Natural Cheese Texture Control via pH and Calcium
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Solution Overview
Problem
Natural cheeses lack specific texture and flavor attributes, and processed cheeses, while offering advantages like resistance to oiling-off and uniformity, contain elevated sodium and artificial ingredients.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the creation and combination of five streams: raw milk, concentrated acidified milk, cream, homogenized cream, and water, to produce natural cheese with tailored texture and flavor attributes, including controlled melting and reduced stringiness, while maintaining a standard ingredient profile.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If processed cheese is made with emulsifiers and artificial ingredients, then resistance to oiling-off and uniform look are improved, but sodium content and artificial ingredient content increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical parameters of natural cheese by controlling pH (5.5-6.5), calcium content (200-400 mg/100g), and moisture (40-50%) to achieve processed-cheese-like properties without additives. This resolves the contradiction by modifying natural cheese parameters rather than adding artificial emulsifiers.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent copies the desirable properties of processed cheese (uniform texture, resistance to oiling-off) through controlled natural cheese making processes, achieving similar functional characteristics without artificial ingredients by replicating the structural properties through pH and mineral control.
2Ease of manufacture
If natural cheese is made traditionally, then ingredient purity is improved, but texture uniformity and melt behavior deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary acidification (pH 5.5-6.5) and calcium adjustment before cheese making to pre-condition the milk, ensuring uniform texture and controlled melt behavior from the start. This preliminary control of chemical parameters enables consistent results while maintaining natural ingredients.
Solution Approach 2:
By precisely controlling pH (5.5-6.5), calcium content (200-400 mg/100g), and moisture (40-50%), the patent achieves uniform texture and predictable melt behavior in natural cheese, resolving the texture inconsistency problem while maintaining ingredient purity.
3Strength
If natural cheese is made with high calcium content, then structural strength is improved, but melt behavior and stringiness deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes calcium content to a specific range (200-400 mg/100g) and controls pH (5.5-6.5) to achieve the right balance between structural strength and meltability. This parameter optimization resolves the contradiction by preventing excessive calcium that causes stringiness while maintaining enough structure for proper texture.
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 method achieves natural cheese with reduced mineral content, improved melt behavior, and specific texture attributes similar to processed cheese, such as smooth melt and reduced oiling-off, while avoiding artificial additives.
Implementation Method 1
creating a second stream of concentrated acidified milk by adding an acidulant to skim milk to reduce the pH to 5.5 – 6.5
Implementation Method 2
The acidified skim milk is ultrafiltered to remove water and concentrate the acidified skim milk to 3-5 fold
Implementation Method 3
creating a fourth stream of homogenized cream having 20-25% milk fat
Data Source
AI summary
The invention provides a method for making natural cheese with specific texture attributes. The method uses five streams that are accumulated to make the natural cheese. The five streams include a stream of raw milk, a stream of concentrated acidified milk, a stream of cream, a stream of homogenized cream and a stream of water.