Preparation of high-stability mascarpone cheese and application of mascarpone cheese in baking

Abstract

The invention relates to preparation of high-stability mascarpone cheese and application of the mascarpone cheese in baking, and belongs to the technical field of cheese preparation. The glutamine transaminase is combined with a citric acid-sodium citrate system, so that the excessive denaturation of protein is reduced, and the texture and flavor of the cheese are improved. Trehalose and xanthan gum are added for locking water and resisting freezing, and an antioxidant is combined for use, so that the freeze-thaw stability and oxidation resistance of the cheese are improved, the cheese is protected from texture change and oxidative damage in the freezing and unfreezing processes, and excellent texture and flavor can still be kept after multiple times of circulation. Arabic gum is modified through octenyl succinic anhydride, amphipathy is obtained, whey separation is prevented, whey loss is reduced, and the cheese taste is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of cheese preparation, and relates to the preparation of high-stability mascarpone cheese and its application in baking. Background Art

[0002] Mascarpone cheese is a soft, fresh cheese originating from northern Italy and is particularly closely associated with the traditional food culture of the Lombardy region. Its core characteristics are a delicate and smooth texture and a mild buttery flavor, with a fat content usually as high as 40%-45%, much higher than that of ordinary cream cheese. Traditionally made from buffalo milk, due to cost and supply limitations, modern industrial production mostly uses cow's milk cream. Different from most cheeses, the preparation of mascarpone does not require a starter or rennet and does not go through a ripening process, but instead achieves curdling through acid-induced protein denaturation. This characteristic makes its texture closer to solidified cream rather than the fibrous structure of typical cheese. As a dessert ingredient, mascarpone is irreplaceable in classic products such as tiramisu and cheesecake. However, its high moisture content and low acidity also result in insufficient physical stability, prone to whey separation, texture deterioration, etc. during processing and storage, restricting its application expansion in scenarios such as baking and frozen foods.

[0003] The traditional preparation process of mascarpone cheese mainly includes four stages: raw material treatment, acidification curdling, heat coagulation, and dehydration. First, select animal cream with a high fat content, heat it, and then slowly add an acidifying agent (such as tartaric acid or citric acid) to denature and aggregate milk proteins (mainly casein) by lowering the pH. During the acidification process, the temperature and stirring speed need to be precisely controlled to avoid local over-acidification resulting in rough curds. Finally, obtain the finished product by natural dehydration through gravity settling or a filter cloth to separate the whey. This process relies on the operator's experience, and there are no standardized means, especially in key links such as the addition amount of the acidifying agent and the control of the temperature curve, which easily cause quality fluctuations between batches.

[0004] Although the process seems simple, the existing technology still has significant defects. First, the cheese is prone to melting during thermal processing, such as baking. And the finished product has poor stability, with whey separation during refrigerated storage and a tendency to develop a granular texture after freeze-thawing. In addition, the whey by-products produced by the traditional process have a high fat content (about 5%-8%), and direct discharge causes waste of resources and environmental pressure, while the recycling technology has not yet formed an economically viable solution. These technical bottlenecks limit the in-depth application of mascarpone cheese in industrial food processing and urgently need to be broken through by protein modification, stabilizer compounding, and process innovation. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of the present invention is to provide the preparation of high-stability mascarpone cheese, which still maintains a stable taste and state during high-temperature baking and after repeated freeze-thaw cycles.

[0006] The object of the present invention can be achieved by the following technical solutions:

[0007] The preparation of a high-stability mascarpone cheese includes the following steps:

[0008] (1) Mix fresh cream and whole milk at a mass ratio of 1:0.3 - 0.7, then slowly heat to 80 - 90 °C and continuously heat for 5 - 10 min to ensure uniform heating of the milk liquid;

[0009] (2) Cool the mixed milk liquid to 4 - 10 °C, add 0.1 - 0.3 wt% transglutaminase for coagulation for 1 - 3 h;

[0010] (3) Add citric acid to lower the pH of the coagulum to 5.0 - 5.5, then add sodium citrate to adjust to pH 6.0 - 6.5 and heat to 80 - 90 °C to inactivate the enzyme;

[0011] (4) Add 3 - 5 wt% trehalose, 0.1 - 0.2 wt% modified arabic gum, and 0.005 - 0.05 wt% antioxidant for homogenization treatment;

[0012] (5) After cooling, filter off the whey to obtain mascarpone cheese with a water content of 20 - 45%.

[0013] As a preferred technical solution of the present invention, the fat content of the fresh cream in step (1) is 35 - 40%

[0014] As a preferred technical solution of the present invention, the preparation method of the modified arabic gum in step (4) is:

[0015] A1. Mix arabic gum and deionized water at 1:5 (w / w), heat and dissolve at 50 - 60 °C, and adjust the pH to 8.4 - 8.6 with 2M sodium hydroxide solution;

[0016] A2. Dropwise add octenyl succinic anhydride at 3% of the dry basis mass of arabic gum, add it in three equal amounts at intervals of 10 - 20 min, maintain the pH value and control the temperature at 35 ± 1 °C, and the reaction time is 2 hours;

[0017] A3. Add lactic acid to adjust the pH to 6.8 - 7.4 to terminate the reaction, and separate the solid phase component to obtain the modified arabic gum.

[0018] As a preferred technical solution of the present invention, the antioxidant in step (4) is at least one of rosemary extract, vitamin E, and ascorbyl palmitate.

[0019] Furthermore, the application of the high-stability mascarpone cheese in the preparation of baking fillings or frozen dough prefabricated fillings.

[0020] The beneficial effects of the present invention:

[0021] (1) The present invention introduces hydrophobic alkyl chains (C8) through modified gum arabic, endowing the polysaccharide with amphiphilicity, enhancing its emulsifying ability, preventing whey separation, reducing whey loss, and improving the taste of cheese.

[0022] (2) The present invention adds transglutaminase during the curdling stage to catalyze the crosslinking of casein, and at the same time introduces a citric acid-sodium citrate buffer to adjust the pH, reducing the precipitation of proteins due to excessive acidity denaturation, so that the cheese remains stable at high temperatures.

[0023] (3) The present invention uses trehalose and xanthan gum to lock water and resist freezing, and the combined use of antioxidants to enhance the freeze-thaw stability of cheese. These components work together to protect the cheese from texture changes and oxidative damage during freezing and thawing, and still maintain excellent texture and flavor after multiple cycles. Detailed implementation manners

[0024] To further illustrate the technical means and effects adopted by the present invention to achieve the predetermined invention purpose, the following combines examples to detail the specific implementation manners, structures, features and their effects according to the present invention as follows.

[0025] Example 1

[0026] The whole milk was purchased from Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co., Ltd., with a protein content of 3.2 g / 100 mL and a fat content of 3.8 g / 100 mL; the fresh cream was purchased from Nestle Co., Ltd., with a fat content of 35%.

[0027] Preparation of a highly stable mascarpone cheese: including the following steps:

[0028] (1) After mixing fresh cream and whole milk at a mass ratio of 1:0.5, slowly heat to 85 °C and continue heating for 8 min to ensure uniform heating of the milk liquid;

[0029] (2) Cool the mixed milk liquid to 6 °C and add 0.2 wt% glutamine transaminase for curdling for 2 h;

[0030] (3) Add citric acid to lower the curdling pH to 5.2, then add sodium citrate to adjust to pH 6.3 and heat to 85 °C to inactivate the enzyme;

[0031] (4) Add 4 wt% trehalose, 0.15 wt% modified gum arabic and 0.008 wt% rosemary extract for homogenization treatment;

[0032] (5) After cooling, filter out the whey to obtain mascarpone cheese with a water content of 45%.

[0033] Example 2

[0034] The whole milk was purchased from Inner Mongolia Mengniu Dairy Co., Ltd., with a protein content of 3.6 g / 100 mL and a fat content of 4.4 g / 100 mL; the fresh cream was purchased from Blue Windmill Co., Ltd., with a fat content of 38%.

[0035] Preparation of a high-stability mascarpone cheese: includes the following steps:

[0036] (1) Mix the fresh cream and whole milk at a mass ratio of 1:0.7, then slowly heat to 80 °C and continuously heat for 5 min to ensure uniform heating of the milk liquid;

[0037] (2) Cool the mixed milk liquid to 10 °C, add 0.1 wt% transglutaminase and perform coagulation for 1 h;

[0038] (3) Add citric acid to lower the pH of the coagulum to 5.5, then add sodium citrate to adjust to pH 6.5 and heat to 80 °C to inactivate the enzyme;

[0039] (4) Add 3 wt% trehalose, 0.1 wt% modified arabic gum and 0.01 wt% vitamin E for homogenization treatment;

[0040] (5) After cooling, filter off the whey to obtain mascarpone cheese with a water content of 45%.

[0041] Example 3

[0042] The whole milk was purchased from Yunnan Ouya Dairy Co., Ltd., with a protein content of 3.2 g / 100 mL and a fat content of 3.6 g / 100 mL; the fresh cream was purchased from Guangze Dairy Co., Ltd., with a fat content of 35%.

[0043] Preparation of a high-stability mascarpone cheese: includes the following steps:

[0044] (1) Mix the fresh cream and whole milk at a mass ratio of 1:0.4, then slowly heat to 88 °C and continuously heat for 10 min to ensure uniform heating of the milk liquid;

[0045] (2) Cool the mixed milk liquid to 4 - 10 °C, add 0.3 wt% transglutaminase and perform coagulation for 3 h;

[0046] (3) Add citric acid to lower the pH of the coagulum to 5.0, then add sodium citrate to adjust to pH 6.0 and heat to 88 °C to inactivate the enzyme;

[0047] (4) Add 3 wt% trehalose, 0.1 wt% modified arabic gum and 0.05 wt% ascorbyl palmitate for homogenization treatment;

[0048] (5) After cooling, filter off the whey to obtain mascarpone cheese with a water content of 45%.

[0049] Example 4

[0050] The whole milk was purchased from Guangxi Baifei Dairy Co., Ltd., with a protein content of 3.6 g / 100 mL and a fat content of 3.5 g / 100 mL; the fresh cream was purchased from Shandong Niubaisi Co., Ltd., with a fat content of 36%.

[0051] The preparation of a high-stability mascarpone cheese includes the following steps:

[0052] (1) After mixing fresh cream and whole milk at a mass ratio of 1:0.6, slowly heat to 82 °C and continuously heat for 7 min to ensure uniform heating of the milk liquid;

[0053] (2) Cool the mixed milk liquid to 7 °C and add 0.2 wt% transglutaminase for curdling for 1.5 h;

[0054] (3) Add citric acid to lower the pH of the curd to 5.5, then add sodium citrate to adjust to pH 6.0 and heat to 82 °C to inactivate the enzyme;

[0055] (4) Add 4 wt% trehalose, 0.1 wt% modified arabic gum and 0.01 wt% rosemary extract for homogenization treatment;

[0056] (5) After cooling, filter off the whey to obtain mascarpone cheese with a water content of 45%.

[0057] Example 5

[0058] The whole milk was purchased from Xinjiang Maiquer Group Co., Ltd., with a protein content of 3.3 g / 100 mL and a fat content of 3.5 g / 100 mL; the fresh cream was purchased from Anchor Co., Ltd., with a fat content of 35.5%.

[0059] The preparation of a high-stability mascarpone cheese: includes the following steps:

[0060] (1) After mixing fresh cream and whole milk at a mass ratio of 1:0.5, slowly heat to 90 °C and continuously heat for 10 min to ensure uniform heating of the milk liquid;

[0061] (2) Cool the mixed milk liquid to 10 °C and add 0.3 wt% transglutaminase for curdling for 3 h;

[0062] (3) Add citric acid to lower the pH of the curd to 5.5, then add sodium citrate to adjust to pH 6.5 and heat to 90 °C to inactivate the enzyme;

[0063] (4) Add 5 wt% trehalose, 0.2 wt% modified arabic gum and 0.05 wt% ascorbyl palmitate for homogenization treatment;

[0064] (5) After cooling, filter off the whey to obtain Mascarpone cheese with a water content of 45%.

[0065] Comparative Example 1

[0066] On the basis of Example 1, in step (3), it is acidified with tartaric acid to pH 5.2, and the rest is the same as in Example 1.

[0067] Comparative Example 2

[0068] On the basis of Example 1, in step (3), it is changed to adjust to pH 6.3 in one step with a citric acid - sodium citrate buffer solution, and the rest is the same as in Example 1.

[0069] Comparative Example 3

[0070] On the basis of Example 1, in step (4), it is changed to add 4.15 wt% trehalose and 0.008 wt% rosemary extract for homogenization treatment, and the rest is the same as in Example 1.

[0071] Comparative Example 4

[0072] On the basis of Example 1, in step (4), it is changed to add 4.15 wt% modified arabic gum and 0.008 wt% rosemary extract for homogenization treatment, and the rest is the same as in Example 1.

[0073] Example 5

[0074] On the basis of Example 1, in step (4), the modified arabic gum is changed to octenyl succinic anhydride at 3% of the mass of arabic gum and the dry basis of arabic gum, and the rest is the same as in Example 1.

[0075] Performance test:

[0076] High - temperature stability: Put the cheese prepared in the examples and comparative examples into an oven and heat at 200 °C for 20 min, then measure and record the weight of the precipitated whey and the weight of the cheese, and express the whey precipitation rate as the ratio of the weight of the precipitated whey to the weight of the cheese; use a TPA texture analyzer to measure the hardness;

[0077] Freeze - thaw stability: Freeze the cheese prepared in the examples and comparative examples at - 20 °C for 30 min, then thaw at 25 °C for 30 min, repeat 5 times, and then measure the hardness, calculate the hardness loss rate, and observe whether there are ice crystals when cut.

[0078]

[0079] Whey loss rate: Weigh 5 g of cheese sample, place it in a centrifuge tube, centrifuge at 4000×g at 4 °C for 20 min, pour out the precipitated whey, and weigh the remaining cheese mass; calculate the loss rate through the mass difference to calculate the whey loss rate;

[0080] Sensory evaluation: Ten pastry chefs were invited to rate the cheese prepared in Example 1 and Comparative Example 5 in terms of taste (delicacy and firmness), aroma (richness of milk fragrance), and texture (smooth and delicate - slightly granular) on a scale of 1 - 10, and the average score was taken as the test result.

[0081] Whey loss rate / % Taste Aroma Texture Example 1 3.4 9.2 9.5 9.3 Comparative Example 5 7.3 8.1 8.9 7.8

[0082] By comparing Example 1 and Comparative Example 1, it can be seen that in the one-step acidification with tartaric acid without a buffer system, the process stability is extremely low and it cannot withstand freeze-thaw cycles; from Comparative Example 2, it can be seen that when the pH is adjusted to 6.3 in one step, the protein network is uneven and both the high-temperature stability and freeze-thaw stability are somewhat reduced; by comparing Comparative Examples 3 - 4 and Example 1, it can be seen that trehalose and xanthan gum play an important role in freeze-thaw stability synergistically.

[0083] By comparing Example 1 and Comparative Example 5, it can be seen that the present invention reduces whey loss through modified arabic gum and improves the taste of cheese.

[0084] The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and do not impose any form of limitation on the present invention. Although the present invention has been disclosed as above with preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Any person skilled in the art can make some changes or modifications into equivalent embodiments with equivalent changes within the scope of the technical solution of the present invention. However, as long as it does not depart from the content of the technical solution of the present invention, any indirect modification, equivalent change, and modification made to the above embodiments based on the technical essence of the present invention still fall within the scope of the technical solution of the present invention.

Claims

1. Preparation of a highly stable mascarpone cheese, characterized in that: It includes the following steps: (1) Mix fresh cream and whole milk, and heat to 80 - 90 °C to obtain a mixed milk liquid; (2) Cool the said mixed milk liquid, and add transglutaminase for curdling; (3) Add a sodium citrate - citric acid system to the raw material processed in step (2) to adjust the pH to 6.0 - 6.5, and heat to 80 - 90 °C; (4) Add trehalose, modified arabic gum and an antioxidant to the raw material processed in step (3) for homogenization treatment; (5) Separate the solid phase component from the raw material processed in step (4), which is mascarpone cheese.

2. The preparation of a highly stable mascarpone cheese according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step (1), the fat content of the fresh cream is 35 - 40%; the mass ratio of the fresh cream to the whole milk is 1:0.3 - 0.

7.

3. The preparation of a highly stable mascarpone cheese according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step (2), the cooling temperature is 4 - 10 °C.

4. Preparation of a mascarpone cheese with high stability according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step (2), the addition amount of the transglutaminase is 0.1 - 0.3 wt%.

5. The preparation of a highly stable mascarpone cheese according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step (3), the pH adjustment is to first add citric acid to lower the pH to 5.0 - 5.5, and then add sodium citrate to adjust to pH 6.0 - 6.

5.

6. The preparation of a highly stable mascarpone cheese according to claim 1, characterized in that: The preparation method of the modified arabic gum in step (4) is as follows: A1. Mix arabic gum and deionized water, heat and dissolve, and adjust the pH to 8.4 - 8.6 with sodium hydroxide; A2. Dropwise add octenyl succinic anhydride to the raw material processed in step A1, maintain the pH value and control the temperature at 35 ± 1 °C, and the reaction time is 2 hours; A3. Adjust the pH of the solution processed in A2 to 6.8 - 7.4 to terminate the reaction, and separate the solid phase component to obtain the modified arabic gum.

7. The preparation of a highly stable mascarpone cheese according to claim 1, wherein: The antioxidant in step (4) is at least one of rosemary extract, vitamin E, and ascorbyl palmitate.

8. The preparation of a highly stable mascarpone cheese according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step (4), the addition amount of trehalose is 3 - 5 wt%; the addition amount of the nano - emulsion is 0.1 - 0.2 wt%; the addition amount of the antioxidant is 0.005 - 0.05 wt%.

9. The preparation of a highly stable mascarpone cheese according to claim 1, characterized in that: After filtering the whey, the water content of the mascarpone cheese in step (5) is 20 - 45%.

10. Use of the high - stability mascarpone cheese as claimed in claim 1 in the preparation of baked sandwich or frozen dough pre - filled fillings.

Images