TW201618677A - Stabilised cheese products - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of producing a frozen microwaveable, coated food product, comprising the steps of; providing pieces of mozzarella cheese, the pieces having a maximum dimension of 1 cm; mixing the pieces of cheese with a stabilising composition comprising: protein component 1-20% modified starch 16-35% polydextrose 30-55% gelling agent 1-10% cellulose gum 5-25% wherein the percentages of the ingredients are by dry weight and are selected from the ranges quoted to total 100%; water; wherein the protein component, starch, polydextrose and gelling agent are added as solid phase ingredients to the cheese with mixing, followed by addition of a solution comprising: cellulose gum, and water; the method further comprising the subsequent steps of: mixing to form a homogenous cheese dough; forming the dough into portions; freezing the portions and maintaining the frozen portions for at least eight hours; applying a precoating to the frozen portions to produce precoated portions; applying a batter coating to the pre-coated portions to produce batter coated portions; applying one or more layers of crumb to the batter coated portions to provide a crumb coated portion; frying the crumb coated portions to produce fried portions; and cryogenically freezing the fried portions.

Description

Stabilized cheese products

This invention relates to stable cheese products and to methods of making stable cheese products. The invention is particularly, but not exclusively, related to stable cheese products comprising mozzarella cheese or other semi-soft cheeses having a high moisture content.

Mozzarella is a freshly sourced cheese from Southern Italy, traditionally made from Italian buffalo milk and later made from milk by the method of pasta filata. Fresh mozzarella is generally white, but can change to a slightly yellowish color depending on the season of the animal's diet. It is a semi-soft cheese. Due to its high moisture content, it has traditionally been eaten on the day after manufacture.

Food products containing some mozzarella, such as mozzarella sticks, tend to melt and leak in traditional ovens, and heating in a microwave oven is difficult or impossible due to the high moisture content of the cheese. .

Masuria sticks are generally provided with a batter and breadcrumb coating. Steam and liquefied cheese may adversely affect the sealing and brittle nature of the batter and breadcrumb coating. This may cause a bad taste of the product, which may be commercially unsatisfactory.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of producing a frozen, microwaveable coated food product, the method comprising the steps; providing a mozzarella cheese piece having a maximum size of 1 cm; The tablet is mixed with a stabilizing composition comprising: protein component 1-20% modified starch 16-35% polydextrose 30-55% gelling agent 1-10% cellulose gum 5-25% of which percentage of this ingredient Based on dry weight, and selected from the range quoted for a total of 100%; water; wherein the protein component, starch, polydextrose and gelling agent are added to the cheese with the solid phase component, followed by a The addition of a liquid comprising: a cellulose gum, and water; the method further comprising the subsequent steps of: mixing to form a homogeneous cheese dough; dividing the dough into portions Forming; freezing and maintaining the frozen portion for at least eight hours; applying a precoat to the frozen portion to produce a pre-coated portion; applying a paste coating to the pre-coated portion to produce a batter a coating portion; applying one or more layers of bread crumbs to the batter-coated portion to provide a portion of the breaded coating; frying the portion of the breaded coating to produce a fried portion; and freezing the portion Deep fried portion.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a frozen, microwaveable coated food product comprising: a core having an edible material equivalent to 15 to 95 wt% of the food, the core comprising or by horse Sulil cheese, a stable composition, optional seasonings and other ingredients; a frying coating enclosing the core of the edible material has a weight equivalent to 5 to 85 wt% of the food, the coating comprising At least three coatings, including an inner layer, an outer bread crumb layer, and a paste layer separating the inner layer from the outer bread crumb layer; wherein the stable composition comprises: protein component 1-20% modified starch 16-35% Polydextrose 30-55% Gelling agent 1-10% Cellulose gum 5-25% The percentage of this ingredient is based on dry weight and is selected from the range quoted for a total of 100%.

Preferred products are made in the first aspect of the invention.

The portion may comprise rods, spheres or other shaped blocks having a typical weight of from 5 to 50 g, preferably from 10 to 30 g, typically from 10 to 20 g, such as from about 15 g.

The present invention provides a microwaveable and/or bakeable frozen product which has been cooked prior to freezing and which can be reheated in a microwave oven or combination oven to provide no leakage during reheating and to retain crisp breadcrumbs. A satisfactory product of the layer. This core may consist entirely of stabilized mozzarella cheese and may comprise substantially more than 50%, typically more than 80%, of the mozzarella cheese along with the seasonings and other ingredients. The products of the present invention can also be reheated using conventional hot furnaces.

The amount of stabilizer may range from 2% to 10%, preferably from 2.5% to 7%, more preferably from 3% to 6% by weight of the core, based on the dry weight excluding water.

The protein component may comprise a component selected from the group consisting of egg whites, whey proteins, protein isolates, and mixtures thereof. A suitable protein isolate is a soy protein isolate. The use of egg white is preferred.

The gelling agent is preferably a hydrocolloid. Suitable hydrocolloids may be selected from the group consisting of xanthan gum, carageenan gum, guar gum, and mixtures thereof. The use of xanthan gum, guar gum or mixtures thereof is especially preferred. The use of xanthan gum or a hydrocolloid mixture comprising xanthan gum is especially preferred. An amount of from about 3% to about 10%, especially about 6%, is preferred.

The alternative starch is selected from modified starches such as high linear corn starch, for example Hylon ^® VII (National Starch). Alternatively, natural starch can be used. An amount of from 10% to 40%, preferably from 20% to 30%, typically about 24%, may be employed.

A preferred amount of from 35% to 45%, preferably about 40%, of polydextrose is used. LitesseTM manufactured by Danisco can be used.

Cellulose gum preferably methyl cellulose or hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose, for example, METHOCEL ^® A4C. An amount of from 10% to 30%, preferably from 12% to 18% or more, more preferably about 15%, may be used.

The method may further comprise the step of applying a vacuum to the cheese dough for a sufficient period of time to remove air from the dough. A pressure of approximately 0.9 bar can be used for approximately 30 minutes. The cheese dough can be stirred to enhance air removal.

The precoat layer may comprise a liquid, preferably a liquid wash, for example a milk wash, to wet the surface, followed by a fine internal crumb coating.

The precoat layer preferably further comprises a finely adhering breadcrumb coating applied to the surface of the substrate. This fine crumb can have a particle size of from about 0.8 mm to about 1.5 mm. This fine crumb is adhered to the milk wash layer to wrap the cheese dough substrate.

An important feature of the method is the application of an adhesive or the application of an internal breadcrumb layer prior to the application of the batter. This crumb layer is adhered to the substrate via the milk wash liquid and forms a stable thermal barrier under the batter and any optional external breadcrumb coating. This provides a barrier against moisture escaping and oil entry during frying. The inner crumb layer is formed as an outer shell to protect the surface of the cheese substrate from excessive localized heating during frying.

If the adhesive crumb used is a ground powdered dough extrudate, the ground powdered dough extrudate comprises 0.05 to 5 wt%, more preferably 0.1 to 3.0%, based on the dry weight of the hydrocolloid added, wherein The water gel system is added to the dough during extrusion to give particularly good results. Such hydrocolloid-impregnated bread crumbs are disclosed in WO 2010/001101, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The adhesive crumbs used in the method typically have a mass of a weighted average particle size of less than 2 mm. More preferably, the adhesive crumb typically has a weighted average particle size of 0.1 to 1.5 mm, even more preferably 0.15 to 1 mm, and most preferably 0.25 to 0.9 mm.

The hydrocolloid used in the adhesive crumb may be selected from the group consisting of natural gums, modified gums, agar, red algae gum, furcellaran, arabinogalactan, xanthan gum, and combinations thereof. Preferably, the water gel system is selected from the group consisting of natural gums and combinations thereof.

An example of a natural gum used as a water colloid added to the ground powder extrudate extrudate may be employed, including guar gum, xanthan gum, locust bean gum, gum arabic, and jaundice. Tragacanth, gum karaya, gum ghatti, and combinations thereof.

Most preferably, the hydrocolloid added may be selected from the group consisting of guar gum, locust bean gum, xanthan gum, and combinations thereof.

The batter applied to the finely adhered breadcrumb coating portion according to the method preferably comprises, based on the weight of the dry material, 20-55 wt% of starch; 20-55 wt% of flour; and 3-20 wt% The egg is solid. An example of a batter formulation suitable for use in the present procedure is described in WO 96/32026. The starch contained in the batter may be provided as a flour component or as a purified starch component such as high amylose starch.

Typically, the batter has a viscosity of from 200 to 1000 cP, more preferably from 300 to 800 cP, most preferably from 500 to 600 cP, which is used when applying it to the portion of the breadcrumb coating, using Brinell The viscometer was measured at 60 rpm with a No. 3 spindle.

By means of a device, a batter can be applied to the inner adhesive crumb coating portion, the device comprising a trough comprising the batter, the breadcrum coating portion being passed through the trough by means of a conveyor belt. Although a curtain spreader, such as WetCoaterTM (CFS) or other suitable device of similar specifications, can also be used, a tempura applicator, ie a conveyor belt that passes through a circulating batter A slot, such as TernpuDipperTM (CFS), is preferred.

The preferred batter for microwaveable products has the following composition: Ingredients % Soy flour (Hisoy) 31.0 High linear starch (Hylon 7) 48.0 Cellulose gum (Methocel A4M) 2.0 Whole egg (Henningsen Wl) 13.0 D-xylose 3.0 Phosphoric acid Sodium dihydrogen 1.9 Ammonium bicarbonate 0.7 D-Iactone glucono D-Iactone 0.7 Sodium pyrophosphate 0.3 α-amylase 0.1 ------------ 100.00

Preferred batters for oven-bakable compositions may comprise flour, whole egg powder, milk powder, water and, optionally, further ingredients.

Advantageously, the coated breadcrumbs used in the method have a larger particle size than the adhesive crumbs. Preferably, the coated breadcrumbs have a mass weighted average particle size that is at least 50% greater than the mass weighted average particle size of the adhesive breadcrumbs.

The method may suitably employ a breadcrumf coating device comprising a first conveyor belt and a second endless conveyor belt, wherein the second endless conveyor belt is located below the end of the first conveyor belt and passes under the fine crumb particle flow Such a portion will fall from the first conveyor belt onto the particle layer of the second conveyor belt. The second conveyor belt can be dropped onto the fine crumb curtain on the surface of the conveyor belt, so that part of it falls onto the breadcrumbs, causing the breadcrumbs to adhere to the surface layer of the aqueous precoat layer, and then the fallen bread crumb particles Curtain coating. The apparatus can include a dispenser having an outlet extending across the conveyor belt to provide a path for the delicate breadcrumb curtain to extend across the portion of the conveyor belt. The roller can be located on the side where the conveyor belt is present to withstand the coating portion to improve the adhesion of the fine crumb.

The breadcrumbs can be applied to the portion in excess using a breadcrumder spreader, such as CrumbMasterTM (CFS). The breadcrumb coating portion can be passed through a roller to improve adhesion.

The total amount of liquid, batter and breadcrumbs applied to the portion of the method is preferably selected such that after frying, the fried portion has more than 25-100% of the uncoated portion of the solid substrate, preferably 30-60% by weight.

One or more coatings of the breadcrumb typically collectively represent from 5 to 80 wt%, preferably from 15 to 50 wt% of the fried portion.

The bread is partially fried to cook the substrate and the coating layer. The cooking time is preferably sufficient to completely cook the substrate, avoiding any health risks of the frozen product being reheated from the frozen state in the microwave oven. It is not desirable to reheat in the microwave oven for a relatively long period of time because the matrix is heated internally by microwave energy, which causes a loss of moisture. This also results in a dry core and damages the coating.

A homogeneous outer breadcrumb coating, with no exposure to the underlying paste layer, is beneficial for providing a uniform browning appearance after a long period of frying. This can be compared to the short-term frying that is commonly used in traditionally cooked bread products.

For traditional hot-cooked bread products, short-term frying, such as 90 seconds or less, is continued by the cooking of the hot air oven for a further period of time. This is disadvantageous for microwave-cookable cheese products because the core of the matrix may melt or may not be thoroughly cooked from the frozen state during reheating. Prolonged heating of conventional products in microwave ovens results in excessive loss of moisture and subsequent damage to the coating.

During the frying step, the portion of the bread, preferably coated with one or more additional crumb layers, will preferably be contacted with hot oil for 120-300 seconds, more preferably 130-240 seconds, during the frying step. Best lasts 140-180 seconds.

The hot oil for the fried bread portion preferably has a temperature of 160 to 200 ° C, more preferably 170 to 195 ° C, and most preferably 175 to 190 ° C.

The oil employed is preferably a vegetable oil. The term "vegetable oil" includes unmodified vegetable oil, hydrogenated vegetable oil, vegetable oil fraction (eg, triolein, stearin fraction), meta-esterified vegetable oil, and combinations thereof. Pure rapeseed oil is preferred.

Preferably, the core portion of the fried portion has a temperature above 72 ° C, more preferably above 74 ° C.

The fried coating of the food product, including all coatings, preferably has an average thickness of 8 mm, more preferably 5 mm, and most preferably 3 mm, depending on the bread crumb size used.

The frying phase according to the present invention is advantageous over fast frying followed by hot air cooking because the latter may not provide the desired hardness of the coating without loss of moisture from the core.

The bread portion is suitably fried by soaking the bread portion in hot oil, for example, by passing it through a hot oil bath as a conveyor belt. The frying device preferably comprises two parallel looped belts, both of which pass under the oil surface, the portion carried by the lower layer being prevented from floating during contact with the upper layer during frying. The belt may comprise a metal mesh or other porous construction.

The frozen product is suitably packaged for storage and distribution. Packaging under an inert gas atmosphere, such as nitrogen, is preferred.

The frozen product may be reheated or cooked in a frozen state using a furnace selected from the group consisting of: a microwave oven, a conventional oven or grill, deep or shallow frying, or a combination of a microwave oven and conventional heating.

A further aspect of the invention relates to a microwave coated food product obtained by the method defined hereinbefore. More preferably, the food is a frozen coated food.

Preferably, two outer breadcrumb layers are employed to reduce the occurrence of gaps in the coating. The first layer may have a size of 1.5 mm to 2.5 mm, preferably 1.5 mm to 2.5 mm. The second layer may be smaller than the first layer and may have a size of 0.5 mm to 4 mm, preferably 0.8 mm to 1.5 mm.

The outer layer of bread can be colored to suit the preferences of the consumer.

The frozen system of the breadcrumb coating product is preferably at -35 ° C for a period of up to 60 minutes, more preferably 35 minutes. The product is allowed to stand at room temperature for a period of 5 to 15 minutes. This allows the outer coating to equilibrate before frying.

It is important that the core temperature is not higher than -18 ° C immediately before frying.

The frozen product can be fried in a heated oil, for example at 180 ° C for at least two minutes. A preferred frying time is from 1.5 to 3 minutes, preferably about 2 minutes.

The fried product can be placed directly into the refrigerator without cooling the product to room temperature.

The frozen product can be vacuum packed and stored in a refrigerator preferably at -20 ° C or lower.

The invention is further described by way of example, but not by way of limitation.

Example 1 The stabilizer composition consisted of the following dry ingredients: Egg powder 15.0% Natural corn starch 24.0% Cellulose gum (Methocel A4C) 15.0% Polydextrose 40.0% Xanthan gum 6.0% ---------- 100 %

A methylcellulose solution was prepared by heating 13.6 g of water to 50 ° C and slowly stirring methylcellulose (Methocel A4C 0.97 g). The mixture was allowed to cool by occasional stirring. Stirring was stopped when the solution began to thicken at about 25 °C. The solution was applied under vacuum to remove air bubbles, and the solution was cooled to 10 ° C or lower.

Ground gazurella (80.44 g) having a maximum size of 0.5 cm was mixed with salt (0.37 g), black pepper (0.06 g) and nutmeg (0.06 g) in a blender. Stabilizer ingredients (4.5 g) were added and thoroughly stirred, the methylcellulose solution was added and stirred until a homogeneous mixture was formed, a vacuum was applied to remove any entrained air, and the cheese dough was formed into a stick weighing approximately 15 g. . The stick was placed in a nitrogen freezer at -35 °C for 25 minutes and stored in a freezer at -20 °C. The frozen stick is maintained in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours, preferably for 12 hours to 24 hours, to form a more stable product.

After storage in a cold box, the sticks were removed and applied as a liquid wash prior to rolling the fine bread crumbs (less than 0.8 mm in size). The composition of the liquid wash can include milk.

The stick coated with fine crumbs is coated with a soy batter and then rolled in breadcrumbs having a size between 1.5 mm and 2.5 mm, followed by a second size between 0.8 mm and 1.5 mm. Rolling in the breadcrumbs.

The bread-coated product was placed in a nitrogen refrigerator at -35 ° C for 25 minutes and then fried in oil at 180 ° C for 2 minutes. The fried product was placed in a nitrogen refrigerator at -35 ° C for 25 minutes, then vacuum packed and stored in a refrigerator at -20 ° C.

A mozzarella rod was made with two different percentages of stabilizer relative to the weight of the cheese base. The first product was made with a 4.5% dry weight stabilizer and the second product was made with a 3.0% dry weight stabilizer.

Products with 4.5% stabilizer are tested after frying without any cracks or breaks. The coating adheres well to the product and the outer shell remains intact, forming the product that is completely covered around. The product is crispy and the Mozzarella is elastic.

The product with 3.0% stabilizer was tested after 2 minutes of frying and found to have cracks throughout the length but good adhesion to the core.

The coating with two amounts of stabilizer has good adhesion, the product is crispy and the mozzarella is elastic.

Claims (15)

A method of producing a frozen, microwaveable coated food product, the method comprising the steps of: providing a cheese piece having a maximum size of 1 cm; mixing the cheese piece with a dry ingredient to prepare a premix The dry ingredient comprises one or more hydrocolloids selected from the group consisting of starch, protein, polydextrose, xanthan gum, melon gum, red algae gum and pectin; mixing the premix with an aqueous binder a solution to produce a cheese dough comprising at least 60 wt% cheese of the cheese dough, the aqueous adhesive solution comprising 2-15% by weight of the cellulose solution of the adhesive solution; Included in the following steps: forming the dough into portions; freezing the portion; applying a paste coating to the pre-coated portion to produce a batter-coated portion; applying one or more layers of bread crumbs to the batter a portion of the coating to provide a portion of the breaded coating; frying the portion of the breaded coating to produce a fried portion; and freezing the fried portion at a low temperature. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the aqueous adhesive solution contains less than 15 wt% of dry matter. The method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the one or more hydrocolloids comprise a protein component selected from the group consisting of egg whites, whey proteins, protein isolates, and mixtures thereof, the protein The ingredients are present in the premix at a concentration of 0.2-2% by weight of the cheese. The method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the one or more hydrocolloids comprise a gel selected from the group consisting of xanthan gum, red algae gum, guar gum and mixtures thereof. The gelling agent is present in the premix at a concentration of from 0.1% to 2% by weight of the cheese. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the gelling agent is xanthan gum. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the one or more hydrocolloids comprise natural starch present in the premix at a concentration of from 0.3% to 3% by weight of the cheese. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the one or more hydrocolloids comprise polydextrose, the polydextrose being present in the premix at a concentration of from 0.3% to 3% by weight of the cheese. The method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the cellulose ether is selected from the group consisting of methyl cellulose, ethyl cellulose, ethyl methyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl methyl group. Cellulose and combinations thereof. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the adhesive solution comprises 3-8 wt% of a cellulose ether. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the cheese dough comprises at least 70 wt% cheese and less than 15 wt% water. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, comprising the step of applying a vacuum to the cheese dough to remove air prior to forming the dough into portions. A method as recited in any one of the preceding claims, comprising the step of applying a breadcrumb coating to the frozen portion prior to application of the batter coating. The method as claimed in any one of claims 12, wherein the bread crumb comprises a ground powdered dough extrudate containing 0.05 to 5 wt% of a hydrocolloid. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the core temperature of the breadcrumb coating portion is not higher than -18 °C immediately before frying. A microwave-coated food product comprising: a core having a weight of edible material equal to 15 to 95% by weight of the food product, the core comprising: At least 60 wt% cheese; 0.4-1.5 wt% cellulose ether; 0.3-6 wt% of one or more hydrocolloids selected from the group consisting of starch, protein, polydextrose, xanthan gum, melon gum, red algae, and pectin; 0-35 wt% of other ingredients; a frying coating enclosing the core of the edible material, the coating having a weight equal to 5 to 85 wt% of the food, the coating comprising at least three coatings, the three The coating includes an inner crumb layer, an outer crumb layer, and a paste layer separating the inner layer from the outer crumb layer.