NZ237108A - Cheese flavouring composition: contains lipolysed hard ripened cheese and proteolysed hard ripened cheese - Google Patents

Description

New Zealand Paient Spedficaiion for Paient Number £37103 237108 Priority « Ce«nrHi Specification FHea I Cimm '.41.....4■+ •I- : IVI ■ ■■ v r . ' FEB 1992* 1 pubttcatton Owt»: P.O. J<wwwt. **<>• f..Mn(jer....lil&...^fovi&fony fatiort 23 (1) (he i '211 Specification has been ante-daiad 10 '..SOeKX+i 19 Patents Form No. 5 This is a divisional out of application number 223701 dated 1 March 1988 NEW ZEALAND >' a'iti'vit office PATENTS ACT 1953 1 3 FEB 1991 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION ' FLAVOURING COMPOSITION WE, SOCIBTE DES PRODUITS NESTLE S.A./ of a Swiss company of Entre-deux-Villes, Vevey, Switzerland, hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: (followed by page la) 237 1 0 - la- Flavouring composition The present invention relates to the production of a flavouring composition more especially to the production 5 of a flavouring composition of a hard, ripened cheese, for example, cheddar cheese.

The development of natural sharp cheddar cheese flavour profiles usually requires long and expensive ripening of 10 cheese for a period of several months. The changes in the flavour are produced by native, added or microbial enzymes which break down the milk components such as proteins, lipids, lactose and citrate to produce the flavour components. These flavour components exist in a 15 finely tuned balance to provide the characteristic cheddar profile. The changes occur on a continuous basis which results in the availability of mild, medium, sharp and very sharp cheddar cheeses.

Theoretically, it should be possible to take mild cheese and produce sharp cheese flavour notes by accelerated enzyme activity. However, we have found that such processes provided spikes of individual components and not necessarily the "total" profile of cheddar cheese, although this 25 is acceptable for certain applications.

Methods are also known for producing cheese flavourants in a short time which involve the use of cultures of microorganisms. However, the use of cultures of micro-30 organisms is accompanied by the following disadvantages : 1) Special handling techniques are required 2) Their growth in the product and the subsequent production of desirable flavour compounds is not consistent (followed by page 2) 237108 3) Sterile techniques are required in the production of organisms for inoculation 4) Natural variation and mutation may result in the loss of production of different metabolites ) Microorganisms are sensitive to phages which can kill them, resulting in no growth and no production of flavourants.

We have now found that certain compositions comprising cheese * in which the lipids or the proteins were enzymatically modified provide a variety of desired cheese flavour profiles in a relatively short period of time avoiding the disadvantages of exogenous microorganisms .

Accordingly, the present invention provides a flavouring composition product comprising: a) lipolysed hard, ripened cheese, and b) proteolysed hard, ripened cheese wherein the lipolysis of component (a) is carried out by a lipase which is more specific for the hydrolysis of esters of short chain fatty acids having up to 12 carbon atoms and has substantially no activity on esters of fatty acids having more than 12 carbon atoms.

Component (b) rnay be a product prepared by treating hard, ripened cheese with either an acid or a neutral protease, or it may be a mixture containing a hard, ripened cheese treated with an acid protease ar.d a hard, riper.ed Ci.eese treated with a neutral protease. 237108 Examples of hard, ripened cheese suitable for preparing the flavouring compositions of the present invention include Cheddar, Swiss, Colby, Monterey, Gouda, Parmesan, Brick, Muer.ster, Pasta filata or any mixture of two or more thereof. The cheese may be of any age (i.e. mild, medium or sharp) but is preferably mild or medium cheese.

The components (a), and (b) may be used singly or mixed in appropriate proportions to obtain the desired flavour. A component (c) may consist of lipolysed heavy cream containing at least 36% by weight of milk fat based on the weight of the cream. In a mixture comprising components (c) and (a) but not component (b), very desirable flavouring compositions may be obtained when the amount of component (c) is from 5% to 80%, preferably from 10% to 40%, and especially from 20% to 30% and the amount of component (a) is from 95% to 20%, preferably from 90% to 60%, and especially from 80% to 70% by weight based on the total weight of the mixture. In a mixture comprising components (a), (b) and (c), very desirable flavouring compositions may be obtained when the amount of component (c) is from 2% to 80%, preferably from 5% to 60%, and especially from 10% to 50%, component (a) is from 5% to 80%, preferably from 10% to 60%, and especially from 20% to 501, and component (b) is from 5% to 95%, preferably from 10% to 90% and especially from 20% to 75% by weight based on the total weight of the mixture.

The lipolysis of the heavy cream and the cheese is carried out by means of a certain type of lipase. In general, lipases are non-specific and are capable of hvdrolysing a variety of fatty acid esters. However, as used in the present invention, we mean a lipase which is more specific for the hydrolysis of esters of short chain 237 1 0 fatty acids having up to 12 carbon atoms and has substantially no activity on esters of fatty acids having more than 12 carbon atoms. For example, pregastric lipase such as that obtained from the root of the tongue of the calf is an especially desirable lipase in the present invention and it preferably hydrolyses tributyrin (C4), tricaproin (Cg), the activity decreases to 58% for Cg, 49% for C^ and only 13% for C12 acids while it has little or no activity on trimyristin, tripalmitin or tristearin.

Lipases obtained from other sources having the same or similar specificity may also be used e.g. salivary glands.

The lipolysed hard, ripened cheese may be obtained by mixing water, salt and a lipase which is preferably pregastric lipase with the cheese, homogenising the mixture and incubating at a temperature from 25°C to 40°C for a period of from 1 to 4 days. The amount of water may be from 5% to 30% and preferably from 10% to 25% by weight, the amount of salt may be from 0.25% to 2.0% and 23 7 1 preferably from 0.5% to 1.5% by weight, and the amount of lipase may be from 0.01% to 2.5% by weight and preferably from 1.0% to 2.0% by weight, all based on the weight of the hard, ripened cheese starting material.

The neutral protease treated hard, ripened cheese may be obtained by mixing hard, ripened cheese with water and a neutral protease i.e. having optimum activity around pH 7, and then homogenising the mixture and incubating at a temperature from 25°C to 40°C for a period from 12 to 30 hours. The amount of neutral protease may be from 0.01% to 1.0% by weight (3000 to 60000 units) preferably from 0.1% to 0.5% by weight (6000 to 30000 units) and the amount of water may be from 5% to 35% by weight, preferably from 15% to 25% by weight, based on the weight of the hard, ripened cheese starting material. The acid protease treated hard, ripened cheese may be obtained by mixing hard, ripened cheese with water, adjusting the pH to a value from 3 to 4 and mixing with acid stable protease i.e. having optimum activity around pH 3-4, and incubating the mixture at a temperature from 25°C to 40°C for a period of from 1 to 24 hours, preferably from 3 to 12 hours. The amount of water may be from 5% to 35% by weight, preferably from 15% to 25% by weight, and the amount of acid protease may be from 0.01% to 1.0% by weight, preferably from 0.1% to 0.5% by weight, based on the weight of the hard, ripened cheese starting material.

In the foregoing description, the units of activity indicated for the enzymes are the International Units, there being a specific definition of 1 International Unit for each enzyme.

The flavouring compositions of the present invention may, if desired, be homogenised with food grade acidulants 237 108 such as lactic acid or acetic acid to give a product which generally is finally pasteurised, for example, at a temperature from 60°C to 82.5°C for a period of time from 30 minutes to 30 seconds. It should be understood that when the flavouring composition contains two or more of the components (a), (b) and (c), these components are first mixed in the desired proportions before pasteurisation.

The flavouring compositions of the present invention provide a variety of cheese flavour profiles without the addition of other additives or ingredients, thus keeping the flavour as "natural" as possible.

The following Examples further illustrate the present invention.

Example 1 Preparation of component (a) Lipolysed mild cheddar cheese was prepared by adding 20 g water, 0.8 g salt and 1.5 g pregastric lipase (derived from the root of the tongue of a calf) to 100 g of mild cheddar cheese. The mixture was homogenised and incubated at 38°C for 3 days.

Claims (10)

1. 23 7 1 - 7 - Preparation of component ( b) Mild cheddar cheese proteolysed by neutral protease was prepared by mixing 100 g of mild cheddar cheese with 20 water and 0.2 g of a neutral protease, homogenising the mixture and incubating at 38°C for 16 hours. -''37108 WHAT WZ CLAIM IS:- i. A flavouring composition comprising: a) lipolysed hard, ripened cheese, and b) proteolysed hard, ripened cheese wherein the lipolysis of component (a) is carried out by a lipase which is more specific for the hydrolysis of esters of short chain fatty acids having up to 12 carbon atoms and has substantially no activity on esters of fatty acids having more than 12 carbon atoms.
2. 2. A flavouring composition according to claim 1 wherein component c) is a product prepared by treating hard, ripened cheese with either an acid stable protease or a neutral protease, or it is a mixture containing a hard, ripened cheese treated with an acid stable protease and a hard, ripened cheese treated with a neutral protease.
3. 3. A flavouring composition according to claim 1 wherein the hard, ripened cheese is Cheddar, Swiss, Colby, Monterey, Gouda, Parmesan, Brick, tfuenster, Pasta Filata or any mixture of two or more thereof.
4. 4. A flavouring composition according to claim 1 wherein the hard, ripened cheese is mild or medium cheese.
5. 5. A flavouring composition according to claim 1 wherein the lipase is pregastric lipase. ?37108
6. 5 A process of preparing a flavouring composition which comprises mixing: a) lipolysed hard, ripened cheese, and proteolysed hard, ripened cheese wherein the lipolysis of component (a) is carried out by a lipase which is more specific for the hydrolysis of esters of short chain fatty acids having up to 12 carbon atoms and has substantially p.o activity on esters of fatty acids having more than 12 carbon atcms.
7. 7. A process according to claim 6 wherein component b) is a product prepared by treating hard, ripened cheese with either an acid stable protease or a neutral protease, or it is a mixture containing a hard, ripened cheese treated with an acid stable protease and a hard, ripened cheese treated with a neutral protease.
8. A process according to claijm 6 wherein the lipolysed hard, ripened cheese is prepared by mixing water, salt and lipase with the cheese, homogenising the mixture and uncubating at a temperature from 25°C to 40°C for a period of from 1 to 4 days. ? 3 710 8 - 10 -
9. 9. A flavouring composition according to claim 1 and substantially as described in this specification with reference to the example .
10. 10. A process as claimed in claim 6 and substantially as described in this specification • SOCIBTE PES PRODDITS NESTLE S.A. CZlS/KOA- ■ by their attorneys Baldwin, Son & Carey \ ^DfC/991