Novel imitation cheese

Abstract

This application relates to an imitation cheese containing prolamin and dried bacterial cells, and a method for producing the same. The imitation cheese provided in this application, which contains prolamin and dried bacterial cells, has physical properties similar to natural cheese and is nutritionally superior. The method for producing imitation cheese containing prolamin and dried bacterial cells provided in this application is excellent in terms of ease of use.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to imitation cheese based on plant raw materials and a method for producing the same.

Background Art

[0002] Animal raw materials have potential problems such as environmental factors, religious beliefs, animal welfare, and food stability (allergy), and various plant-based products or materials are required for a sustainable future. As an environmental problem, a large amount of water and feed are required to obtain milk in the traditional dairy production process, and methane gas produced by beef cattle acts as a greenhouse gas and has been confirmed to have a great impact on global warming. Also, the animal welfare problem is serious, and beef cattle must be artificially inseminated to obtain a large amount of milk. In particular, in a human society that consumes only the milk of animals different from themselves, dairy product substitutes that replace conventional dairy products are an issue that must be solved and developed, and for these reasons, the dairy product substitute market is growing rapidly. For example, grain-based milk substitutes such as almonds, soybeans, and oats have achieved remarkable growth in the conventional milk market. Also, cultured meat and conventional meat substitutes are produced and newly developed in various ways.

[0003] In line with this growth trend, various plant-based cheeses have been developed, and hundreds of plant-based cheese companies are selling their products. However, unlike natural cheese, they do not contain protein, so to compensate for this lack of properties, they use oils with a high proportion of carbohydrates and saturated fats such as plant-based shortening, making them nutritionally less healthy than natural cheese. Furthermore, even with carbohydrates alone, it is difficult to reproduce the properties of casein protein-based cheese. Plant-based cheeses using prolamin, a plant-based substance similar to casein, have been developed (Patent Document 1), and some exhibit similar cheese properties. However, due to the high cost of prolamin, high-prolamin cheeses cannot be priced at a mass-market price or at a price comparable to conventional cheese. Therefore, there is a need for alternative cheeses that use less than 10% prolamin to reduce saturated fat content and resemble natural cheese.

[0004] Mimicking natural cheese using only starch or other hydrocolloids is extremely challenging, as has been observed in various plant-based cheese products. Most products achieve their physical properties using only coconut or palm oil, starch, and hydrocolloids, resulting in differences in melting and stretching properties when heated compared to natural cheese, and consequently, a different texture. Therefore, there is a need to develop alternative cheeses that more closely resemble natural cheese in physical properties and offer nutritional improvements through the blending of various plant-based materials and new plant-based ingredients.

[0005] By simply replacing cheese with these plant-based alternatives, a variety of everyday foods can become fully vegan. For example, everyday foods such as pizza, kimbap, tteokbokki, ramen, pasta, nachos, bagels, macaroni, and french fries can all be perfectly vegan simply by replacing the cheese with a plant-based alternative. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2021 / 113985 [Non-patent literature]

[0007] [Non-Patent Document 1] Automated Method for Determination of Cheese Meltability by Computer Vision, Food Analytical Methods(2021) 14:2630-2641. [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0008] This application aims to provide an imitation cheese containing prolamin and dried bacterial cells.

[0009] Furthermore, this application aims to provide a method for producing imitation cheese, comprising the steps of mixing and grinding raw materials containing prolamin and dried microbial cells to produce a mixture, and heating the mixture. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] This application provides an imitation cheese containing prolamin and dried bacterial cells.

[0011] Furthermore, this application provides a method for producing imitation cheese, comprising the steps of mixing and grinding raw materials containing prolamin and dried microbial cells to produce a mixture, and heating the mixture. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] The imitation cheese described in this application contains prolamin and dried bacterial cells in specific amounts, thereby providing an alternative cheese that is similar in physical properties to natural cheese, while also being economical and nutritionally superior.

[0013] The imitation cheese composition according to this application contains prolamin and dried bacterial cells in specific amounts, thereby providing an imitation cheese that is easy to store and has physical properties similar to natural cheese. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0014] [Figure 1] This figure shows the state of the imitation cheese produced by the experiment in Experiment Example 1. [Figure 2] This diagram shows the evaluation process for the degree of dissolution in Experimental Example 2. [Figure 3] This figure shows the measurement of area values ​​at room temperature and after heating as an example of evaluating the degree of dissolution in Experiment Example 2. [Figure 4] This figure shows the degree of elongation to compare the elongation of the control group and the example in Experiment Example 3. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0015] These will be explained in detail below. Note that each description and embodiment disclosed in this application applies to other descriptions and embodiments. That is, any combination of the various elements disclosed in this application is included. Furthermore, this application is not limited to the following specific descriptions.

[0016] One aspect of this application provides an imitation cheese comprising prolamin and dried bacterial cells.

[0017] In this application, "imitation cheese" means a plant-based alternative cheese that similarly reproduces the physical properties of casein protein-based natural cheese. The alternative cheese refers to a substitute for natural cheese produced using conventional animal-based ingredients, and the imitation cheese and the alternative cheese may be used in combination.

[0018] As used in this application, "prolamin" refers to simple proteins present in the endosperm of plants, such as zein in corn, hordein in barley, gluten, secalin, and kafirin. Currently, commercially available plant prolamins are gluten and zein, which are raw materials with high costs, and thus are the main cause of high prices in the production of plant-based alternative cheeses. Since the imitation cheese of this application is manufactured from plant-based materials, an attempt has been made to reduce the content of prolamin, which is currently expensive, to 10% or less, so that a price comparable to that of conventional natural cheese products can be formed.

[0019] The prolamin is contained in an amount of 1 to 10 parts by weight, specifically 1 to 9 parts by weight, 1 to 8 parts by weight, 2 to 7 parts by weight, 3 to 6 parts by weight, 4 parts by weight or 5 parts by weight, with the total weight of the imitation cheese being 100 parts by weight, but is not limited thereto. The weight of the prolamin can be appropriately adjusted and used by those skilled in the art according to the purity of the prolamin used.

[0020] As used in this application, "dried microbial cells" refers to those obtained by drying microbial cells with a high fat content contained in the imitation cheese of this application, and specifically refers to at least one selected from the group consisting of microalgae and yeast, but is not limited thereto.

[0021] As used in this application, "microalgae" is a general term for very small algae that cannot be seen with the naked eye, and specifically refers to at least one selected from the group consisting of Schizochytrium sp. microalgae, Chlorella sp., Spirulina sp., Kelp, and Red algae, but is not limited thereto.

[0022] In this application, "yeast" refers to at least one species selected from the group consisting of Yarrowia sp. yeasts, Saccharomyces sp. yeasts, and Pichia sp. yeasts, specifically Yarrowia lipolytica, but is not limited to these.

[0023] In this application, "bacterial fat" refers to the fat contained in the dried bacterial cells included in the imitation cheese of this application. Using bacterial fat not only allows for the imitation of micelle structures by forming micelles from the bacterial cells, but also incorporates unsaturated fatty acids, which exist as liquids at room temperature, into the bacterial cells, resulting in a solid state at room temperature. "Unsaturated fatty acids" are fatty acids that have at least one double bond in their fatty acid chain and play a role in providing excellent nutritional effects. Because the imitation cheese of this application contains novel fat substitutes such as bacterial fat, it is possible to provide an imitation cheese with physical properties very similar to casein protein-based cheese compared to conventional imitation cheeses. Furthermore, since bacterial fat can be stored in powder form at room temperature, it is possible to improve the processing inefficiency caused by the hard physical properties at room temperature of vegetable shortening, which is currently used when manufacturing imitation or vegetable cheeses. Moreover, by including bacterial fat, it is possible to provide an imitation cheese material or product in the form of a premixed powder. Therefore, because it has a low moisture content, it is stable against contamination and the volume in the distribution process can be made more efficient.

[0024] The dried bacterial cells have a total fat content of 40% or more, specifically 45% or more, and more specifically 50% or more. Furthermore, the dried bacterial cells may contain 10% or more protein, specifically 15% or more. By including the dried bacterial cells, it is possible to provide not only a good source of fat, but also good quality protein and dietary fiber. If the total fat content of the dried bacterial cells is 40% or more, it becomes easier to achieve physical properties similar to natural cheese.

[0025] The dried bacterial cells may have a crude protein content of 10% or more.

[0026] The dried bacterial cells may have a total fat and protein content of 50% or more.

[0027] The dried microbial cells are present in amounts of 10 to 35 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the entire imitation cheese, specifically 10 to 29 parts by weight and 19 to 25 parts by weight, but are not limited to these amounts. The amount of dried microbial cells can be appropriately adjusted by those skilled in the art depending on the amount of water evaporation. If the amount of dried microbial cells exceeds 35 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the entire imitation cheese, it becomes difficult to imitate the melting properties of natural cheese.

[0028] One of the main technical features of the imitation cheese of this application is that it contains a combination of prolamin and dried bacterial cells. In one embodiment of this application, it was confirmed that when 0.1 to 10 parts by weight of prolamin and 10 to 35 parts by weight of dried bacterial cells were added to 100 parts by weight of the imitation cheese as a whole, the physical properties were very similar to those of natural cheese.

[0029] The imitation cheese of this application has a low saturated fatty acid content and a high protein content, making it nutritionally superior and even more nutritionally similar to natural cheese based on casein protein.

[0030] The aforementioned imitation cheese may have a total protein content of 8% or more, and specifically, it may contain 10% or more. The imitation cheese of this application contains prolamin and dried bacterial cells, so that not only the prolamin but also the proteins contained in the dried bacterial cells can improve the protein content of the plant-based cheese.

[0031] The imitation cheese may have a total fat content of 15% or more, more specifically 17% or more, and more specifically 19% or more. Since the dried microbial cells contain unsaturated fatty acids, the fat contained in the imitation cheese of this application has a high proportion of unsaturated fatty acids and is nutritionally superior.

[0032] Furthermore, while conventional casein protein-based natural cheeses exhibit distinct physical properties in terms of melting and stretching, the imitation cheese of this application was found to have physical properties similar to conventional commercially available plant-based cheeses in terms of melting and stretching. Therefore, it was confirmed that it is possible to achieve the macroscopic physical properties of cheese that are normally observed during consumption.

[0033] Furthermore, it was confirmed that the imitation cheese of this application softens or melts when heated, and maintains a certain degree of hardness when refrigerated, making its physical properties very similar to natural casein protein-based cheese. This means that when consuming the cheese, whether refrigerated or heated, no unusual sensations are felt that differ from those of natural casein protein-based cheese.

[0034] The imitation cheese of this application may further contain vegetable oil. The vegetable oil exists as a solid at room temperature and as a liquid when heated, and is therefore included to reproduce the unique physical properties of natural cheese, such as becoming soft or melting when heated. Here, vegetable oil specifically includes, but is not limited to, at least one selected from the group consisting of canola oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, soybean oil, avocado oil, olive oil, corn oil, linseed oil, almond oil, coconut oil, margarine, tucuma butter, hydrogenated oil, unhydrogenated hardened oil, peanut oil, pecan oil, cottonseed oil, seaweed oil, palm oil, palm kernel oil, coconut oil, evening primrose oil, sesame oil, butter oil, cocoa butter, grape seed oil, rapeseed oil, poppy oil, hazelnut oil, Brazil nut oil, linseed oil, acai oil, passion fruit oil, walnut oil, sheep butter, shea stearin, shea olein, palm kernel stearin, palm kernel olein, rice bran oil, coconut oil, palm oil, margarine or vegetable shortening, vegetable oleogel, or mixtures containing these oils.

[0035] The vegetable oil is included in amounts of 5 to 30 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the entire imitation cheese composition, specifically 5 to 25 parts by weight, 5 to 20 parts by weight, 7 to 15 parts by weight, or more specifically, 10 parts by weight, but is not limited to these amounts. If the vegetable oil is included in amounts exceeding 30 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the entire imitation cheese composition, the melting properties are excellent, but the fat and carbohydrate content is high compared to the protein content, making it nutritionally harmful. Also, if the vegetable oil is included in amounts less than 5 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the entire imitation cheese composition, the melting properties are not good.

[0036] The imitation cheese of this application may be a plant-based cheese. The plant-based cheese may not contain any animal-derived ingredients isolated from cows, horses, sheep, goats, etc.

[0037] The imitation cheese of this application has the excellent effect of exhibiting physical properties and texture similar to cheese made using animal-derived ingredients, even though it does not contain any animal-derived ingredients, and is therefore useful as a substitute for natural animal-derived cheese.

[0038] The imitation cheese of this application may further contain hydrocolloids. Specifically, the hydrocolloids include, but are not limited to, at least one selected from the group consisting of vegetable starch, modified starch, maltodextrin, agar, pectin, inulin, γ-polyglutamic acid, carrageenan, locust bean gum, citrus fiber, tamarind gum, guar gum, galactomannan, and glucomannan.

[0039] The hydrocolloid is present in 10 to 18 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the entire imitation cheese, specifically 10.5 to 16.5 parts by weight, 10 to 12 parts by weight, and more specifically 11 to 12 parts by weight, but is not limited to these amounts.

[0040] The imitation cheese of this application may further not contain plant proteins other than prolamin. Even if the imitation cheese of this application does not further contain plant proteins, it may maintain a total protein content of 10% or more in the cheese.

[0041] The imitation cheese of this application may further contain plant proteins. Here, "plant proteins" in this application should be understood to mean plant proteins other than prolamins, given the characteristics of this application, and specifically include sweet potato protein, rice protein, mung bean protein, quinoa protein, pea protein, soybean protein, corn protein, pea protein, pear protein, bean protein, wheat protein, buckwheat protein, lentil protein, millet protein, broad bean protein, gluten protein, cashew protein, pumpkin seed protein, potato protein, chickpea protein, lentil protein, sunflower seed protein, tomato seed protein, pongamia protein, canola protein, peanut protein, This product contains, but is not limited to, at least one selected from the group consisting of almond protein, mushroom protein, lupine protein, oat protein, amaranth protein, flaxseed protein, chia seed protein, cottonseed protein, barley protein, watercress protein, pennocyte protein, hemp seed protein, millet protein, teff protein, felt protein, alfalfa protein, osteoid protein, wild bean protein, adzuki bean protein, canelini protein, turkey protein, black bean protein, black gram protein, maca powder, yam powder, microalgae protein, yeast protein, other microbial proteins, or mixtures containing these proteins.

[0042] The aforementioned plant protein is further present in appropriate amounts in the imitation cheese, specifically in amounts less than 20 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the entire imitation cheese, but is not limited to these amounts.

[0043] The imitation cheese of this application may further contain organic acids, salts, or combinations thereof. Specifically, the organic acids and salts are, but are not limited to, citric acid, lactic acid, sodium chloride, calcium chloride, or combinations thereof.

[0044] Another aspect of this application provides a method for producing imitation cheese, comprising the steps of (a) mixing and grinding raw materials containing prolamin and dried microbial cells to produce a mixture, and (b) heating the mixture.

[0045] Step (a) above is a step of preparing a mixture by adding each of the ingredients for the production of imitation cheese, and may involve adding the components of the imitation cheese, such as prolamin and dried bacterial cells, sequentially, in reverse order, or simultaneously, and then mixing them.

[0046] Here, the imitation cheese is defined as above, and the materials may further include vegetable protein, vegetable oil, hydrocolloid, or a combination thereof. The prolamin and dried bacterial cells are as described above.

[0047] In one embodiment, the dried bacterial cells may be present in amounts of 10 to 35 parts by weight, or more specifically, 10 to 29 parts by weight or 19 to 25 parts by weight, relative to 100 parts by weight of the entire imitation cheese. Since the bacterial fat is in powder form, it is easy to handle. This means that it is a great advantage when actually producing and selling the product. Furthermore, while vegetable shortening currently used in the production of imitation or vegetable cheese has the problem of inefficiency in processing due to its hard physical properties at room temperature, dried bacterial cells in powder form have a low moisture content, making them stable against contamination and allowing for efficient handling of the quantity in the distribution process.

[0048] In one embodiment, as described above, the prolamin may consist of 0.1 to 10 parts by weight of prolamin and 10 to 35 parts by weight of dried microbial cells, with the total weight of the imitation cheese being 100 parts by weight.

[0049] Here, step (a) may optionally further include a stirring and / or homogenization step after the addition of each or some of the materials to facilitate mixing. Homogenization means the process of finely crushing and uniformly distributing the particles, and methods known in the art can be used for homogenization. Specifically, a mixer or homogenizer can be used for homogenization, but is not limited to these.

[0050] In one embodiment, step (a) includes, but is not limited to, (a-1) a step of first adding a powdered raw material and grinding it to produce a mixture, and (a-2) a step of adding water and oils to the powder obtained in step (a-1) and mixing and grinding it.

[0051] Specifically, the powdered raw material in step (a-1) may contain dried microbial cells.

[0052] Step (b) is a step of heating the mixture obtained in step (a).

[0053] Specifically, heating in step (b) above means raising the temperature to 70-95°C, more specifically to 70-90°C, 80-95°C, 80-90°C, 85-92°C, or 90°C.

[0054] Specifically, the heating in step (b) above means raising the temperature of the mixture to the target heating temperature in a short time, which is to be done within 1 to 5 minutes, specifically within 1 to 3 minutes, but is not limited to these times. If the heating is carried out for more than 5 minutes, the viscosity may increase due to water evaporation, etc., which may cause the mixture to adhere to the inside of the apparatus during the recovery process, making recovery difficult, and the yield may be lower due to the denaturation of the substance.

[0055] By performing the aforementioned series of steps, the imitation cheese of this application is finally obtained. The method for producing the imitation cheese of this application uses powdered dried bacterial cells, which is characterized by its ease of handling, excellent yield, and significant advantages in actual production and commercialization. Furthermore, the imitation cheese produced by this method has a low saturated fatty acid content and a high protein content, making it nutritionally superior and even more nutritionally similar to casein protein-based natural cheese. Moreover, compared to conventional commercially available plant-based cheeses, its physical properties in terms of melting and stretching are similar to casein protein-based natural cheese.

[0056] A further aspect of this application provides a composition for imitation cheese comprising prolamin and dried bacterial cells.

[0057] In this application, "composition for imitation cheese" means a composition for manufacturing imitation cheese, and may be in powder form. Furthermore, the composition for imitation cheese in this application may be a premixed powder. "Premixed powder" means a powder provided in powder form, prepared by mixing various raw materials to manufacture a specific product.

[0058] The dried microbial cells of this application can be stored in powder form at room temperature, allowing the composition for imitation cheese to be provided in powder form. Therefore, because of its low moisture content, it is stable against contamination and allows for efficient handling of the product during distribution.

[0059] The prolamin is present in 5 to 15 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the entire imitation cheese composition, specifically 7 to 13 parts by weight, 8 to 12 parts by weight, or more specifically 9 to 11 parts by weight, but is not limited to these amounts. The weight of the prolamin can be appropriately adjusted by those skilled in the art depending on the purity of the prolamin used.

[0060] The dried microbial cells are present in amounts of 40 to 70 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the entire imitation cheese composition, more specifically 45 to 65 parts by weight, and more specifically 50 to 60 parts by weight, but are not limited to these amounts. The content of the dried microbial cells can be appropriately adjusted by those skilled in the art depending on the amount of water evaporation.

[0061] The imitation cheese composition of this application may further contain hydrocolloids or plant proteins. [Examples]

[0062] The present application will be described in more detail below with reference to examples. These examples are provided to illustrate the present application more specifically, and the present application is not limited to these examples.

[0063] Experimental Example 1: Preparation of Examples 1-3 and Comparative Examples 1-5 The ingredients listed in Table 1 were used to make the imitation cheese.

[0064] [Table 1]

[0065] The sources of each material used are as follows: Yeast cells (CJ CheilJedang, strain number #198, #199, Korea) Microalgae fungus (WT) Zein (F4400C, USA) Tapioca starch (commercially available) Corn starch (commercial product) Potato starch (commercial product) κ-Carrageenan (CP Kelco.) Maltodextrin (Korea Matsutani Co., Ltd.) Locust bean gum (CP Kelco) Citrus Fiber (CP Kelco) Coconut oil (Bwetter Body Foods) Citric acid (commercially available) Lactic acid (commercially available) Calcium chloride (commercially available) Sodium chloride (commercially available) Soy protein (Vixol Co., Ltd.) Nagaimo powder (commercially available)

[0066] The aforementioned ingredients were blended in the weights shown in Table 2, with the total weight of the imitation cheese being 100 parts by weight. The remaining amount was mixed with water. A high-speed thermomixer was used for blending and processing. The equipment used was a dedicated cooker (ALLDA-1000) manufactured by Waldin Co., Ltd., and other consumables were standard consumable items that could be purchased commercially. Each ingredient was weighed using a scale, and then the powdered ingredients were added first for grinding and mixing. Oils and water were added to the homogenized powder, and further grinding and mixing were performed. No heating was applied during the above process. After mixing the water and oils, rapid heating and rapid high-speed grinding were performed simultaneously. The heating temperature was set to 90°C, and the heating was completed within 2 minutes, and the mixture was mixed at 4000 RPM to 5000 RPM. After that, each sample was transferred to a container and molded at room temperature for 1 hour and in a refrigerator for 24 hours.

[0067] [Table 2]

[0068] The specific details of each example and comparative example are as follows. Figure 1 shows an image of the imitation cheese produced in each example and comparative example.

[0069] [Examples 1 and 2] Production of imitation cheese containing yeast as dried microbial cells Examples 1 and 2 are imitation cheeses containing two different types of yeast cells as dried cells and zein as a prolamin. Yarrowia lipolytica was used as the yeast, and a variant of the same species was used. The total fat content of the yeast cells was approximately 40%, and the total protein content was approximately 10-15%.

[0070] [Example 3] Production of imitation cheese containing microalgae cells as dried microbial cells. Example 3 is an imitation cheese containing microalgae cells as dried microbial cells and zein as prolamin. Microalgae of the genus Schizochytrium sp. were used as the microalgae. The total fat content of the microalgae cells was approximately 60%, and the total protein content was approximately 10-15%.

[0071] Comparative Examples 1-6: Preparation of imitation cheese without prolamins or dried bacterial cells Comparative Examples 1-6 are imitation cheeses that contain no prolamins or dried bacterial cells. They were prepared using a similar blend ratio to conventional plant-based cheeses.

[0072] Comparative Examples 7 and 8: Preparation of imitation cheese without dried bacterial cells Comparative Examples 7 and 8 are imitation cheeses that contain zein as prolamin but do not contain dried bacterial cells.

[0073] Experimental Example 2: Verification and Evaluation of Dissolution The melting rate of each sample was measured, and the area values ​​before and after heating were analyzed to compare the area increase rate (%). Natural mozzarella cheese was used as a positive control group.

[0074] Specifically, all imitation cheeses and positive control cheeses were divided into 5g portions and molded to a diameter of 25-28mm. The divided samples were first heated by placing them in a water bath heated to 80°C for 5 minutes to maintain horizontal position and ensure warmth, and then secondly heated in a standard microwave oven (700W) with the same cover. Each heating time was spaced 15 minutes apart to minimize heating errors.

[0075] Figure 2 shows the melting evaluation process. Figure 3 shows an example of measuring and comparing area values ​​at room temperature and after heating. A colony picker (PIXL) capable of taking photographs under identical conditions was used for each before-and-after result. The instrument used was a colony picker (PIXL) from SINGER, UK, and the captured images were used to repeatedly measure the area value twice using software, as shown in Figure 3. The melting of the cheese was measured by the Schreiber method, and Non-Patent Literature 1 was referred to for area calculation.

[0076] The evaluation results from the above process are shown in Table 3.

[0077] [Table 3]

[0078] As shown in Table 3, considering that the natural cheese, which is the positive control group, has an area increase rate of 150% or more, and that Comparative Examples 1-6, which do not contain any dried bacterial cells or prolamins, and Comparative Examples 7-8, which do not contain dried bacterial cells, have an area increase rate of 120% or less, it can be seen that Examples 1-3, which contain dried bacterial cells and prolamins according to one embodiment of this application, have an area increase rate similar to that of natural cheese compared to the comparative examples. These results mean that imitation cheese containing dried bacterial cells and prolamins achieves similar physical properties to natural cheese without any noticeable difference compared to conventional plant-based cheeses. This means that because it contains dried bacterial cells, it is nutritionally superior due to the proteins and unsaturated fatty acids contained in the dried bacterial cells, and it is excellent at reproducing the physical properties of natural cheese by mimicking the casein micelle structure of the dried bacterial cells.

[0079] Experimental Example 3: Preparation and Evaluation of Imitation Cheese with High Prolamin Content To confirm the degree to which the protein content of imitation cheese, which does not contain dried bacterial cells and contains a high amount of prolamin, was reproduced in natural cheese properties, Comparative Example 9 was prepared using the parts by weight shown in Table 4, and its solubility was checked. Modified starch is added to adjust the carbohydrate content because it does not contain bacterial cells.

[0080] [Table 4]

[0081] Similar to Experimental Example 2, the area increase rate was measured, and it was confirmed that the degree of dissolution decreased to 111%. This means that it is difficult to achieve the physical properties of natural cheese simply by increasing the prolamin content without including dried bacterial cells. Furthermore, since prolamin is an expensive raw material, it is not economically viable.

[0082] Experiment Example 4: Comparative evaluation of commercially available plant-based cheeses. Furthermore, for comparative evaluation with commercially available plant-based cheeses, the melting properties of Comparative Example 10, which was prepared in the same manner as commercially available plant-based cheeses, and Comparative Example 11, which corresponds to an actual commercially available plant-based cheese, were examined. Comparative Example 10 was formulated in the parts by weight shown in Table 5. The nutritional components and estimated formulation ratio of Comparative Example 11 are shown in Table 6. Errors may exist in Table 6 due to differences in the nutritional component analysis methods.

[0083] [Table 5]

[0084] [Table 6]

[0085] The method for measuring the degree of dissolution was as described above, and the results are shown in Table 7.

[0086] [Table 7]

[0087] As shown in Table 7, the area increase rates for Comparative Examples 10 and 11 were 120% or less, which is lower than that of Examples 1-3 confirmed in Experimental Example 2. This means that the imitation cheese of this application is superior to conventional commercially available plant-based cheeses in reproducing the physical properties of natural cheese.

[0088] Experiment Example 5: Confirmation and Evaluation of Stretching To measure the degree of stretching, 10g of the same sample was placed in the center of a microwave oven (700W), heated for 20 seconds, and then the degree of stretching was measured using tongs. Natural mozzarella cheese was used as the positive control group, and the commercially available plant-based mozzarella cheese with physical properties most similar to conventional cheese was used as the negative control group. Measurements for each sample were performed at 10-minute intervals to minimize errors. Figure 4 shows a comparison of the stretching of the control group and Example 3, which showed the best area increase rate in Experimental Example 2.

[0089] As shown in Figure 4, Example 3, according to one embodiment of this application, exhibits superior stretchability compared to conventional commercially available plant-based cheeses, and has a stretchability comparable to that of natural cheese. Therefore, it was confirmed that physical properties similar to those of natural cheese were achieved, even to the naked eye.

[0090] Therefore, it was confirmed that the imitation cheese according to one embodiment of this application successfully imitates the distinct physical properties of natural cheese, namely its meltability and stretchability, compared to conventional plant-based imitation cheeses.

[0091] From the above explanation, a person skilled in the art to which this application pertains will understand that this application can be implemented in other specific forms without altering its technical idea or essential features. It should be understood that the above embodiments are merely illustrative and not limiting. This application should be interpreted as including all modified or altered forms derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalent concepts, rather than the specification.

Claims

1. Prolamin and dried bacterial cells are included. Imitation cheese.

2. The aforementioned dried bacterial cells have a fat content of 40% or more. The imitation cheese according to claim 1.

3. The dried bacterial cells have a fat and protein content of 50% or more. The imitation cheese according to claim 1.

4. The aforementioned microbial cells are microalgae or yeast cells. The imitation cheese according to claim 1.

5. The aforementioned microalgae is at least one species selected from the group consisting of microalgae of the genus Schizochytrium sp., Chlorella sp., Spirulina sp., and red algae. The imitation cheese according to claim 4.

6. The yeast is at least one selected from the group consisting of Yarrowia sp. yeast, Saccharomyces sp. yeast, and Pichia sp. yeast. The imitation cheese according to claim 4.

7. The aforementioned imitation cheese has a total protein content of 8% or more. The imitation cheese according to claim 1.

8. The aforementioned imitation cheese has a total fat content of 15% or more. The imitation cheese according to claim 1.

9. The dried bacterial cells are present in amounts of 10 to 35 parts by weight, relative to 100 parts by weight of the entire imitation cheese. The imitation cheese according to claim 1.

10. The prolamin is present in amounts of 1 to 10 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the entire imitation cheese. The imitation cheese according to claim 1.

11. It also contains vegetable oils. The imitation cheese according to claim 1.

12. The aforementioned vegetable oil is present in amounts of 10 to 30 parts by weight, based on 100 parts by weight of the entire imitation cheese. The imitation cheese according to claim 11.

13. The aforementioned vegetable oil includes at least one selected from the group consisting of canola oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, soybean oil, avocado oil, olive oil, corn oil, linseed oil, almond oil, coconut oil, margarine, tucuma butter, hydrogenated oil, unhydrogenated hydrogenated oil, peanut oil, pecan oil, cottonseed oil, seaweed oil, palm oil, palm kernel oil, coconut oil, evening primrose oil, sesame oil, butter oil, cocoa butter, grape seed oil, rapeseed oil, poppy oil, hazelnut oil, Brazil nut oil, linseed oil, acai oil, passion fruit oil, walnut oil, sheep butter, shea stearin, shea olein, palm kernel stearin, palm kernel olein, rice bran oil, coconut oil, palm oil, margarine or vegetable shortening, vegetable oleogel, or mixtures containing these oils. The imitation cheese according to claim 11.

14. Further containing hydrocolloids, The imitation cheese according to claim 1.

15. The hydrocolloid is present in an amount of 10 to 15 parts by weight, relative to 100 parts by weight of the entire imitation cheese. The imitation cheese according to claim 14.

16. The hydrocolloid comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of plant starch, modified starch, maltodextrin, agar, pectin, inulin, γ-polyglutamic acid, carrageenan, locust bean gum, citrus fiber, tamarind gum, guar gum, galactomannan, and glucomannan. The imitation cheese according to claim 14.

17. It also contains plant-based protein. The imitation cheese according to claim 1.

18. A step of mixing and grinding raw materials containing prolamin and dried microbial cells to prepare a mixture, The step of heating the mixture is included. A method for manufacturing imitation cheese.

19. Prolamin and dried bacterial cells are included. Composition for imitation cheese.

20. The aforementioned imitation cheese composition is in powder form. The composition for imitation cheese according to claim 19.

21. The prolamin is present in an amount of 5 to 15 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the entire imitation cheese composition. The composition for imitation cheese according to claim 19.

22. The dried bacterial cells are present in an amount of 40 to 70 parts by weight, based on 100 parts by weight of the entire imitation cheese composition. The composition for imitation cheese according to claim 19.

23. Further comprising hydrocolloid or plant protein, The composition for imitation cheese according to claim 19.

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