Encyclopedia for cheese

Introduction

Since thousands of years cheese is in nearly all parts of the world manufactured and consumed. It is not only very nourishing, but also a very tasty dairy product. Commonly milk from cows, goats, sheep or buffalo are processed. A common classification is according to the water content in the fat free cheese (dry) matter, into e.g. hard cheese, semi hard cheese, soft cheese etc. Within the Jeneil Bioproducts encyclopedia we would like to focus on the cheese flavor, which is formed during the maturation or ripening process.

More information about the manufacturing process

Around the world there are several thousand different cheese types available. We would like to explain to you the flavor profile of the most popular once:


 

Principles of Maturation

Besides water, milk contains fat, protein, lactose and minerals. The composition of the milk varies, depending on the animal, race, feeding and many other factors. Greatly simplified - cheese making is the partial separation of the milk components into whey (water, lactose, whey protein, minerals) and cheese (dry matter including fat, casein, little lactose, minor amounts of minerals). The milk is thickened, by adding (in most cases) a combination of lactic bacteria and enzymes (rennet). The curd (clotted milk) is cut into pieces, stirred and commonly brought into forms. Here the shape of the cheese is formed and most of the remaining water (whey) is drained. Often under heavy pressure. During this dripping process, the lactic bacteria start with the digestion of the lactose, which results in a fresh sour taste of the curd.

Finally, the cheese blocks are brought into a brining bath. Here the cheese is cooled, the rind is formed, salt absorbed and the cheese solidifies. At this point the cheese flavor is rather plain (slightly acid and little salty).

Historically, cheese was aged in rock cellars. For weeks or even months. Nowadays, only a very small part of the cheese is ripened in rock cellars. The vast majority is stored in halls, where both - the temperature and humidity are adjusted. Attention is mainly paid to the surface / shape of the cheese and whole forming bacteria. The conditions for the enzymes, which are in many cases the key to the flavor production - are often neglected.

 

Back to the 1970´s Dr. Gandhi had a different approach. Being an internationally recognized expert in microbiology and dairy processes, he put focus on the conditions for enzymes and their contribution to the development of cheese flavor. By adding additional enzymes to the cheese mass and fermenting this mixture under optimized conditions, a multiple cheese flavor concentration could be formed. With his pioneer work Dr. Gandhi, created a novel ingredient with the name: “Enzyme Modified Cheese or EMC”. Dr. Gandhi founded together with his wife Josephine N. Gandhi the company Jeneil, which developed the technology further. Today a wide variety of different concentrated cheese flavor profiles are manufactured at the plants in the United States and in Germany.

The cheese flavor concentrates (EMC) do supply a cheese flavor profile, which is authentic and characteristic and standardized. The cheese flavor impact is 15 to 30 times more intensive, then in traditionally majored cheese. In many applications majored cheese is mainly added to achieve a certain flavor. Examples are: Processed cheese, ready meals, crackers, dressings, sauces, dips and many others:

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