto-conical feeder tank having about 10.2 cm (4 inches) in diameter of lower aperture (eg, circular, square, etc.) and a twin screw intermixer feed comprised of a pair of extremez-clad screws from about 3.8 to about 5.1 cm (about from 1.5 to about 2 inches) in diameter. Other figures of cheese pieces can also be used alone or in combination with
other geometries, such as cylinders, bars, shreds, slices (eg, rectangular) and so on. The loose pieces of natural cheese or other dairy products are fed into the extruder feed tank by any suitable means. Loose cheese pieces can be fed mechanically or manually into the feed tank at a controlled rate. For example, a conveyor can be used to transfer the loose parts to the feeder tank from a collection container (not shown). After entering the feed tank, the pieces of cheese descend towards an extruder unit including a supply of screws with low cutting effort. The low-shear screw feed particularly comprises a twin screw intermixer feed operable at low speeds and fitted with minimal clearance relative to the inner surface of a generally cylindrical extruder chamber (barrel) housing the twin screw mechanism . The screws either rotate in the same direction (co-current) or in the opposite direction (countercurrent) to each other. After entering the low-effort cutting screws feed, the pieces of cheese are mixed and folded together. The extruder is equipped with a vacuum pump that evacuates air from the space inside the extruder barrel where the screw feed is housed and the mass of cheese in it. In a particular embodiment, the vacuum pump is
It combines with a screw extruder as an integral unit. Vacuum pumps commercially available, for example, VEMAG robot model HP-15C, manufactured by Robert Reiser & Co., which are packaged as integrated units with the twin screw feed assembly for meat filling operation. Another example of a suitable pump is the KS Vacuum Filler, Type P9 SE, manufactured by Karl Schnell GmbH & Co. KG, which is a gear type vacuum pump and is preferred herein for use in producing cheese slices. The Schnell gear pump uses a separate feed auger drive which helps force the cheese into the pump gears, thereby pushing the cheese through the pump. Schnell gear pumps are capable of continuous feeding, unlike the use of piston pumps which can also provide low cutting effort, but are non-continuous. Also, the Schnell P9 SE pump has a very low visual grease interruption, due to its low cutting force effect. As the twin screw feed is working and transporting cheese dough forward to the discharge outlet it keeps the product from being sucked into the vacuum pump area. The vacuum-assisted charge of the extruder removes air from the cheese pieces introduced into the screw feed and the resulting mass, such that a
Homogeneous substantially continuous mass can be formed which is substantially free of air pockets. The air pockets in the cheese mass are undesirable as they explode on exiting the extruder after being under compression within the die, forming notable structural defects in the extrudate. The removal of trapped air from the cheese mass also helps to provide a hard, dense extrudate. The vacuum formed in the interior space of the screw housing by vacuum pump also helps to take cheese pieces from the feed tank towards the screw feed. The cheese mass is conveyed as a viscous mass, substantially continuous, uninterrupted, homogeneous, by the feeding of twin screws out of a discharge outlet 2020 of the extruder to the line 205 through which the mass of cheese flows to the hydraulic turbine 204 and before further processing including shredding production. During the passage of the extrudable cheese mixture through the extruder barrel, the twin screw conveyor feed mechanism acts on the cheese mass to transport it to the discharge outlet in the form of two attached ropes of cheese material, which are compacted towards a single continuous mass in the pipeline 205 after discharge of the output 2020. The shot of the interspersed flight is relatively closed but without causing contact between the two interspersing screws. Also, the free space between the outermost peripheries and
of the screws and the inner surface of the extruder barrel is minimized to help reduce cutting forces that may be exerted on the cheese mass as it is transported by the twin screw assembly. For example, while being driven in rotation at a relatively low speed, eg, about 40 to about 60 rpm, the arrangement of twin interlocking screws can still add, mix and compact sufficiently viscous cheese mass into the die to support extrusion continuous of the cheese mass, while reducing the cutting forces exerted on the cheese mass as it is transported to the discharge outlet under pressure. The extruder, including the vacuum pump, and integrally attached feeder tank can be positioned as a unitary unit on a raised surface, such as by a moving carriage, or alternatively positioned on a stationary surface such as a work floor, platform, counter , etc. As indicated, the mass of cheese leaving the discharge outlet of the extruder is received in and pumped through pipe or conduit 205 to a hydraulic turbine 204. Hydraulic turbine 204 divides the mass flow of cheese discharged from the extruder by means of multiple integral to a plurality of separate cheese mass sub-streams of approximately same flow and pumps them to respective die assemblies 300 for shredding production. The hydraulic turbine can be a commercially available configuration, such as a
manufactured by Robert Reiser & Co. The hydraulic turbine 204 operates using a series of vertical vane pumps in a cylindrical housing. The vane pumps are connected directly by metal arrows that ensure that each vane pump rotates at the same speed and delivers the same amount of material to its associated die and cutter configuration. With reference to Figure 3, each die assembly 300 includes a die 301 comprising a die plate 303 having elongated holes 305 separated by land areas 304, an extruder cutter 307, and a double gate shredder / picker dispenser. 309. The elongated holes 305, ie piercing holes, provided in the die plate 303 are elongated figures adapted to receive, configure, and discharge cheese mass as extruded in the form of a strand (e.g., see figures 4). -6). In this embodiment, the die plate 303 is mounted level in the die plate support member 3010. The opposite side of the die plate (not shown) can be fed to a substream of cheese from of hydraulic turbine 204 in pipe including a flared attachment (not shown) that adjusts (viz., increases) the diameter of the feed duct to be as large as the hole pattern in die plate 302. Die plate 303 may include a central arrow receiving aperture 308 for reasons indicated above with respect to the embodiment shown in Figure 9. As indicated in Figure 3, each substream of
cheese dough is discharged through the elongated holes in the die plate assigned to that product reservoir lane according to the cheese extrudate strands, which are cut intermittently along their length with the cutter or slicer integral 307 associated with the dice for forming discrete cheese crumbs having figures of cross section substantially corresponding to figures of the holes provided in the die plate. With reference still to Figure 3, in this arrangement the extruder is continuously run at constant pressure while the flow rate gate 1 of the shredder collector / dispenser 309 is kept open and the gate 2 is kept closed, to accumulate an amount of product of shredded cheese (stage A). As shown, the shredder collector / dispenser 309 includes a shredder collecting chamber 311 having an openable / lockable gate 1 at its upper end and another, gate 2, at its lower end. The manifold / dispenser 309 includes an upper housing structure 313 that confines and cut-away shreds that fall into the chamber 311 below. Then, as the food tray arrives under the gate 2 of the collector / dispenser 309, such as by a production line conveyor or manually, the gate 1 is closed and the gate 2 of the shredder collector / dispenser 309 is opened to deliver the shredded product collected towards the tray (stage B).
After depositing the collected amount of cheese crumbs, gate 2 closes and gate 1 opens again to restart the deposit cycle as described above. In a particular embodiment, these various operations are placed under automated control. In a particular embodiment, the cheese dough may be allowed to undergo a slight temperature increase during processing of several degrees (e.g., about 3 ° F or less), but measurements are taken to ensure that the Cheese mass is maintained at a cooled temperature through the discharge of the die plate as extruded strands. Among other benefits, this helps improve and ensures microbiological stability in the cheese product. To maintain the temperature of the cheese dough at a temperature below 50 ° F during processing including in the extruder, hydraulic turbine, and at least until it is discharged from the die plate as crumbly strands, system 100 can be configured in a work space or refrigerated room maintained at a cold temperature sufficient for that purpose. Alternatively or in addition thereto, the extruder, conduit, hydraulic turbine, and / or die plate may be equipped with cooling means, e.g., cooling jackets. Also, as previously indicated, a screw conveyor can be used that is driven in rotation at relatively slow speed, which reduces cutting forces
exerted on the cheese mass as it is transported to the discharge outlet under pressure. The use of low shear stress conditions in the extruder has advantages. For example, the occurrence of significant fat coalescence (e.g., formation of fat globules), oiling (e.g., phase separation of oil / solids mass), and / or protein aggregation is minimized, with it improving the product texture, homogeneity, and firmness. Although Figures 1-3 illustrate a four-lane pressure drop arrangement, it is appreciated that one or any multiple number of lanes may be incorporated in the method and system. For example, in the optional scheme 101 shown in Figure 1, only one die cutter configuration is supported, so the four-lane pressure depositor is not needed. In this optional mode, the cheese dough is fed directly from the discharge outlet of the extruder to the die and cutter configuration. It will also be appreciated that the shredding system could be operated without the gate manifolds in the tank sub-system by extruding and intermittently cutting extruded strand in a measured time manner to coincide with the placement of tray or food product under the plate. dice. With reference to Figure 4, the die plate 303 may be of a synthetic polymer or metal construction. For example, the die plate 303 can be constructed of stainless steel, aluminum, etc. Alternatively, it can be formed
molded plastic construction. The plastic may comprise, e.g., ultra-high molecular weight polyurethane. The holes 305 can be formed in the die plate by machining techniques suitable for the construction of metal or plastic, as applicable. Alternatively, a metal or plastic die plate may be formed, or an injection molded plastic die plate, as a unitary structure including the holes. The holes 305 may comprise passages having a constant cross-sectional shape through the thickness of the die plate. Alternatively, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the holes 305 may comprise two portions comprising a first passage portion 501 on the inlet side (i.e., cheese mass receiver) 3032 of the die plate 303 having a frugal shape. - tapered which angles at about 45 ° (ie, angle a) relative to the direction of product flow, and which converges to and communicates with a second passage portion 502 on the extruder discharge side 3034 of the die plate 303 including the discharge orifice 305 having a figure corresponding to the desired cross section shredding figure. The first tapered passage 3032 effectively softens the surface of the resulting extruded strands. Figure 6 shows the inlet openings 601 of the first passages 501 on the rear side 3032 of the die plate in shaded lines, which are hidden
in this front view, and the figure of the holes 305 in solid lines. For a die plate of approximately 15.2-20.3 cm (approximately 6-8 inches) in diameter and a thickness of approximately 9.5 mm (3/8 inch), the plate may have approximately 100-140 holes with the elongated figures, such as almond, oval, elliptical, or rectangular figures, and the like. The holes are separated from each other and separated by portions of terrain on the die plate. In one embodiment, the holes have a greater diameter / diameter ratio of less than about 2.25: 1 to about 1.75: 1. The holes have a dimension greater than about 6 to about 6.5 mm, and a smaller dimension of about 3 to about 3.25 mm. In one embodiment, the die plate may have a thickness, which corresponds to the length of the passages therein, approximately 6 to approximately 13 mm (0.25 to 0.5 inches). With reference to figure 7, in a non-limiting embodiment, the dimensions of the holes provided in the die plate when used to extrude high moisture cheeses (e.g., about 52%) at temperatures less than about 50 ° F are about 3.175 mm (0.125 inches) in the direction of the minor axis "y", and about 6.35 mm (0.250 inches) in the direction of the major axis "x". The radii of curvature R: and R2 of the upper and lower arc segments,
respectively, defining the almond figure hole is around 2.3 to about 2.7. With reference to Figure 8, an alternative die plate configuration 3030 is illustrated, where the holes 305 are arranged in vertical columns and diagonally oriented rows in which holes are wobbled in place to provide substantially uniform spacing between orifices in a column or row given, and between holes in columns and attached rows. After being discharged from die plate 303, the extruded cheese strands are typically cut intermittently into non-continuous strands, discrete with any means suitable for that purpose. The cutting or slicing means may comprise a knife or other cutting device, such as a wire cutter knife, an air knife, a metal guillotine, a rotary cutter, a knock or flap wheel, and so on. The movement of the cutting device and the output speed of the formable food product are two factors that regulate the length of the final shredded product. The cutting device may include a mechanism for cutting the continuously extruded strands to desired lengths, depending on the food application. For example, the lengths of shreds formed may be from about 1 to about 15 cm, although other lengths may also be provided. In some embodiments,
the cutting device may have a reciprocating or circular movement. For example, as illustrated in Figure 4, a harp cutter 407 fitted with a single cutter wire 409 is equipped to vertically reciprocate up and down, as indicated by the arrows, between its pre-cut position 408 and its extended position 410 illustrated during a cutting stroke, to cut the cheese extrudate strands to desired discrete lengths. With reference to Figure 9, in another embodiment a cutting assembly 900 includes a multiple wire cutting member 901 and a pneumatic pulling mechanism 920 operable to controllably rotate the cutting member 901 reciprocally and turn in a circular motion counterclockwise / clockwise relative to the cheese strand being extruded from die plate 303 to intermittently cut the extruded cheese strands to shreds discreet The multi-wire cutting member 901 includes a cutting wire support frame 902 having a circular edge portion 903 and a flange portion 90, and support arms 904 extending between the edge portion and a support member center collar 905. In this illustration, three equally spaced support arms 904 are provided to connect the edge portion 903 to the center collar support member 905, although it will be appreciated that
Different numbers of support arms can be used. A plurality of wires 906 are radially expanded between the central collar member 905 and the circular edge portion 903 and are rigidly connected to those components at opposite ends of each wire such that the wires are stiff and can be extruded efficiently . Rope closure screws 907 or other suitable connecting means may be used for this purpose at the opposite ends of the wires. In this illustration, twelve wires expand between the edge portion 903 and the collar support member 905 in the open spaces 908 between each neighboring pair of support arms 904. The center collar support member 905 has a central hole 910 adapted to receive a threaded shaft 930 that is rigidly mounted to the die head 931 that supports the die plate 303, which also has a central opening 308 (see FIG. 4) through which the arrow Threaded 930 can be received. A thrust spring (not shown) fits over the arrow 930 under the collar 905. An arrow nut 912 fits over the threaded shaft 930 at the opposite outer end of the collar 905. The position of the nut 912 in the threaded shaft 930 is manually adjustable such that a light space can be provided between the wires 906 and the exterior face lands 304 of the die plate 303. Pneumatic pulling mechanism 920 includes a pneumatic piston 921 housed in a sheath 922 which is screwed ( 923)
to a clamp arm 940 which is integrally connected with the die head 931. The pneumatic piston 921 is hingedly connected at one end (not shown) to the clamp member 924 which is clamped to a flange portion 909 of the edge portion 903 of cutting member 901. Pneumatic piston 921 is also fitted with a valve stem 922 through which needle valve control is made, such that pressurization causes piston 921 to strike or move laterally toward the cutter part 901, which in turn causes counterclockwise rotation of the cutting member 901, as indicated by the direction arrows in Figure 9. The cutting assembly 900 is configured such that the cylinder stroke move each cutter wire 906 through about 2-4 columns of holes 305 effective for cutting extruded strands without smearing the extrudate. By releasing air pressure to the piston 921, the piston 921 retracts in the opposite lateral direction back to its original rest position, which causes a clockwise rotation of the effective cutting member 901 such that the wires 906 can again cut extruded strands while moving in the opposite direction of rotation. In a particular embodiment, the movement of the piston 921 is calculated with the speed of discharge of the cheese extrudate such that the crumbs can be formed of desired discrete lengths. In another alternative cutting configuration, a slicer of type
Multi-blade propeller can be mounted on the outside face of the die plate and rotated at a rate calculated to cut strands of extrudates into desired lengths. With reference to Figures 10-12, alternative shredding systems of embodiments of this invention are illustrated. In mode 702, this arrangement is similar to the system described in Figures 1-3 except that a three-way diverter valve is interposed between the hydraulic turbine and die and cutter configuration to allow deviation of the cheese mass from a sub-stream of cheese dough back to the extruder when there is no tray or food product ready to receive shredded product. With reference to Figures 13-17, alternative embodiments for a cheese slicing system 30 are illustrated. This system can similarly feed cheese pieces to an extruder feed tank where cheese pieces can also be lowered into an extruder unit including a low shear pump vacuum that works the cheese into a cheese dough. The cheese pieces pass through a low-shear pump, preferably a gear pump such as the KS Vacuum Filler, Type P9 SE, manufactured by Karl Schnell GmbH & Co. KG, which feeds the cheese therethrough to the discharge outlet 22. At the discharge outlet 22 of the pump chamber, the cheese dough can be forced through a length of the piping.
exit followed by a funnel 16 at its discharge end. At the funnel outlet 16b the cheese can be extruded through a die plate 18 with attached wires, or other similar cutting device attached. The building material of the funnel can be either metal or plastic, and can preferably be a stainless steel metal. Furthermore, a hydraulic turbine and flow dividers are not necessary with the slicing system. With reference to Figure 13, a portion of a cheese slicing system 30 is shown in the discharge outlet 22 from the pump chamber. As the cheese dough is forced out of the pump chamber it can pass through a pipe length (not shown) into the discharge outlet 22 of the pump chamber. Preferably, the pump outlet 22 and the outlet pipe can both have diameters of about 3.8 to about 9.0 cm (about 1.5 to about 3.5 inches), preferably about 6.4 cm in diameter (about 2.5 inches), although the outlet 22 of the pump chamber may also be of a different diameter than the outlet pipe and may vary from about 3.8 to about 13.0 cm ( about 1.5 to about 5 inches). The length of the outlet pipe may vary, and preferably it may be as short as possible. Optionally, a reducer of size 20, t as a pipe reducer or an additional funnel, can be used in the discharge outlet 22 of the pump chamber and just prior to the entrance of the outlet pipe. To minimize the
effect of shear stress on the cheese mass as it leaves the pump, the discharge outlet 22 of the pump should be about the same diameter as the outlet pipe; when this is not the case, then a reducer 20 can be used to make them equal. The inlet of the reducer 20 can be sized to adjust the discharge outlet 22 of the pump chamber, and can have a larger diameter between about 3.8 to about 13.0 cm. The output of the reducer 20 can be sized to fit the diameter of the outlet pipe, and it can have a diameter smaller than about 3.8 to about 9.0 cm, and preferably about 6.4 cm. At the discharge end of the outlet pipe (not shown), a funnel 16 can be attached, which can be downstream of a reducer 20, if one is used, or alternatively it can be attached directly to the pump outlet 22. Funnel 16 can be used to configure the cheese mass to a figure required to form slices at the outlet and to compact the firm cheese, and can also further reduce the size of the mass stream of cheese leaving it. Cheese dough of any figure can be made by exiting the funnel 16 with the outlet 16b configured accordingly, and typically a generally rectangular shape is desired as it exits the funnel 16. The inlet 16a of the funnel 16 can be sized to fit the diameter of the pipe of exit. For example, the diameter of the inlet 16a to the funnel 16 and the pipe diameter can both
be around 3.8 to about 9.0 cm (about 1.5 to about 3.5 inches), preferably about 6.4 cm in diameter (about 2.5 inches). The outlet 16b of the funnel 16 may be of generally rectangular or other non-circular shape, such as a star shape, an oval shape or a square shape, for example. If a generally rectangular figure is used, the outlet 16b of the funnel 16 can be dimensioned from about 1.2 to about 3.8 cm (about 0.5 to about 1.5 inches) on a smaller side and about 1.5 to about 6.6. cm (about 0.6 to about 2.6 inches) on a larger side, and can preferably be about 2.5 cm on one side less than about 4.0 cm on a larger side (about 1.0 inches on a smaller side and around 1.6 inches on a larger side). The cross-sectional area of the inlet 16a of the funnel 16 may be larger than the cross-sectional area of the outlet 16b. The funnel 16 and possibly a reducer 20 may be necessary to help minimize the shear stress on the cheese as the cheese passes into a smaller diameter pipe from a larger diameter. When the funnel is used alone or with a reducer, it gradually tapers the size from a larger diameter to a smaller diameter, thereby minimizing the shear stress on the cheese. High cutting effort can occur when an outlet is reduced in diameter abruptly and is not desirable because it makes the cheese softer, which
it can cause the texture and taste of the cheese to change undesirably. At the outlet 16b of the funnel 16, a die plate 18 may be aligned in alignment with the discharge outlet of the funnel 16 or a line that is downstream of the pump. The die plate 18 may comprise one or a plurality of harp wires 24, as illustrated in FIG. 14, or other similar cutting elements, expanded through the discharge side 18b of the die plate 18 from a end of the die plate to the other. The wires 24 can be expanded parallel to each other in a direction transverse to a machine direction and the wires 24 can be located at or near the outlet 16b of the funnel 16. The die plate 18 can contain a plurality of elongated holes in the die plate 18 which can be rectangular in shape and substantially parallel to each other, transverse to a machine direction. The elongated holes can be defined by the edges of one or more wires 24, for example, which can frame the inlet 18a and the discharge sides 18b of the die plate 18 and in the case of the outer edge grooves, for example, the hole can be defined by the die plate wall, where the holes can be separated from one another and separated by the wires 24. Typically 5 or 7 wires can be used, which produce about 6 or about 8 slices, respectively. The wires 24 can be of a thickness between about 0.8 to
about 1.3 mm (about 16 to 20 gauge), more preferably about 1.0 mm, which corresponds to a roughly 18 gauge wire. In general, the smaller the wire size, the better the cut will be. However, if the wire is too small (ie very thin) it can break. The inlet side 18a of the die plate 18 can be sized to fit the outlet 16b of the funnel 16 and is preferably also of a generally rectangular shape. The die plate 18 may have a smaller dimension of about 1.2 to about 3.8 cm (about 0.5 to about 0.5 inches) and a larger dimension of about 1.5 to about 6.6 cm (about 0.6 to about 2.6 inches), which is dimensioned similarly to the outlet 16b of the funnel 16, and can preferably be around 2.5 by about 4.0 cm (about 1.0 by about 1.6 inches). The construction material of the die plate 18 can be either metal or plastic, and preferably can be stainless steel metal. Figures 15A-D illustrate an alternative type of die plate assembly of Figure 14. In Figure 15A, alternative die plate 118 is similar to die plate 18 in Figure 14 except that it does not contain harp wires Expanded through the die plate 118. Instead, the alternate die plate 118 has an opening 118A such that the cheese emerging from the funnel can pass through the opening 118A, before passing through the harp plate 218. Additionally, the plate
of alternative die 118 may also have small slits 224, as seen in Figure 15B, along two opposite sides to receive harp wires attached to a harp plate that may extend over the die plate when the plate harp 218 is placed adjacent to them. The die plate 118 may comprise a slit or a plurality of slits 224 on each of the two sides, and preferably the number of slits per side is equal to the number of harp wires 24 expanded through the harp plate 218. The slits 224 in the die plate 118 can receive the harp wires 24 therein when the harp plate 218 is placed adjacent thereto, to be discussed in more detail below. The inlet of the die plate 118 may also be sized to fit the outlet of the funnel 16 and may preferably be of generally rectangular shape as in the die plate 18 in Figure 14. The harp plate 218 may be attached adjacent to the side of discharge of the die plate 118, which is shown detailed in Figure 15C. The harp plate 218 may be the same size as the die plate 118 or may be larger and the harp plate has an opening 218A which may be the same size as the die plate aperture 118A or greater. Preferably the opening 218A of the harp plate 218 will be of the same dimension as the opening 118A in the die plate 118. The harp wires 24 can be expanded through and attached to the discharge side
of the harp plate 218 through the opening 218A and parallel to each other in a direction transverse to a machine direction, similar to the positioning of the harp wires 24 on the die plate 18, as discussed previously. The harp wires 24 on the harp plate 218 function in a manner similar to the harp wires 24 on the die plate 18 in Fig. 14, and help define the elongated holes which receive the mass of cheese from the funnel and the die plate and provide the cheese extrudate sheets. Optionally, a cleaning plate 318, as shown in greater detail in FIG. 15D, can also be used and placed adjacent to the discharge side of the harp plate 218. The cleaning plate 318 has an opening 318A which functions to allow the sliced cheese extrudate sheets pass through to soften them and shape the freshly sliced cheese slices as they pass through the opening 318A and pass rapidly against the outer edges of the opening 318A. An alternative to the gear pump can be a piston-type pump, such as OPTI-220, manufactured by arlen Research Corporation. A piston pump, however, can not continuously feed the cheese mass, as can the gear pump. The piston pump can push the cheese through using a piston and as its chamber is filled with the cheese it applies a force against the cheese to advance it in one direction
of machine forward. Some piston pump models may also include a reducer, such as an additional funnel, already built into the pump itself and located at the pump outlet. This additional funnel can already reduce the size of the outlet down to the diameter of the outlet pipe. At the discharge end of the outlet pipe the funnel with the attached die plate can be placed. The parameters for the funnel and die plate in this example may be similar to those discussed above. An example of the overall slicing process is illustrated in FIG. 17, which is a flow diagram of a method 101 for converting pieces of cheese into slices of cheese. In this process, a barrel or block of large cheese is sub-divided into smaller blocks and then cubes, which are fed to an operable extruder to work the pieces of cheese into a homogeneous mass under ambient conditions or cooled (not heated) and then transport the cheese mass to the discharge outlet by force from the extruder / pump. The cheese dough may advance towards a machine direction forward (i.e., longitudinally) through the discharge outlet and into an outlet pipe. If the diameter of the pump chamber outlet is approximately 7.6 cm then no reducer is needed and the diameter of the outlet pipe may be approximately 7.6 cm. After the cheese dough passes through the outlet pipe you can enter inside the
entrance 16a of the funnel 16, which can additionally reduce the cheese mass to a smaller diameter as well as the figure of the cheese mass to an alternative figure before the exit of the funnel 16. As the cheese mass leaves the funnel 16 it can be extruded through a plurality of elongated holes in the discharge side 18b of the die plate 18, which can be joined at or near the outlet 16b. The die plate 18 may contain a number of wires 24, which cut the cheese mass as it passes between the plurality of elongated holes and cuts the cheese mass towards extruded sheets stacked on top of one another, and preferably six to eight plates. As the cheese extrudate sheets exit the die plate 18, the sheets can be cut by an optional slicer on the discharge side 18b of the die plate 18 or by a separate cutting mechanism further downstream of the plate. given 18. Cheese sheets may have the following dimensions of a height between about 1.2 to about 3.8 cm (about 0.5 to about 1.5 inches) and a width between about 1.8 to about 4.3 cm (about 0.7) to about 1.7 inches), and preferably a height of about 2.5 cm and a width of about 3 cm (about 1.0 inch high by about 1.2 inches wide). When a separate cutting mechanism is used, the sheets can be extruded directly onto a conveyor which transports the sheets to a cutting or slicing device
after leaving the die plate. The conveyor can be equipped with a knife, such as an ultrasonic knife, which cuts the sheets into slices of desired length. These final slices can be sized such that a stack of six slices, for example, would be about 2.5 cm high, about 4.0 cm long and about 3.0 cm wide (about 1.0 by 1.6 by 1.2 inches), where the length is parallel to a machine direction and the height and width are transverse to the machine direction. The movement of the cutting device and the output speed of the sheets are two factors that regulate the length of the final sliced product. For example, extruded cheese sheets may exit the funnel assembly and be given as long strips of cheese and pass in a machine direction through the cutting assembly having a knife that cuts the extruded cheese slices transverse to the direction of machine, and where the knife blade can move longitudinally, for example. The cheese slices can all be substantially of the same length since the cutting speed of the sheets should remain relatively constant. After the cheese slices are cut into slices, the slices can continue to move in a machine direction further to a conveyor where the slices can be taken down the line and packaged in a food container or tray. It will be appreciated that this invention is especially useful
for directly converting cooled high moisture cheeses, such as refrigerated Mozzarella cheese having a high moisture content of at least about 52%, in crumbled form without needing to provide heated conditions in the shredding system of the invention. In a particular embodiment, the pieces of cheese are introduced into, processed within the extruder, and extruded in the form of a strand in the die plate, at a temperature of less than about 45 ° F, more particularly, less than around 40 ° F. In one aspect, chilled cheese is fed into the extruder chamber, and the cheese dough formed therefrom in the extruder is transported to the die plate, while being maintained under refrigerated temperature conditions. In one aspect, the temperature of the cheese when it is extruded into the die plate is from about 32 to about 45 ° F, particularly from about 35 to about 45 ° F. In this manner, it is possible to directly convert chilled or otherwise chilled cheese pieces to shreds of roughly uniform dimensions without the need to heat the cheese to fluid or melted state to aid extrusion, which further avoids the need to provide post-extrusion exhaustion to stabilize and prevent distortion of shape from occurring in otherwise hot extruded shapes. This method and system of the invention avoids the need for process control over complex systems incorporating jackets from
heating or internal heating systems in the extruder, pipe, pumps, dice, etc. This reduces complexity, requirements and process costs. It will be further appreciated that this invention is especially useful for converting an extruded cheese dough into a sliced form without the need to provide heated conditions in a similar manner as with the comminution system. Also, although the use of ingredients in addition to cheese pieces is not categorically excluded from the method, no processing aids or product modifiers, eg, water, salt, plasticizers, emulsifiers, etc., need to be included with the parts. of cheese fed into the process system described herein to provide shredded product of high quality cheese. For example, natural or raw processed cheese material can itself be processed in the shredding system without the need for co-ingredients. Additional edible ingredients, such as pieces of meat, pieces of vegetables, herbs, spices, vitamins, calcium or other minerals can optionally be added to the cheese mass by the feeder tank to the extent that they can be dispersed in the cheese mass and not obstruct or blind the holes in the die plate. The following Examples are intended to illustrate, and not to limit, the invention. All the percentages described in
the present are by weight, unless otherwise indicated. Example 1 Leprino Mozzarella cheese (53% moisture) with starch was cut into pieces of 15.2 x 7.6 cm (6 x 3 inches) weighing approximately 0.5 pounds. The cheese temperature at the time of use was around 35 ° F and was still around 35 ° F after extrusion. A custom die plate was fitted to an extrusion system, as described below. The die plate was of molded rigid plastic construction having a diameter of 18 cm (7 inches) and 0.95 cm (3/8 of an inch) in thickness. The plate had 117 holes formed therein having almond shapes, similar to those illustrated in Figure 6, which were arranged on the die plate in the pattern illustrated in Figure 4. The holes extend through the entire thickness of the plate between their opposite exposed faces. The dimensions of the shred holes were approximately 6.35 mm (0.250 inches) as the largest diameter dimension extending laterally through the hole by approximately 3.175 mm (0.125 inches) as the smaller diameter dimension extending vertically through the hole. The holes were separated by land on the die plate. The holes had cross-sectional shapes corresponding to the desired cross-sectional shape of the cheese strands. The cheese temperature at the time of use was
approximately 35 ° F and was still around 35 ° F after extrusion. A vacuum pump / extruder VEMAG ROBOT model HP-15c, manufactured by Robert Reiser & Co. it was set to operate with the following values: Weight = 0068 000, Pause = 0050, Return = 1500, Speed = 0, pl = 0. The pressure in the system was between about 300 and about 350 psi. Approximately 80 pounds of the cheese pieces were tipped into the extruder feed tank. The screws were operated at about 75 rpm to mix, knead, and compact the cheese pieces to a homogenous cheese mass before leaving the extruder discharge outlet. The rate of expenditure was around 8 lb / min. The mass of cheese leaving the vacuum pump / extruder unit was driven to a 6-inch Reiser hydraulic turbine, which divided the cheese mass into separate equal streams collected in respective vane pumps. The hydraulic turbine supported die plates mounted on two separate tank rails. The divided cheese streams were each pumped from the hydraulic turbine to a die plate, described above, and extruded as continuous strands, i.e., the cheese extrudate. The extruded product was extruded at 35 ° F using the die. A wire cutter was used to cut the continuous strands into discrete cheese strands having lengths of about 3 cm to about 4 cm. The cheese threads had figures of
cross section along their lengths which substantially corresponded to the die plate orifice figures. Example 2 A funnel 16 in the discharge of an outlet pipe was used together with a reducer 20 in a pump outlet 22 to gradually pass between pipe sizes when extruding cheese was made and was found to help maintain the cheese structure such that resembles closely the structure of processed cheese, not extruded. This is illustrated in Figures 16A-D, which show the results of microscopy comparing the internal structures of the processed cheese that had not been extruded against the extruded cheese using the funnel-reducing system. Figures 16A and B illustrate the processed or non-extruded processed cheese. Figure 16A was amplified to a scale of 50 microns, and Figure 16B was amplified to a scale of 20 microns. The cheese samples were tested using a Nile Blue staining technique which stains the fat particles in the cheese so that they are more visible when they perform the microscopy test. The fat particles in the non-extruded cheese appeared as droplets or round spheres with two sizes of fat populations of either about 2 um or about 5-10 um in diameter, which is typically common in processed, non-extruded cheese . Figures 16C-D illustrate the same degree of amplification for cheese for extruded cheese samples. The mass of
cheese is passed through a VEMAG ROBOT vacuum pump / extruder model HP-15c, manufactured by Robert Reiser & Co. and having a pump output of about 10.2 cm. A pipe reducer was placed in the pump outlet to reduce the diameter from about 10.2 to about 7.6 cm. An outlet pipe with a diameter of about 7.6 cm was located at the pump outlet and after the reducer. A funnel was located at the end of the outlet pipe and had an inlet of about 7.6 cm and a generally rectangular outlet of about 3.0 by about 4.0 cm. In both Figures 16C and D, regular figure fat droplets were visible, as in the control samples, however a very small number of coalescing fat droplets were also present, which were illustrated as spheres of slightly irregular shape. Although the protein matrix of the extruded cheese was slightly looser than the control and there was a less degree of coalescing fat present, globally there was no significant difference between the two samples. Although the invention has been particularly described with specific reference to particular process and product embodiments, it will be appreciated that various alterations, modifications and adaptations may be based on the present disclosure, and are intended to be within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims.