Process for making a wheyless cream cheese using transglutaminase

US6416797B1 · kind B1 · utility

Assignee

• KRAFT FOODS HOLDINGS, INC. · US

Inventors

• Xiao-Qing Han · Wuxi, CN
• Jochen Pfeifer · Penzberg, DE
• Richard Lincourt · Mundelein, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Feb 14, 2001
• Grant date: Jul 9, 2002
• Expiry date: Feb 14, 2021

Classification

• Technology area (CPC C): Chemistry; Metallurgy
• CPC primary: C12Y305/01002
• WIPO field: Food chemistry
• WIPO sector: Chemistry

Abstract

The current invention includes a process for making cream cheese wherein nutrients typically lost as whey during processing are utilized in the final cream cheese; the resulting cream cheese has the body, texture, and taste of conventional cream cheese. The process of the current invention utilizes acidifying and cross-linking steps to process a dairy liquid into a wheyless cream cheese by utilizing the protein cross-linking activity of transglutaminase. The wheyless cream cheese does not require the addition of stabilizers and/or emulsifiers. Furthermore, the cream cheese that is formed is firmer than typical cream cheese and has significantly reduced syneresis.