1. Manufacturing technology processed cheese (before the process of shaping and packaging) can be decomposed for clarity in 6 steps.
- Raw material – hard cheese – is freed from the film, stripped of paraffin
- Prepared cheese is crushed and grinded
- All ingredients are combined with melting salts in accordance with the recipe. These are potassium and sodium salts of phosphoric, citric and other acids. They are added to increase the pH of the mass, partially solubilize the proteins and improve the melting process of the cheese mixture.
- The cheese mass is ripening
- The cheese is melted in special melting kettles at high temperatures or under vacuum
- The mass is packaged hot and then cooled in a special room or cooling machines
2. It seems that there is nothing complicated in the technological process, but this, as usual, only at first glance. All the charm and all the variety of the product lies precisely in the recipe and in the raw materials. In production, a variety of hard rennet cheeses are used:. In addition, it includes:. There are also, which, in principle, negatively affects the final product. IN GOST 31690-2013 it says that “the fat phase of the processed cheese should contain only milk fat.” Pay attention to this!
3. Processed cheeses are produced in different fat content: (in dry matter). At the same time, cheeses can. The consistency can be dense (“lumpy” cheeses) and pasty. Some cheeses are easy to cut and grate, while others are easy to spread on bread, toast, cracker or pita bread.
4. Spreadable processed cheese most often sold in plastic packaging. Pay attention to the material from which it is made. To do this, turn the packaging over, if they are knocked out on the bottom, then this means packaging. It’s good. The letter combination gives out a material that, according to EU standards, is prohibited for use with food. In addition, there should always be aluminum foil under the lid of a plastic tub or cup. It should be intact, without cuts or tears.
5. When the package is open and the cheese is in front of you, know that the processed cheeses should be evenly colored. They cannot have a drawing. Moreover, the intensity of coloring can be different depending on the fat content. The fattier the cheese, the more intense its color. A small amount of voids in the body of the cheese is allowed, but bubbles are undesirable.