Baking & Snack - March 2006 - 94

March 2006

for others allow development of specialty process cheeses with attributes food
processors and bakers find highly desirable such as restricted melt and highimpact flavor. These cheeses also have
improved keeping quality throughout
the recommended shelf life. Therefore,
there's no urgency for a baker to use it
all once the cheese ingredient is opened.
"With process cheese, manufacturers are trying to make a product with
the same functionality each day," said
Lloyd Metzger, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Food Science
and Nutrition at the University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN. "Their ingredients
may change, or they could be working
across several processing facilities with
different equipment," he continued.
"On top of that, the main ingredient in
process cheese is natural cheese, and
natural cheese changes over time."
Dr. Metzger developed a technique
that enables cheesemakers to evaluate
these different processing variables
and formulation changes in a short
time. So, adjustments can be made to
ensure that the final cheese product
meets required specifications.
Cheese ingredient companies have
invested a great deal into understanding the chemistry and formulation
of process cheese in order to provide
customers - the baked food formulator - cheese ingredients with precise
flavor and functionality. Bakers need to
provide the cheese ingredient supplier
details on the application such as moisture content, baking temperature and

desired cheese functionality and flavor.
In many baked food applications, some
degree of melt restriction is desired.

NEW HORIZONS
Researchers at the Wisconsin Center for
Dairy Research (WCDR), Madison, WI,
are pursuing technologies to manufacture process versions of nonstandardized natural cheeses such as camembert
and feta as well as various Hispanicstyle cheeses. The key in this effort is to
achieve desired slicing and shredding
characteristics along with consistent melt
without sacrificing authentic flavor.
Indeed, cheeses from south-of-the
border are making their way into mainstream food applications including
baked products. For example, queso
fresco, which is Spanish for "fresh
cheese," softens when heated but does
not melt. Thus, there is a great deal
of interest in creating cheese-stuffed
breads using queso fresco. This cheese
is also an excellent carrier of sweet or
savory ingredients adding even more
pizzazz to breads.
"Queso fresco works very well in
stuffed breads and stuffed pizza crusts,"
said Dean Sommer, cheese and food
technologist at WCDR. "Visually the
cheese remains intact and has a desirable mouthfeel. The flavor is mild but
still very dairy.
"We are doing a lot of work with creating custom melt-controlled process
cheeses," added Mr. Sommer. "These
cheeses serve as excellent carriers for
other flavorful ingredients such as pep-

peroni bits or diced vegetables and
spices. Some of these process cheeses
can be formulated to be pumpable."
This enables a food formulator or baker
to have better application control because they can monitor usage levels.
Mr. Sommer emphasized the importance of bakers specifying what is expected from the cheese. "If the cheese is
added to the dough before it is baked,
moisture levels may need to be adjusted because cheese brings water to the
formula. And after baking, most likely
the baker wants the cheese to still be
there and not create void spots.
"However, when cheese is added
topically to bread, the goal may be for
enhanced texture and browning. Flavor and melt are less of an issue," Mr.
Sommer said.
Researchers have also been working on
creating highly flavorful process cheeses.
The economical advantage of process
cheese is obvious - less cheese is used.
However from a formulation standpoint,
fewer adjustments need to be made to
the formula or process for the addition
of cheese. And in the end, the customer
tastes and sees the cheese in the product.
Sometimes bakers use cheese - natural or process - in conjunction with
cheese powders. Cheese powders deliver flavor and color without moisture.
The dry powder also can be uniformly
blended with other dry ingredients.
Some cheeses can be used in baked
applications for purely functional purposes. They are not even promoted as
being included other than in the ingredient statement. As mentioned earlier, cottage cheese can provide flavor, moisture
and nutrition to higher-moisture applications such as muffins. Cream cheese
can do the same in certain cookie and
biscuit doughs. Many bakers are learning that blending a variety of cheeses is
the way to go. This enables them to create a signature flavor and product.
By communicating expectations with
cheese ingredient suppliers, bakers are
able to provide their customers with
quality products - products that meet
their cheesy expectations.
Ⅲ

ᮤ Cheese melt and texture are important
considerations when formulating
with cheese.
J&J Snack Foods

March 2006 / BAKING & SNACK / 97

Baking & Snack - March 2006

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