Volume 3

John A. Lucey , in Encyclopedia of Dairy Sciences (Third Edition), 2022

Cream Cheese

Cream cheese includes several closely-related products including single Cream cheese, double Cream cheese, Neufchâtel (spelled Neufchatel in the US) and Bakers' cheese. In Germany, Rahmfrischkäse (rahm means cream) is a type of single Cream cheese whereas Doppelrahmfrischkäse is a type of double Cream cheese. Cheeses that are closely related to Cream cheese are produced in other countries, e.g., Petit-Suisse, Gournay, Bondard, Fromage a la Crème and Carré (means square) Frais in France (some of these cheeses have a white surface mold). In the US standards of identity, Cream cheese must contain a minimum of 33% fat and a maximum of 55% moisture. Cream cheese is very popular in the US, with total production of Cream and Neufchatel in 2018 around 414 million kg. Cream cheese was first made in the US in 1872. Cream cheese is used on bagels, in salads, as an ingredient in flavored spreads, frostings and in cheesecake. In some countries a cream cheese-type product is made by combining a quarg-like curd with cream or butter. Imitation cream cheese involves the substitution some or all the milk fat with vegetable fats.

Neufchatel cheese must contain ≥ 20% but less than 33% fat and a maximum of 65% moisture. Bakers' cheese is produced in the US and widely used in the bakery and confectionary trades; hence its name. It is made from skim milk and has a soft, dry, grainy, pliable curd. Neufchatel cheese is made from milk with 5% fat but otherwise by a procedure similar to Cream cheese; owing to its lower fat content, it has a grainier body and is less smooth than Cream cheese. The traditional French version of Neufchâtel may be made from whole milk that is heated to around 20–30   °C, at which point rennet is added and the milk allowed to coagulate for 1 to 1 1/2 days. The curd is hung in cloth bags to drain for half a day, after which pieces of mature Neufchâtel are added and the curd put into forms and covered and salted. These are allowed to age for about 10 days, though they can be aged longer. The rinds develop a white surface mold.

Recent innovations for cream cheese include: nonstandard of identity (US) products that are designed to be more spreadable, whipped cream cheese, bagels with cream cheese in one container, wheyless cream cheese made with transglutaminase, and shelf stable cream cheeses (processed cream cheese).

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CHEESE | Acid and Acid/Heat Coagulated Cheese

J.A. Lucey , in Encyclopedia of Dairy Sciences, 2002

Cream Cheese

Cream cheese includes several closely related products including single cream cheese, double cream cheese, Neufchâtel (spelled Neufchatel in the United States) and bakers' cheese. In Germany, Rahmfrischkäse ('rahm' means cream) is a type of single cream cheese while Doppelrahmfrischkäse is a type of double cream cheese. Cheeses that are closely related to cream cheese are produced in other countries, e.g. Petit-Suisse, Gournay, Bondard, Fromage à la crème and Carré (means square) frais in France (some of these cheeses have a white surface mould). In the US Standards of Identity, cream cheese must contain a minimum of 33% fat and a maximum of 55% moisture. Cream cheese is very popular in the United States, with total sales worth approx. US$750 million during 1999. Neufchâtel cheese must contain ≥20% but less than 33% fat and a maximum of 65% moisture. Bakers' cheese is produced in the United States and widely used in the bakery and confectionary trades; hence its name. It is made from skim milk and has a soft, dry, pliable curd. Neufchâtel cheese is made from milk containing 5% fat but otherwise by a procedure similar to cream cheese; owing to its lower fat content, it has a grainier body and is less smooth than cream cheese.

Manufacturing Procedures

Single (fat) cream cheese is made from milk with a fat content of 3–3.5% while double cream cheese is made from milk containing 8–14% fat. Milk is standardized and homogenized (e.g. 12–17  MPa at 50   °C) and cooled to ∼31   °C for a short-set (incubation time, ∼5   h) or ∼22   °C for a long-set procedure (incubation time, 12–16   h). Starter is added (e.g. 2%); the level depends on the incubation period and temperature. At the end of incubation, the pH is 4.7–4.8. In some processes a small amount of rennet may be added (e.g. 5   ml of standard rennet per 1000 litres milk) with the starter but is not essential.

The gel is broken using agitators and heated to 40–55   °C (to encourage syneresis and efficient separation), when whey is separated from the curd using either a cream cheese separator or UF (operating temperature is usually 50–55   °C to reduce viscosity while concentrating). Traditionally, whey was drained using cloth bags. There are two main product types, cold-pack and hot-pack. In the manufacture of cold-pack cream cheese, after whey separation, the cold curd (∼10–12   °C) is salted, stabilizers are added and the product is packaged. Typically, around 0.3% of a combination of several stabilizers, such as locust bean gum, guar gum, xanthan gum and carrageenan, is added. Stabilizers are added to help prevent syneresis and the appearance of free moisture on the surface of the product during storage. In some cream cheese products, whey protein concentrates are also added as a stabilizer. In the hot-pack process, the curd is mixed with salt and stabilizers in kettles or scraped-surface heated vats and heated to 65–70   °C. The hot curd (∼65–70   °C) is then pumped into packages, in which it subsequently cools. The curd is sometimes heated to as high as 80   °C to aid in the mechanical separation of whey and this further heat treatment may be given to the curd in a tubular heater. Instead of going through a tubular heater, the hot (∼70–75   °C) product may be homogenized at 12–15   MPa. Cream cheese is also made by direct acidification (using organic acids) of milk.

Equipment

Essential equipment for cold-pack cream cheese and Neufchâtel includes: basic mix pasteurizing vats, homogenizer, plate surface or tubular heat exchangers, fermentation vats, balance tanks, mechanical separator or UF unit, centrifugal and positive displacement pumps, fillers, blenders and packaging lines. Tubular heat exchangers are often used to cool the viscous cheese for cold-pack products. For hot-pack cream cheese, large jacketed vats with agitators or a scraped-surface heat exchanger and an additional homogenizer for the hot mix are required also. Double cream cheese separators have a different design to quark separators because the higher fat content results in the whey being heavier and ejected towards the bowl wall and the cheese product being ejected towards the centre.

Texture and Defects

If the pH of the cheese is too high (i.e. >4.7), the texture will be soft and the cheese will lack flavour. At a very low pH (<4.6), the texture may become too grainy and the flavour too acid. Defects in these cheeses include whey separation from the product during storage and a grainy chalky texture, especially in the lower-fat types. Hot-pack cheese has a more brittle texture than the cold-pack product due to the additional heating and shearing treatments. Cream cheese should be spreadable as it is commonly used on bagels and in cheesecakes. Cream cheese is often sold in plastic tubs, cartons or wrapped in metal foil and is often blended with various flavours, herbs and spices. The shelf-life of the cold-pack product is only a few weeks whereas the hot-pack cheese has a shelf-life of up to 3 months in refrigerated storage.

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CENTRIFUGES

W. Wieking , in Encyclopedia of Dairy Sciences, 2002

Separator type KSA

For the production of double cream cheese, the coagulated, standardized milk is fed into the centre of the bowl through the feed tube. From there, the milk is guided through the distributor into the rising channels of the disc stack, where it is separated into cheese and whey. The whey flows outwards through the disc interspaces, while the residual protein–fat particles are simultaneously separated out.

The whey flows through the separating disc into the upper pump chamber and is discharged foam-free under pressure by the centripetal pump.

Because of its high fat content, the cheese forms the light phase and flows inwards, where it is concentrated. It then flows over a weir (regulating disc) into the lower pump chamber. The concentrate centripetal pump conveys the cheese to the outlet.

The dry matter content of the cheese is adjusted by means of a valve in the whey discharge. If the discharge pressure is increased, more cheese is forced out of the bowl and the dry matter content is reduced.

If the dry matter content of the cheese is to be increased, the discharge pressure of the whey must be reduced.

During production, a small amount of free protein (inadequately weighted by fat) is separated out into the sediment-holding space. This protein is ejected from the bowl in partial desludgings at intervals of approximately 2   h.

A sight glass is fitted in the whey discharge line for monitoring separation. If the whey becomes cloudy, then a partial desludging should be carried out. If this does not improve the situation, then parameters such as separation temperature, cheese milk treatment and the dry matter content of the cheese should be checked.

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Formation, Structural Properties, and Rheology of Acid-Coagulated Milk Gels

John A. Lucey , in Cheese (Fourth Edition), 2017

Introduction

Acid-coagulated cheese varieties include Cream cheese, Cottage cheese, and Quarg. Fresh acid cheeses differ from fermented milk products in having a significant amount of the moisture removed after coagulation, as well as being ready for consumption without any ripening period being required (fresh cheese). Concentrated yogurts, such as "Greek style" are closely related to fresh acid-coagulated cheeses. Whey removal methods, such as centrifugal separation and ultrafiltration are used for Quarg and Cream cheese whereas cutting of the coagulum into granules and a high cook temperature are used for Cottage cheese. Cultures of mesophilic lactic acid bacteria (i.e., usually Lactococcus spp. and Leuconstoc spp.) and sometimes probiotic species are used as cultures for most fresh acid cheeses. A common factor in all of these acid cheese products is that the initial step involves the formation of an acid-induced gel, which is then further processed. The formation and physical properties of acidified milk gels have been reviewed (Horne, 1999, 2001; Lucey, 2002a,b, 2004, 2016; Lucey and Singh, 1997, 2003). There has been considerable research on acid gels made with thermophilic cultures for the production of yogurt (e.g., Tamime and Robinson, 2007). The manufacture and technologies involved in the production of fresh acid cheeses have also been reviewed (Fox et al., 2000; Guinee et al., 1993; Kosikowski and Mistry, 1997; Lucey, 2002b, 2011; Puhan et al., 1994). This chapter updates the previous version (Lucey, 2004) and focuses on the formation of these acid milk gels and their physical, rheological, and microstructural properties.

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Cheese | Membrane Processing in Cheese Manufacture

V.V. Mistry , in Encyclopedia of Dairy Sciences (Second Edition), 2002

Application of Ultrafiltration for Fresh Cheeses

The manufacture of fresh acid-type cheeses, such as cream cheese, quark and Ricotta, was particularly challenging until mineral and ceramic membranes became available. These membranes made it possible to ultrafilter acid curd to a high solids level with few fouling problems. The general principle is to ferment high-heat-treated milk to pH 4.6 to 4.8 and then ultrafilter the curd to the desired concentration. Traditionally, for quark, a centrifugal separator is used to separate curd and whey. The advantage of the ultrafiltration procedure is that whey proteins are retained and therefore cheese yield is increased. For cream cheese, the Cornell procedure involves the blending of heavy cream with 27.5% solids skim milk retentate to achieve the composition of cream cheese. This mixture is pasteurized and homogenized, then fermented, mixed with stabilizers and pasteurized.

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Volume 5

Andrew B. Saunders , in Encyclopedia of Dairy Sciences (Third Edition), 2022

Cheesecakes

Traditional cheesecakes consist of a compressed biscuit crumb base under a cream cheese-based filling. Such a filling could consist of 66% cream cheese, 14% whole eggs, 3% milk, 16% sucrose, and 1% flavor (e.g., vanilla, lemon). However, many filling formulations are now based on other dairy ingredients, for example, calcium caseinate.

Baking of the cheesecake may be carried out under either high (wet baking) or low (dry baking) relative humidity. Dry baking produces an appealing golden surface, but the filling can easily crack. For cream cheese-based fillings, cracking is reduced by having the correct protein/fat ratio and moisture content, and through the use of gum blends (e.g., 0.03% locust bean gum and 0.15% guar gum).

Many cheesecakes are now sold frozen, and need to be properly thawed to ensure that the filling has optimal mouthfeel.

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DAIRY DESSERTS

A. Saunders , in Encyclopedia of Dairy Sciences, 2002

Cheesecakes

Traditional cheesecakes consist of a compressed biscuit crumb base under a cream cheese-based filling. Such a filling could consist of 66% cream cheese, 14% whole eggs, 3% milk, 16% sugar and 1% flavour (e.g. vanilla, lemon). However, many filling formulations are now based on other dairy ingredients, e.g. calcium caseinate.

Baking of the cheesecake may be carried out under either high (wet baking) or low (dry baking) relative humidity. Dry baking produces an appealing golden surface, but the filling can easily crack. For cream cheese-based fillings, cracking is reduced by having the correct protein:fat ratio and moisture content, and through the use of gum blends (e.g. 0.03% locust bean gum and 0.15% guar gum).

Many cheesecakes are now sold in frozen form, and need to be properly thawed to ensure that the filling has optimum mouthfeel ( Figure 2 ).

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CHEESE | Membrane Processing in Cheese Manufacture

V.V. Mistry , in Encyclopedia of Dairy Sciences, 2002

Application of Ultrafiltration for Fresh Cheeses

The manufacture of fresh acid-type cheeses, such as cream cheese, quark and Ricotta, was particularly challenging until mineral and ceramic membranes became available. These membranes made it possible to ultrafilter acid curd to a high solids level with few fouling problems. The general principle is to ferment high-heat-treated milk to pH 4.6 to 4.8 and then ultrafilter the curd to the desired concentration. Traditionally, for quark, a centrifugal separator is used to separate curd and whey. The advantage of the ultrafiltration procedure is that whey proteins are retained and therefore cheese yield is increased. For cream cheese, the Cornell procedure involves the blending of heavy cream with 27.5% solids skim milk retentate to achieve the composition of cream cheese. This mixture is pasteurized and homogenized, then fermented, mixed with stabilizers and pasteurized.

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MICROFLORA OF THE INTESTINE | Biology of Bifidobacteria

A.Y. Tamime , in Encyclopedia of Food Microbiology, 1999

Dairy Foods

Products such as soft-serve or hard ice-cream, cheese such as fresh type, Gouda or Cottage cheese, ultrafiltered (UF) milk, milk powders such as formula feeds for infants, strained yoghurt and fermented milks are used as vehicles for implantation of bifidobacteria in the human intestinal tract. Of these, fermented milks including 'bio-yoghurts' are apparently the most popular dairy products for bifidobacterial supplementation of the human intestine.

The species that are common in fermented milks are B. bifidum, B. longum and B. infantis, in combination with other lactic acid bacteria. These therapeutic organisms should be present at the time of consumption as viable cell counts of at least 106  cfu g−1 or ml−1 of the product. Isolation and characterization of bifidobacteria in some commercial yoghurts sold in Europe have, an occasion, identified species other than those stated on the labels. In many such instances Bifidobacterium animalis was the only species present, while in other products, the viable counts of bifidobacteria have been found to be less than the recommended level at the time of consumption.

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Volume 1

Judy Lee , ... George Q. Chen , in Innovative Food Processing Technologies, 2021

1.23.4.4.4 Milk Fat

Milk fat is an important ingredient in many food products (cream, cheese, butter and ice-cream) and its crystallization has significant impact on the texture, mouthfeel, rheology and functional properties of the product. Ultrasound (20   kHz, 50   W and 10 s) applied to milk fats at cooling temperatures between 24   °C to 30   °C have been reported (see Fig. 14) to decrease the induction time (Martini et al., 2008), produce smaller fat crystals (Martini et al., 2008; Suzuki et al., 2010; Frydenberg et al., 2013), a sharper and more defined melting profile (Suzuki et al., 2010; Frydenberg et al., 2013), and increase the hardness (Suzuki et al., 2010) or softness (Frydenberg et al., 2013). This suggests that ultrasound can be used to generate more palatable food products using shorter processing times without higher temperatures. However, these are dependent on the crystallization conditions at the lowest temperature of 22   °C (highest supercooling). Ultrasound was reported to increase the induction time (from 13 min to 15 min) (Martini et al., 2008) and result in a softer fat microstructure when chilled (Suzuki et al., 2010). This was attributed to the increase in viscosity at the lower temperature settings (highest supercooling) that could have prevented the bubbles from collapsing inertially and the melting of the fat crystals from the additional heating provided by the ultrasound (Martini et al., 2008). At the lowest supercooling (30   °C) only a slight decrease in the induction time was observed. It was found that at the lowest supercooling it took about 40 min for the first crystals to appear, and therefore sonication prior to the onset of crystals had no effect on the crystallization. If sonication was applied near the onset of crystallization, it was found that lower ultrasound power (5   W and 20   W) and shorter sonication time (5 s) was more effective as there was less heat being dissipated in the system. It is believed that these effects are due to the development of a fat crystal network on the nano- and micro-scale level and its subsequent effect on the macroscopic level (Frydenberg et al., 2013). This effect was found to be sustained or further evolved during storage (Frydenberg et al., 2013).

Figure 14. Microstructure of anhydrous milk fat crystals as a function of time at 30   °C with and without the High Intensity Ultrasound (HIU) at different power levels (50, 30, 20 and 5   W) and sonication times (10 and 5s).

 Reprinted from Martini et al. (2008), Copyright 2008, with permission from John Wiley and Sons.

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