Cheese as an Ingredient

While most natural cheeses are consumed directly as table cheese, which can be eaten directly or with crackers or bread, they are also used extensively as ingredients in culinary dishes. Nevertheless, cheeses are in many cases manufactured specifically for use as an ingredient rather than as table cheese. The manufacture of ingredient cheeses involves protocols which impart specific functionalities, such as controlled textural/rheological properties (e.g., sliceability, shreddability or crumbliness) and cooking properties (e.g., Mozzarella with customized flow and stringiness suited to specific pizza brands). Ingredient cheeses are used in an array of culinary dishes, formulated food products and ready-prepared meals. The types and level of functional attributes required from ingredient cheeses depend on the application in which they are used. The functionalities of the unheated and heated cheese are key quality determinants of ingredient cheese. These are strongly influenced by micro- and macrostructure. At a microstructural level, rennet-curd cheese is a matrix comprised of a calcium phosphate para-casein network, which imbibes the cheese serum (moisture and dissolved solids) and encases the fat phase. The network may be viewed as a polymer network, in which the casein polymers are cross-linked mainly by calcium and calcium phosphate. The degree of polymer cross-linking and the relative proportion of fat in the network control the response of the unheated cheese matrix to stresses and strains encountered during the size-reduction processes involved in shredding, grating or eating, and the response of the heated cheese during baking and grilling. At the macrostructural level, cheese is an assembly of fused curd particles (microstructures), with the extent of fusion depending on both the microstructure of the curd particles and the processes to which the curd particles are subjected such as salting, moulding, texturizing and pressing. Hence, a key approach in designing ingredient cheeses with target functionalities is the control of cheesemaking operations that affect the microstructure and macrostructure.