Acid-Treated Starch Cheese-Like Food Texture Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cheese products, both natural and processed, lose spinnability and maintainability of a soft edible texture when cooled, making them unsuitable for applications like pizzas and gratins, where they harden and lose flavor.
Innovation Solution
A cheese-like food product comprising acid-treated starch, fat-and-oil with specific solid fat content and melting properties, and minimal protein, along with optional additives, is developed to maintain softness and spinnability across temperature changes, using a continuous heat treatment process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If natural cheese or processed cheese with protein gel backbone is used, then spinnability at high temperature is achieved, but soft edible texture is lost after cooling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the fundamental parameter of the backbone material from protein-based (calcium paracaseinate gel) to starch-based (acid-treated starch gel). This parameter change allows the system to maintain a soft edible texture after cooling while retaining spinnability at high temperatures, as the starch gel structure does not undergo the same hardening transition as protein gels when cooled.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite material system combining acid-treated starch, fat-and-oil, and protein in specific proportions. The acid-treated starch serves as the primary gel backbone, while fat-and-oil (20-40 wt%) and protein (10 wt% or less) are incorporated to achieve the desired functional properties. This composite approach enables both high-temperature spinnability and post-cooling softness.
2Ease of manufacture
If processed cheese is used for pizza applications, then ease of melting is achieved, but mechanical processing adaptability for shredding is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies the gel backbone from protein-based to starch-based (acid-treated starch), which fundamentally changes the mechanical properties of the cheese-like food. This parameter change enables the product to be mechanically processed (cut, sliced, diced, shredded) while maintaining good melting characteristics, as the starch gel structure responds differently to mechanical stress and heat compared to traditional protein gels.
3Ease of operation
If cheese protein turns from insoluble to soluble form during processing, then spinnability at high temperature is improved, but texture hardening at room temperature occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the protein gel backbone (calcium paracaseinate) from the cheese system and replaces it with acid-treated starch as the new gel backbone. By removing the problematic protein gel component that causes texture hardening at room temperature, the patent achieves a system that maintains soft edible texture after cooling while retaining the necessary spinnability at high temperatures through the starch gel structure.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The cheese-like food product exhibits mechanical processing adaptability, retains a soft edible texture after cooling, and demonstrates excellent heat meltability, ensuring it remains suitable for shredding and melting applications.
Implementation Method 1
a cheese-like food product which comprises an acid-treated starch
Implementation Method 2
the fat-and oil has a solid fat content (SFC) of 55 wt% or higher at 10°C and 30 wt% or higher at 20°C and an open-tube melting point of 25 - 45°C
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention aims at providing a cheese-like food product, which has mechanical processing adaptability such as shreddability, is easily melted by heat treatment, and maintains a soft edible texture even after it is cooled down. The inventors of the present invention discovered that a cheese-like food product, which includes acid-treated starch; fat-and-oil, which includes a solid fat content (SFC) of 45 wt% or higher at 10°C and an SFC of 20 wt% or higher at 20°C; and a protein in an amount of 10 wt% or less can satisfy the above criteria and thereby completed the present invention.