DAIRY PRODUCT AND PROCESS

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to an imitation cheese product and a method of making same particularly although by no means exclusively to a block imitation cheese that can be cut, grated, shredded or sliced.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Imitation cheeses are made with a reduced amount of butterfat and/or casein protein but supposedly resemble natural or processed cheese in appearance, taste, texture and nutrition. The cost savings involved in replaced expensive butterfat and/or casein protein with less expensive substitutes such as starch, gum, vegetable, oil etc, provides the incentive to industry to produce such imitation cheeses. A growing market is in the fast food industry, for example in the productions of a grated imitation cheese product for use in the pizza industry.

However, to date no suitable imitation cheese product has been produced which has the necessary functionality, specifically in terms of hardness (to enable the cheese to be cut, sliced, grated or shredded) whilst retaining the required melt characteristics. Replacement of butterfat and/or casein protein with starch, gum or vegetable oil etc has resulted in imitation cheese products that have the desired hardness (usually achieved by adding starch) to be able to be grated or sliced but which have no or poor melt, or which have the desired melt characteristics (usually achieved by increasing moisture content) but which have decreased hardness and cannot be grated or sliced.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an imitation cheese product that has the combination of desirable hardness and melt properties and/or to provide the public with a useful choice.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a first aspect, the present invention provides an imitation cheese composition comprising:

a) moisture in an amount that is at least 45% by weight of the composition; b) rice farinaceous material in an amount that is at least 5% by weight of the composition; c) casein or casemate in an amount of at least 5% by weight of the composition; d) a fat source that is at least 10% by weight of the composition; e) a emulsification salt that is at least 0.01% by weight of the composition; and f) optionally one or more GRAS ingredients selected from one or more flavour ingredients that are natural or artificial, one or more natural or artificial colours, one or more preservatives, one or more acidulants and one or more bulking or texturising agents; wherein the composition is sufficiently firm that it can be sliced, cut, shredded or grated and wherein the composition has a Schreiber melt value of at least 3.0.

The moisture content of the composition may be at least 50%, preferably at least 55% and more preferably at least 60% by weight of the composition.

The rice farinaceous material may be selected from native rice starch or native rice flour having less than 90% amylopectin, preferably less than 85% amylopectin.

The rice farinaceous material may be present in an amount calculated to replace at least 20% of the casein or caseinate that would be present in an equivalent non-imitation cheese product.

Preferably the rice farinaceous material may be present in an amount to replace at least 25%, at least 30%, at least 35%, at least 40% or at least 45% of casein or caseinate that would be present in an equivalent non-imitation cheese product.

The casein or caseinate may be present in the composition in an amount of at least 10%, at least 15% or at least 20% by weight of the composition. The casein is preferably rennet casein.

The fat source may be selected from the group comprising of cream, double cream, butter, anhydrous milk fat (AMF), liquefied fresh frozen milk fat or recombining (FFMR), and a non dairy fat such as vegetable oil.

The emulsification salt may be selected from a mono, di or polyvalent cationic citrate or phosphate salt.

Optionally one or more additional GRAS (Generally Regarded as Safe) ingredients may be present in the composition. A list of GRAS ingredients is available in Food Chemical Codex (4 ^th edition) or from the FDA or WHO.

A preferred flavour ingredient is a cheese flavour that may be selected from the group consisting of enzyme modified cheese (EMC), enzyme modified lactile products, synthetic or artificial cheese flavourings, lipolysed dairy flavours, dairy/cheese top notes and dairy/cheese push notes depending on the type of cheese that the imitation cheese is intended to mimic. The imitation cheese is preferably a mozzarella, cheddar, parmesan or Colby cheese.

The composition may preferably be grated or shredded. The composition may preferably be a grated or shredded mozzarella cheese.

The Schreiber melt value of the composition of the invention may be at least 3.5, at least 4.0, at least 4.5 or at least 5.0.

In a second aspect, the present invention provides a method for preparing an imitation cheese composition comprising the steps: a) combining casein or caseinate, rice farinaceous material, fat, water, at least one emulsification salt, and optionally one or more GRAS ingredients; b) heating to about 50°C to melt the fat; c) cooking the mixture of step b) at between about 70°C and 85°C for between 30 seconds and 5 minutes; d) cooling the cooked mixture of step c) to form a solidified mass; and e) passing the cooled solidified mass of step d) through a device that will cut, shred, grate or slice the imitation cheese composition.

Preferably step a) comprises combining at least 5% by weight casein or caseinate; at least 5% by weight rice farinaceous material; at least 45% by weight water; at least 10% by weight fat; at least 0.01% by weight of emulsification salt; and optionally one or more GRAS ingredients.

Step c) may be carried out at between about 72°C and 80°C for between 2 and 5 minutes, preferably between 75°C and 78°C for between 3 and 4 minutes and more preferably at 75°C for 4 minutes.

The present invention is also directed to an imitation cheese product produced by the process of the invention.

The present invention will now be described with reference to the figures of the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows the percentage of original sample left behind in the shredder of control and of imitation cheeses of the invention at a 30% level of substitution;

Figure 2 shows the fines (as a % of shred) of the control and of imitation cheeses of the invention at a 30% level of substitution;

Figure 3 shows the percentage of original sample left behind in the shredder of control and of imitation cheeses of the invention at a 20% level of substitution;

Figure 4 shows the fines (as a % of shred) of the control and of imitation cheeses of the invention at a 30% level of substitution;

Figure 5 shows the Schreiber melt values for control and for imitation cheeses of the invention at a 30% level of substitution;

Figure 6 shows the Schreiber melt values for control and for imitation cheeses of the invention at a 20% level of substitution;

Figure 7 shows the peak force (firmness) results for control and for imitation cheeses of the invention at a 30% level of substitution;

Figure 8 shows the Schrieber melt value of imitation cheese having a 30% level of substitution with rice flour or rice starch and SHMP as emulsification salt; and

Figures 9 to 11 show the effect of different emulsification salts on the melting characteristics of imitation cheeses of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to an imitation cheese composition that is high in moisture and has a high casein substitution level yet has similar hardness and melt characteristics as an equivalent pasteurized process cheese. The composition of the present invention is particularly useful as it has sufficient hardness that it can be cut, grated, shredded, or sliced. The resultant cut, grated, shredded or sliced imitation cheese products have a Schreiber melt value of at least 3.0. The compositions of the present invention are particularly useful in the fast food industry. For example, a grated cheese product having the necessary melt characteristics is particularly useful for pizza toppings.

To date imitation cheeses have not been successfully commercially produced. This is because the replacement of casein and/or butterfat with starch, gum and/or vegetable oil in an imitation cheese results in a loss of important functional characteristics, specifically with respect to melt and texture (or firmness). Usually, the better the melt, the poorer the texture so that an imitation cheese with good melt is unable to be cut, sliced, grated or shredded. Conversely, an imitation cheese with a good texture (or firmness) which is able to be cut, sliced, grated or shredded has poor or no melt. This problem appears to be due to the composition of the imitation cheese. For example, it is known that melt characteristics of an imitation cheese may be improved by increasing the moisture content of the composition, however, an increase in moisture content is usually associated with a decrease in hardness (Hennelly et al, 2005 Journal of European Food Research and Technolgoy 220 (3-4), pp415-420). The hardness of an imitation cheese can be increased by increasing the starch content, however, an increase in starch content is usually associated with a decrease in melt Mounsey and O'Riordan, Journal of Food Science 64: 4, 701-703, 1999).

It has surprisingly been found that an imitation cheese which has a high moisture content (and therefore good melt characteristics) and is firm enough to be cut/sliced/grated or shredded may be produced by replacing at least 20% of casein with a rice farinaceous material having less than about 90% amylopectin content and by carrying out the cooking step under relatively narrow conditions. To produce a hard block cheese suitable for cutting, slicing, shredding or grating, the cooking conditions are carried out at a relatively "low" temperature range (70-85°C) for a relatively "short" period of time (30 seconds to 5 minutes).

Without being bound by theory, it is thought that the combination of the specific composition (high moisture and high substitution with a rice farinaceous material) together with the specific processing conditions (low temperature for short duration) that is responsible for producing the imitation cheese products of the invention. The imitation cheese products of the present invention are superior over the prior art imitation cheese products as they have the desirable melt and firmness characteristics and are therefore suitable for large scale product and commercialisation.

Specifically, the present invention provides an imitation cheese composition comprising:

a) moisture in an amount that is at least 45% by weight of the composition; b) rice farinaceous material in an amount of at least 5% by weight of the composition; c) casein or caseinate in an amount of at least 5% by weight of the composition; d) a fat source that is at least 10% by weight of the composition; e) at least one emulsification salt that is at least 0.01% by weight of the composition; and f) optionally one or more GRAS ingredients;

wherein the composition is sufficiently firm that it can be sliced, cut, shredded or grated and wherein the composition has a Schreiber melt value of at least 3.0.

The amount of casein or caseinate that can be substituted by a rice farinaceous material is from about 20-45%, preferably from 20-40%, more preferably from 20-35% and most preferably from 20-30%. As a result, the imitation cheese composition of the invention is low in protein leading to reduced manufacturing costs. Manufacturing costs are further reduced by the high moisture content of the imitation cheese composition of the invention.

The imitation cheese compositions of the present invention possess a smooth, creamy and dairy-like mouthfeel with a texture, firmness and melt similar to that of pasteurised process cheese.

More specifically, the imitation cheese compositions of the invention have a textural character such that the average peak force (N) of the composition at 5°C using a TA-HD Texture Analyser is between 150 and 200 N. In addition, the imitation cheese compositions of the invention have a Schreiber melt value of at least 3.0, preferably at least 3.5, at least 4.0, at least 4.5 or at least 5.0.

Moisture is present in the imitation cheese composition in an amount greater than 45% by weight, preferably greater than 50% by weight, greater than 55% by weight or greater than 60% by weight. The moisture may be added to the composition as water, diluted acidulant, whey or any other suitable potable liquid.

Rice farinaceous material for use in the imitation cheese composition of the present invention includes any native rice starch or rice flour containing native rice starch having an amylopectin content of less than 90%, preferably less than 85%, or a mixture thereof. Preferred rice flours include MO 1080, MOl 120 and GM00080 (available from Sage V Food, Treeport, Texas, USA); 2281 (medium ground), 3500 (fine ground) (both available from Sun Rice - Leeton, NSW 2705, Australia). Preferred native rice starch includes Remy DR7-111 and Remy AX-DR (both available from Remy Industries NV - Remylaan 4, Leuven-Wijgmaal, Belgium).

The rice farinaceous material may be present in an amount of up to about 10% of the composition, preferably between about 5% and 7.5% of the composition.

The casein or casemate may be present in the imitation cheese composition of the invention in an amount from about 5% to about 30%, preferably from about 10% to about 25% and most preferably from about 15 to 20%. Preferably the casein is rennet casein. Suitable commercially available sources of rennet casein include ALAREN 711, ALACO 6804, DSE 5275, and DSE 5267 (all available from Fonterra Cooperative Group Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand).

The fat source may be selected from an animal or vegetable origin, or mixtures thereof and may be liquid or solid at room temperature (21°C). The fat source may be selected from the group

consisting of lard, butter, cream, double cream, anhydrous milk, fat (AMF), liquified fresh frozen milk fat for recombining (FFMR), fully saturated vegetable oils, partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, non-hydrogenated vegetable oils, soybean oil, sunflower oil, olive oil, canola (rapeseed) oil, cottonseed oil, coconut oil, palm kernel oil, corn oil, butterfat, safflower oil and mixture thereof. Examples of preferred fats include butter and partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, soybean oil or a mixture thereof. In some embodiments, the fat source may include butterfat to improve the flavour of the imitation cheese composition.

In general, the fat is present in an amount sufficient to create a desired texture and consistency of the imitation cheese composition. Generally, the fat is present in an amount of at least 10% by weight of the composition, preferably from between about 15% and about 25% by weight, more preferably between about 20% and 25% by weight.

The one or more emulsification salts are preferably selected from mono, di or polyvalent cationic citrate or phosphate salts, sodium steoryl lactylate, glycerol esters, acid pyrophosphate, fatty acid esters such as polysorbates, phospholipids such as lecithins, and mixture thereof. Suitable commercially available emulsification salts include trisodium citrate (TSC), lactylate, Joha PZ7, sodium hexametaphosphate (SHMP) and disodium phosphate (DSP).

In general, the emulsification salts are present in an amount sufficient to disperse the fat evenly throughout the composition in an emulsified form. The emulsification salts are present in the imitation cheese composition in an amount that is at least 0.01% by weight of the composition, preferably between at least 0.05% and 2.5% by weight, preferably around 0.1% by weight.

Optionally, the imitation cheese composition of the invention may comprise one or more GRAS ingredients selected from one or more flavours, colours, preservatives, texturising agents, bulking agents, acidulants, etc as would be appreciated by a skilled worker.

Particularly preferred GRAS ingredients include a cheese flavour which imparts a characteristic savoury cheesy taste to the composition. Suitable cheese flavours are known in the art and include enzyme modified cheese (EMC), enzyme modified lactile products, synthetic or artificial cheese

flavourings; synthetic or artificial cheese flavourings, lipolysed dairy flavours, dairy/cheese top notes and dairy cheese push notes.

Additional flavouring agents such as salt and citric or lactic acid (which also acts as an acidulant) may also be added.

The final imitation cheese flavour will depend upon the type of cheese that the imitation cheese composition is intended to mimic. Preferably the imitation cheese of the present invention corresponds to a mozzarella, parmesan, cheddar or colby cheese.

The imitation cheese composition of the present invention is preferably a grated or shredded mozzarella which is useful as a topping for pizzas.

The imitation cheese composition of the present invention may be manufactured by mixing together all of the ingredients and heating under shear to a first temperature of about 5O°C to ensure that the fat is melted. Alternatively, the dry ingredients may be added to a pre-heated water and pre-melted fat. Once the fat is melted and all of the ingredients have been mixed together under shear, the mixture is heated to a cooking temperature of between 70°C and 85°C for between 30 seconds and 5 minutes and cooled to form a solidified mass. The hot cooked mixture may be formed into any shape, such as a block, ribbon etc and cooled by submerging in cold water, by refrigerating or by extruding onto a cold plate. The solidified mass of imitation cheese of the invention is preferably passed through a device that will slice, cut, grate or shred the imitation cheese product.

Preferably the solidified mass of imitation cheese is cooled to at least about 15°C, preferably less than 1O°C before it is sliced, cut, grated or shredded.

Any type of process cheese type cooker may be used in the process of the present invention. For example, a lay-down Blentech type or a higher sheer vertical axis Stephan type. Heating may be conducted using indirect means (e.g. convection) or directly via steam injection, or a combination of both. The cooking devices may be operated at above atmospheric pressure.

The solidified mass of imitation cheese or the cut/sliced/grated or shredded imitation cheese may be rapidly frozen in a blast freezer to below -10°C, preferably below -18°C before or after packaging.

Alternatively, the solidified mass of imitation cheese or the cut/sliced/grated or shredded imitation cheese may be packaged and stored in chilled conditions, preferably below 5°C, and preferably in an atmosphere that will minimise spoilage.

This invention may also be said broadly to consist in the parts, elements and features referred to or indicated in the specification of the application, individually or collectively, and any or all combinations of any two or more said parts, elements or features, and where specific integers are mentioned herein which have known equivalents in the art to which this invention relates, such known equivalents are deemed to be incorporated herein as if individually set forth.

The invention consists in the foregoing and also envisages constructions of which the following gives examples only.

EXAMPLES

Example 1: The effect of cooking on the functionality (firmness/shredability and melt) of samples in which 30% of the rennet casein has been replaced with rice flour.

Rice flour - MOl 080 (Sage V Foods, Freeport, Texas 77541, USA), was used as a substitute for casein in this example.

Sample cheese batches of about 3 kg each were prepared using the following formulations.

Manufacturing Process:

Using a 5 kg twin screw mixer/cooker (CClO, Blentech Corporation, Rohnert Park, California 944927, USA) and indirect heating (steam jacket) with steam at 2 bar, the following steps were carried out:

• warm water (40 — 45°C) was added to the Blentech cooker to dissolve the citric acid, emulsifying salts and preservatives, and mixed at high speed (10/10) for ~1 min;

• the powders (protein + rice flour) were added and the slurry and mixed for 3 minutes at high speed (10/10);

• melted fat (35 - 4O°C) was added and mixed for 1 min at high speed (10/10);

• the mixture was heated up to a cook temperature (of 72°C, 75°C, 80°C or 85°C) on medium speed (7/10);

• the speed was reduced to low (4/10) with mixing for 4 min or until the casein had reacted;

• the cheese was kneaded out of the machine for about 2 minutes, and put into plastic containers;

• the containers were placed into a chilled water bath (2 hours) and refrigerated for at least 24 hours before evaluation.

Sample evaluation:

Samples were evaluated 2 days after manufacture, for pH, moisture content, texture, hardness (shredability) and melt.

pH was measured using a Schott M48 probe.

Moisture was measured using the oven method where the sample is heated for 16 hours at 105°C.

The texture of the samples was evaluated using a TA-HD texture analyser (Stable Micro Systems, Godalming, England) with single compression at 5°C. Table 1 shows the testing parameters.

Cheese was stored at 4°C before 30 x 30x 30 mm cubes of the cheese were cut and weighed (at 10°C). The cubes were shredded using a Zyliss (Switzerland) electric shredder, with 5 mm perforations. The shredded cheese was separated (by hand using tweezers) into fines (< 10mm) and good shreds (> 10mm long), and each group was weighed.

Wastage (%) = 100 x (cube weight - shred weight) / cube weight Fines (%) = 100 x (shted weight — good shred) / shred weight

Where:

Cube weight is the weight of the original cube (30 x 3Ox 30 mm). Shred weight is the total of all materials that came out of the shredder. Good shred is the shred that is over 10mm.

Results:

All samples contained between 50.2% to 50.7% moisture.

Control cheese pH - 5.63 average. Rice flour cheese pH - 5.68-5.71.

The control cheese had the least amount of wastage upon shredding (i.e. cheese left behind in the shredder). For cheese samples containing rice flour, the amount of wastage appeared to increase as the cooking temperature increased.

The proportion of the shred that was "fines" was generally higher in the control cheese sample, and appeared variable or to decrease as the cooking temperature was increased in samples containing rice flour.

Shredding was acceptable for all imitation cheese samples when carried out at low temperatures (i.e. 4-5°C/out of chilled storage).

Quantitative shredding results:

The results of the shredding are shown in Table 2.

The shredded cheese was tested for its melt properties.

4Og of shredded cheese was placed in a glass dish (90 mm diameter) and placed in a convection oven on fan bake, at 232°C for 10 minutes.

The samples were evaluated for:

• Melting behaviour (speed of melting, blistering);

• Browning;

• Stretchability; and

• Oil-off, ie free fat on the surface. Melt/Stretch Results

Conclusion

The imitation cheese made with 30% casein substituted by rice flour produced a very firm block that could easily be shredded, at all cooking conditions tested (72°C-85°C for 4 minutes). The shredded imitation cheeses also had very good melt characteristics and acceptable stretch. Thus, the imitation cheese of the present invention is suitable for large scale commercial production.

Example 2: The effects of freeze/thaw process on the functionality of imitation cheese samples made with varying emulsification salts.

Materials and Methods:

The following blocks of cheese (approximately 2kg each) were made according to the method described in example 1, using the cooking conditions of 75 °C for 4 minutes and varying the emulsification salts as follows:

• Control 1 (no rice flour, Joha PZ7 emulsification salts);

• Control 2 (30% substitution with MO 1080, Joha PZ7 emulsification salts);

• Tl 00 (30% substitution with MO1080, Joha replaced by TSC)

• T60:40 (30% substitution with MOl 080, Joha replaced by TSC and DSP in 60:40 ratio).

Each block was cut in half. One half of each block was kept at 4°C. The other half of each block was placed in a plastic zip-lock bag and put into a blast freezer (-3O°C) for 6 hours. After this time they were frozen solid, and were placed into a cool room at approximately -2O°C for a further 24 hours. They were then thawed at 4°C for approximately 42 hours.

The cheeses were 6 days old when placed into the blast freezer, and 9 days old when evaluated. Each sample was evaluated using a pizza melt/stretch test, the Schreiber melt test (6 replicates for each sample), and a shred test.

Results The results of the shred test are summarised in Table 5, below

• Control 1 (no rice flour) had less wastage (un-shredded product left in the shredder) than samples containing rice flour (30% substitution). Samples containing rice flour have similar wastage.

• Control 1 has a greater proportion of fines (<1 cm length) in the shred than samples containing rice flour. Samples containing rice flour appear to have variable but similar fines in the shred.

• The freeze/thaw cycle may have slightly increased the wastage in all samples (including the control)

• The effect of the freeze/thaw cycle did not impact on the overall shredability of the control or imitation cheese samples.

Schreiber melt test

The Schreiber melt test is described in full in example 3, below.

The results are summarised in Table 6, below:

Table 6 Schteibef test fesults.

• Samples that had been frozen appeared to have a slightly greater average melt radius than samples stored at 4°C.

• Samples containing TSC or TSC and DSP had a greater average melt radius than Control 2 (Joha PZ7 emulsifying salts).

• Samples containing only TSC as emulsifying salts had a greater average melt radius than control 1 (no rice flour).

• Overall all of the samples had acceptable melt properties which were similar or better than the control.

Pizza melt test:

The results are summarised in Table 7, below:

Table 7: Pizza Melt Test

[SD] = standard deviation

• The freeze/thaw cycle did not affect the melt or stretch of any of the samples. It may possibly have a small effect in reducing oil off in frozen/thawed samples.

• Samples with TSC or TSC and DSP melted better (retained less shred identity) than Control 2 (made with Joha PZ7 emulsifying salts).

• The stretch of samples made with TSC was better than samples made with TSC and DSP, and is similar to Controls 1 & 2.

• Overall all of the samples had acceptable melt stretch and oil off characteristics which were very similar to the control.

Conclusion

The imitation cheese of the invention (having 30% of casein substituted by rice flour) had excellent hardness and melt characteristics compared to a control cheese. Freezing did not adversely effect the functionality of the imitation cheese of the invention.

The use of an all TSC emulsifying salt formulation gave the best results with respect to melt and shred and gave very good fat retention. The TSC samples had Schreiber melts greater than the control (without flour substituted).

The imitation cheese of the invention is suitable for large scale commercial production.

Example 3: testing different rice flours at different levels of substitution an the functional characteristics of the imitation cheese.

Method and Materials

Table 8 shows the design of the trials with various starches and levels of substitution.

Formulations:

Batches of 5kg were prepared for each formulation according to the recipes of Table 9, below:

The vegetable fat was hydrogenated soya fat Kristal 81 from Agydsa, Mexico with a melting point of 37°C.

Manufacturing Process:

The imitation cheese samples were prepared using indirect heating (steam jacket) in a Blentech cooker as described in example 1 with steam at 30 psi. Mixing speeds are specific to the equipment at M&I. The following steps were carried out:

• warm water (40 — 45°C) was added to the Blentech machine to dissolve the citric acid, emulsifying salts and preservatives and mixed at high speed (9/10) for ~1 min;

• the powders (protein + rice flour) were added and the slurry mixed for 3 minutes at high speed (9/10);

• melted fat, (35 - 4O°C) was added and the mixture stirred for 1 min at medium speed (7/10);

• the mixture was heated to 75°C on medium speed (7/10);

• the speed was reduced to low (3/10) with mixing for 4 min or until casein had reacted;

• the cheese was kneaded out of the machine for about 2 minutes, and put it into plastic containers, into a chilled water bath for 2 hours and then refrigerated for at least 24 hours before evaluation.

Sample Evaluation:

The samples were evaluated between 6-8 days after manufacture for pH, moisture content, texture hardness (shredability) and melt as described in example 1, above. In addition, a Schreiber melt test was carried out as described below:

Schreiber Melt Test

The L. D. Schreiber melt test is a well-known and accepted standardized test for determining the melt properties of cheese. The test uses a kitchen oven and a standardized piece of cheese, and measures the size of the cheese piece after it is melted. The instructions for the procedure, as used in the following tests, are as follows:

1 Preheat oven to 450degree F. (232.2°C).

2. Slice cheese 3/16 thick (5 mm). If cheese is already sliced, use 2-3 slices to get closest to the 3/16 thickness.

3. Cut a circle out of the cheese slice using a copper sampler with a diameter of 39.5 mm.

4. Centre the cheese circle in a thin wall 15*100 mm Petri dish, cover and place on the centre rack of the oven. Do this quickly so the oven temperature does not drop below 400.degree. F. (204.4°C)

5. Bake for 5 minutes and remove. Up to 4 dishes may be done at the same time.

6. Once cooled, the melt is measured on the score sheet.

The score sheet comprises a series of concentric circles with increasing diameters. The first circle has a diameter of 40.0 mm. Each succeeding circle is 6.5 mm larger is diameter. The melted cheese receives a score of 1 if it fills the first circle, a score of 2 if it fills the second circle, etc. As used

herein, the scores include a "+" (or "-") indicating that the cheese was slightly larger (or smaller) than the indicated score ring. A cheese with an acceptable Schreiber melt test will score 3 or above.

Results and Discussion

Processing

Table 10 below, shows the processing conditions used. Table 10. Processing data.

Although the time to reach 75°C will depend somewhat on the temperature at the start of heating, the control formulation heated faster than formulations containing rice flour. This is probably due to the increased viscosity that the rice flour gives to the mixture in the cooker. Despite being slower to heat, formulations containing rice flour were ready (casein almost fully reacted) in approximately the same time or slightly less time than the control formulation. There does not appear to be any differences in the way different rice flours behave during processing.

Moisture & pH

The results of the pH measurements and moisture determinations are shown in Table 11 :

Table 11. Moisture and pH of samples

The control sample had a higher moisture content than the imitation cheese samples with 30% replacement of casein. At 30% replacement of casein, the pH of the samples containing SageV rice flours (B & C) was slightly higher (~0.1 units) than the control and samples containing SunRice rice flours (A, D & E). This may be the result of normal variability, or could be due to the flour itself. Moisture and pH should be considered when comparing functionality.

Shred

1. 30% Level of Substitution

Figure 1 shows that the samples containing SunRice rice flours (D & E) left behind a similar amount of sample in the shredder as the sample containing SageV MOl 080, (B) which was significantly more than for the control (A) or SageV GM0080 (C) samples. The sample containing finely ground SunRice sample 3500 (E) had a similar floury/dry feel to the control (A) and SageV GM0080 (C) samples. The samples containing SageV MO1080 (B) and SunRice medium 2281 (D) also felt similar (stickier and not dry).

The samples described as feeling "floury/dry" during the shredding test (control, A C & E) also had the higher percentages of fines, (see Figure 2). 2. 20% Level of Substitution

At the lower casein replacement level, the SunRice 2281 (medium) sample (G) showed a similar amount of sample left in the shredder as seen at 30% replacement. However, the SunRice 3500 (fine) sample (H) showed a significant reduction compared to 30% replacement, and was similar to the control (F) (see Figure 3).

The lower casein replacement level did not appear to affect the percentage of fines when the samples were shredded (see figure 4). Similar to the samples at 30% replacement of casein, the SunRice 2281 (medium) sample (G) had less fines than the control, and the SunRice 3500 (fine) sample (H) had slightly more fines than the control.

Melt on pizza base

Table 12 summarises the results for the pizza application;

Table 12. Evaluation of samples melted on a pizza base (250°C/5 min)

The control samples stretched without forming strings. Samples containing rice flour were stringy (multiple strands) when stretched. At 30% replacement of casein, the sample containing SageV MO 1080 (B) was the closest to the control.

At 20% replacement of casein, both samples containing SunRice rice flour (G, H) performed better than at 30% replacement. The oil-off was slightly increased compared to the samples at 30% replacement.

All samples containing rice flour (i.e. both 20% and 30% replacement) retained the shape of the cubes of cheese after they were removed from the oven. However, the sample containing SageV MOl 080 (B) showed some areas that melted together in a similar way to the control.

Schreiber Melt

At 30% replacement of casein, all samples containing rice flour showed better or at least similar spread radius compared to the control (see figure 5). The sample containing SageV MOl 080 (B) showed the greatest melt, followed by the SageV GM00080 (C) and SunRice 3500 (fine) (E). The sample containing SunRice 2281 (medium) (D) showed similar melt to the control. All samples had a Schreiber melt value above 3.0.

Schreiber melt at 20% replacement of casein was similar to the results seen at 30% replacement (see Figure 6). The sample containing SunRice 2281 (medium) (G) was similar to the control (F), and the sample containing SunRice 3500 (fine) (H) had a greater spread radius than the control. All samples had a Schreiber melt value above 3.0.

Texture Analysis

Peak force (or firmness) of control and imitation cheeses at a 30% substitution level are shown in figure 7. The control sample (A) had a slightly higher average peak force than all other samples. The sample containing SageV GM00080 rice flour (C) had a higher firmness than the sample containing MOl 080 (B). The samples containing SunRice rice flours (D +E) had similar firmness to the samples containing SageV rice flours (B + C). The sample containing SunRice 3500 (fine) (E) had a slightly higher firmness (and similar to sample (C)) than the sample containing SunRice 2281 (medium) (D). However, all of the imitation cheese samples of the present invention (B-E) had a peak force of between 150-175, which was of sufficient firmness to be cut, sliced, grated or shredded.

Conclusions

• AU samples containing rice flour had a Schreiber melt value of at least 3.0 and, in fact, melted better than the control sample.

• The peak force (firmness) of all of the imitation cheese samples was slightly less than control but sufficient for grating and far superior to prior art imitation cheeses of similar melt.

• The imitation cheese substituted at a level of 20% or 30% level rice flour provide a superior block cheese product that has excellent hardness and melt characteristics. These imitation cheeses are suitable for large scale commercial productions. The grated imitation cheese product of the invention is suitable for use in the pizza industry.

Example 4: testing different casein samples with 20% and 30% substitution with M01080 and MOl 120 rice flour.

Methods and Materials

Table 13 shows the design of the trails with various caseins with 20% and 30% levels of substitution with two rice flours.

Formulations

Batches of 5kg were prepared for each formulation according to the examples of Tables 14.1 to 14.3 below.

Table 14.1 ALACO 6804 system

Control cheese

20% substitution of ALACO 6804

30% substitution of ALACO 6804

Table 14.2 DSE 5275 system

Control cheese

20% substitution of DSE 5275

30% substitution of DSE 5275

Table 14.3 DSEE 5267 system

Control cheese

20% substitution of DSE 5267 A and DSE 5267 B.

30% substitution of DSE 5267 A and DSE 5267 B.

Manufacturing Process:

1. Pre-blended ALACO™ 6804 (or DSE 5275 or DSE 5267) and the rice flour was dispersed in melted fat (below 50°C) in the equipment with high speed for 1 minute.

2. The water was added (discounting the condensates to be injected) and mixed for 1 more minute at high speed.

3. The cheese base was heated up to 72°C at high speed.

4. The cheese base was mixed at medium speed and maintained at 72°C for between 30 seconds and 5 minutes until a homogeneous base was obtained- with the appearance of melted cheese.

5. Acid (previously diluted at 10%) was added to the cheese base with constant and low agitation to proper incorporate it.

6. The cheese was cooled, kneaded by hand and then moulded into a lkg block.

7. The products were plastic packed prior to refrigeration.

Sample evaluation

The samples were evaluated 3 days after manufacture for pH, moisture content, texture, hardness, (shredability), melt and stretchability as described in the previous examples.

Discussion

ALACO 6884 System

With the rice flour M01080:

At a substitution level of 20% a very similar cheese to the control cheese with respect to melting, shredability and stretchability was obtained. The texture of the rice substituted product was sensorial detected as slightly softer than the control cheese.

At a substitution level of 30% a very similar cheese to control cheese with respect to melting and stretchability was obtained. The texture of the product was sensorial detected as softer than the Control cheese and pastier when it was shredded at 10-12°C. However, the cheese was firm enough to produce an acceptable shred.

With the rice flour MOl 120:

For the cheese with a substitution level of 20% for this rice flour a block cheese having a texture that was even better than the samples with the rice flour M01080 was obtained. Melting and stretchability properties results were very similar to the control cheese.

For the cheese with a substitution level of 30% the product was softer than control cheese and more difficult to stretch. The melt and shredability were also slightly less than control, but still produced an acceptable product.

DSE 5275 System

With the rice flour M01080:

At a substitution level of 20% a very similar cheese to control cheese in melting and stretchability properties was obtained. The texture of the product was slightly softer than the control cheese but similar to the control cheese when it was shredded at 10-12°C.

At a substitution level of 30% a very similar cheese to control cheese in melting and stretchability properties. The texture of the product was sensorial pastier and softer than the control cheese but was able to be shredded.

With the rice flour MOl 120:

At a substitution level of 20% a very similar cheese to control cheese in stretchability properties but slightly poorer melt was obtained. The texture of the product was sensorial detected as similar to the control cheese.

At a substitution level of 30% a product that had slightly less melt than control cheese and with shorter stretchability was produced. The texture of the product was pastier and softer than the control cheese, was firm enough to produce an acceptable shred.

DSE 5267 System

With the rice flour MOl 080:

At a substitution level of 20% a very similar cheese to control cheese in melting and stretchability properties was obtained. The texture of the product was sensorial detected as being similar to the control cheese. The product was described as similar to the control cheese when it was shredded at 10-12°C.

At a substitution level of 30% a very similar cheese to control cheese in melting and stretchability properties was obtained. The product was sensorial detected as being slightly softer than the control cheese but produced an acceptable shred.

With the rice flour MOl 120:

At a substitution level of 20% a similar product to the control cheese with respect to melting and stretchability properties was obtained. The texture of the product was sensorial detected as being similar to the control cheese. The product was described as being similar to the Control cheese when it was shredded at 10-12°C.

At a substitution level of 30% a product that was slightly harder to melt than control cheese, but with similar stretch to the control cheese was produced. The texture of the product was sensorial detected as being similar to the control cheese and had a similar shred.

Conclusion

1. In the three casein systems tested MOl 080 reproduced the melting, shredding and stretchability properties of the respective control cheeses with substitution levels of 20 and 30% of the rennet casein (and emulsifying salts in a proportional way).

2. In the three casein systems tested MOl 120 produced a block product with a firmness attribute very similar to the respectively control cheeses at both substitution levels of the rennet casein (and emulsifying salts in a proportional way).

3. The imitation cheese of the invention have excellent hardness and melt are suitable for large scale commercial product.

Example 5: Melt properties of starch and flour samples subjected to low temperature/time cooking treatments

An experiment was conducted using an RVA (Rapid visco Analyser, Newport Scientific. Warriewood, Australia), wherein imitation cheeses were made according to the formulations set out in table 16, below.

Method

The emulsification salts and NaCI were dissolved in water and mixed for 5 minutes. The oil was added and mixed for 2 minutes. The rest of the dry powders (rice four/starch, casein) were added to the RVA canister and heated to 70°C at a rate of 4°C/min. The mixture was held at 7O°C for a short period (about 30 seconds) before the mixture was cooled at about 15°C/minute until about 50°C was reached. The sample was then removed from the device, poured onto a cold surface and rolled between two sheets of plastic film into a thin slab about 2.4 mm thick. The slab was placed in a fridge and allowed to set. .

Sample evaluation

• pH measurement

• Melting - Schreiber melt test

Schreiber Melt Value

All of the samples showed good melt characteristics, (demonstrated as phase change behaviour with increasing temperature) as shown in figures 9 to 11. The Schreiber melt values where all greater than 3.0. The imitation cheese samples which had the best melt characteristics were produced using SHMP as emulsification salt (see figures 9-11). The Schreiber melt value for the SHMP imitation cheese is shown in figure 8. Samples with rice starch had a melting value greater than the control, whilst samples with rice flour had a melting value below the control (figure 8). However all samples had a Schreiber melt value above 7.0.

Firmness

All of the imitation cheeses were of sufficient firmness that these were able to be cut or sliced.

Conclusion

The imitation cheeses made by the method of the present invention have excellent melt characteristics whilst at the same time they are firm enough to be able to be cut or sliced.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION

The imitation cheese of the present invention is particular useful as a mozzarella-like imitation cheese grated or shredded product for use in the pizza industry.