Enzyme-modified cheeses

Exogenous enzymes, usually proteinases and/or peptidases. For several reasons, this approach has had limited success, except for enzyme-modified cheeses (EMC). These are usually high-moisture products which are used as ingredients for processed cheese, cheese spreads, cheese dips or cheese flavourings. 

Enzyme modified cheese P-cn f(60-66) Opioid activity, ACE-inhibitory Haileselassie et al. (1999)... 

Haileselassie, S.S., Lee, B.H., and Gibbs, B.F. 1999. Purification and identification of potentially bioactive peptides from enzyme-modified cheese. J. Dairy Sci. 82(8), 1612-1617. 

Kilcawley, K.N., Wilkinson, M.G., Fox, P.F. 2001. A survey of lipolytic and glycolytic end-products in commercial Cheddar enzyme-modified cheese. 1. Dairy Sci. 84, 66-73. 

Kosikowski (1977) described a distillation method for extracting volatile FFAs from cheese. However, individual FFAs were not quantified as the extract was titrated to a specific end point, with the amount of alkali used relating to the level of volatile acids present. Steam distillation was used successfully by Horwood and Lloyd (1980) to isolate FFAs from cheese. Formic acid was used to form FFAs from the salts obtained after distillation of the acids from cheese into alkali. This method was also used by Parliament et al. (1982) who extracted SCFFAs from an acidified aqueous suspension of cheese. Contarini et al. (1988) evaluated steam distillation for the extraction of volatile FFAs from Grana cheese and obtained very good recoveries. Kilcawley et al. (2001) also used steam distillation to isolate C2 o, C3 0 and C4 o from enzyme-modified cheese. 

Enzyme Modified Cheese. If the texture issue is removed from the desirable attributes of cheese production and the only attribute... 

Lipase Cleavage of Triglycerides Aspergillus ssp. Penicillin roque-fortii Production of Enzyme Modified Cheese (EMC) Chedar flavour... 

Lipases (fat-cleaving enzymes) derived from mucor type moulds play an important role in the manufacturing of cheese flavour concentrates (Enzyme Modified Cheese,... 

In enzyme modified cheese (EMC) the natural cheese is modified with enzymes or micro-organisms which accelerate the changes that occur normally during cheese ripening. Production of cheese on industrial scale is an expensive process. EMC processes have been developed in order to shorten and thus cheapen the process. 

An extension of this technology lead to the development of enzyme modified cheeses or EMC which are a very important product. The basic function of the process was to shorten the ripening time of a mature cheese without losing flavor. The potential financial gains are obvious. Young cheeses are subjected to a controlled lipolysis and proteolysis which is brought about by adding suitable microbial enzymes (8). After thermal inactivation of the enzymes, a pasty product is obtained which can have a flavor intensity of up to 20 times that of the mature cheese. 

Ho s group at Rutger s describe the use of enzymes from Candida rugosa to convert butterfat to a series of neutral and acidic compounds possessing a Romano cheese flavor. Similar technology is used by the food industry to produce enzyme modified cheese from young Cheddar cheese. The final product possesses a more intense natural aroma and taste. Similar techniques could undoubtedly be used for the production of other natural cheese flavors. 

Ingredients that have dairy origin or are derived from cheese are closely monitored. Whey, and all fermentation chemicals using whey, enzyme modified cheeses and butter oils are all considered dairy by a Rabbi. 

Therefore, studies on the acceleration of cheese ripening have focussed on proteolysis, especially in hard, low-moisture varieties, in particular Cheddar. Low-fat cheeses have attracted much attention recently such cheeses have poor texture and flavor and the techniques being considered to accelerate the ripening of normal cheeses are being applied to low-fat cheeses also. The third area of interest is the production of cheese-Uke products, e.g., enzyme modified cheeses, for use in the preparation of food products, e.g., processed cheeses, cheese sauces, cheese dips, etc. 

Flavor has been reported to develop very rapidly (1 week) in slurries containing 40% solids. Such systems have been used to screen exogenous enzymes. Fast-ripening slurries could be useful in the preparation of cheese sauces, cheese flavoring, processed cheeses, etc. Enzyme-modified cheeses, which can be regarded as being based on the slurry principle, are used commercially as ingredients in processed cheese and cheese products. 

Enzymatically modified cheeses developed to accelerate the ripening and flavor building blocks can be produced by controlled proteolytic and/or lipolytic enzyme treatment of natural cheese. The most popular enzyme-modified cheeses include Cheddar, Swiss, Parmesan, Romano, Brick, and Blue cheeses [95]. 

Enzymes derived from the stomach of suckling calves and lambs have been found to be largely responsible for the development of characteristic flavours of Italian cheese. The properties of these enzymes (Richardson and Nelson, 1967) and the chemic nature of their activities have been studied. The development of the goaty flavour of Italian cheese, for example, is attributed to the production of low molecular weight fatty acids in milk fat, presumably induced by fat lipolysis. The production of cheese flavour components such as diacetyls and acetoin is facilitated by esterases (Magee et al., 1981). Present day cheese manufacturing practices involve the addition of external esterases to augment the production of the desired flavours. Enzyme modified cheese products are employed to fortify or intensity cheddar cheese flavour in some formulations. 

The key to producing Enzyme-modified cheeses (EMCs) is the proper choice of enzymes and their apphcation under optimal conditions. The majority of research in this area has been on the hpase enzymes. A wide variety of hpase enzymes are commercially available. These enzymes come primarily from animal or microbial sources. Lipase choice is critical because each hpase has a specificity for hydrolysis thereby determining the free fatty acid profile (a key determinant of flavor) in the EMC [54]. 

FIGURE 9.7 Flow chart for the formation of enzyme modified cheese. (From KUcawley, K.N., M.G. Wilkinson, P.F. Fox, Int. Dairy J., 8, 1998. With permission.)... 

Seasonings based on dairy products — Cheeses and sour creams are commonly used in snack seasonings. Natural cheeses are often used for label or familiarity purposes. Enzyme modified cheeses or creams are typically used to carry the flavor due to both flavor strength and cost issues. The dairy character of the seasoning may be fortified with other natural flavorings, e.g., lactic acid, butyric acid, diacetyl, etc. Examples of dairy-based snack seasonings are presented in Table 14.6 and Table 14.7. 

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