Create a high-moisture, shelf-stable grated cheese.A high-moisture, shelf-stable grated cheese has several benefits. A cheese with the full flavor and aroma of fresh-grated Parmesan, or other hard grated cheese, can be available in shelf-stable form. Consumers have increasingly shown a preference for full-flavor cheese as shown by the rapid increase in the sale of refrigerated modified-atmosphere-packaged (MAP) shredded cheeses. A high-moisture, shelf-stable cheese can afford new opportunities for hard-grated cheese and should increase its sales. This is particularly true for its institutional use as an ingredient. With this in mind, University of Wisconsin scientists (Food Research Institute, 1925 Willow Dr., Madison, WI 53706) developed a commercially viable process for making a Parmesan cheese with a water activity of 0.86 that retains the desirable aroma components and functional properties that are removed during conventional processing and drying. Currently, Parmesan cheese is produced with a water activity of 0.90 and then dried to a final 0.75 to produce a shelf-stable cheese. While this produces a stable product, it also removes the desirable aroma components from fresh-grated Parmesan and adversely affects the functional properties of the cheese. At Wisconsin, Parmesan cheese aged five, nine and 12 months was dehydrated de·hy·drate v. de·hy·drat·ed, de·hy·drat·ing, de·hy·drates v.tr. 1. To remove water from; make anhydrous. 2. To preserve by removing water from (vegetables, for example). in an airtight anaerobic anaerobic /an·aer·o·bic/ (an?ah-ro´bik) 1. lacking molecular oxygen. 2. growing, living, or occurring in the absence of molecular oxygen; pertaining to an anaerobe. chamber. During a period of up to 12 weeks, 10.7% moisture by weight was removed, reducing water activity to 0.86. Not drying the cheese with hot air resulted in improved functional properties and made it possible to eliminate a processing step. The technique also greatly increases the yield by allowing the cheese manufacturer to sell a cheese with higher moisture content. Dried Parmesan was challenged with Staphylococcus aureus Staphylococcus au·re·us n. A bacterium that causes furunculosis, pyemia, osteomyelitis, suppuration of wounds, and food poisoning. Staphylococcus aureus Staphylococcus pyogenes under MAP conditions over an eight-week period to ensure shelf stability. Age did not have a significant effect on the growth of S. aureus The aureus (pl. aurei) was a gold coin of ancient Rome valued at 25 silver denarii. The aureus was regularly issued from the 1st century BC to the beginning of the 4th century AD, when it was replaced by the solidus. , but time did. Headspace head·space n. The volume left at the top of an almost filled jar, tin, or other container before sealing. Noun 1. headspace - the volume left at the top of a filled container (bottle or jar or tin) before sealing gas analyses indicated the packaging materials had sufficient oxygen barrier properties. There was less than 2% oxygen ingress An entrance. Contrast with "egress," which means exit. See ingress traffic. See also Ingres 2006. over eight weeks. Further information. Mark Johnson; phone: 608-262-0275; fax: 608-262-1578; URL URL in full Uniform Resource Locator Address of a resource on the Internet. The resource can be any type of file stored on a server, such as a Web page, a text file, a graphics file, or an application program. : http://www.cdr.wisc.edu. |
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