Contents
Cheeses are by far the most favorite dairy products of most people. Especially popular is one of the varieties of processed cheese – sausage cheese. Many people remember this taste and aroma from their childhood. Only at that time there was only one type of processed sausage cheese, and today there are many of these varieties.
The production technology of this type of product is significantly different from the process of making classic cheeses. Whether useful properties remain in sausage cheese after technological processing, we have to figure it out.
History of invention and production technology
Processed cheese, which is the basis for sausage cheese, was invented by Swiss residents Walter Gerber and Fritz Stettler in 1911. And in 1916, the recipe and technology for the production of their processed cheese were patented by the founder of the Kraft Foods company, Walter Kraft (Switzerland).
In the 50s, sausage cheese itself began to be produced by the Soviet dairy industry, whose technologists came up with the idea of molding cheese sausages from the technological marriage of hard and rennet cheeses, adding butter and cream to them. After shaping, the sausages were subjected to melting, and to enhance the taste, they were smoked in smoking chambers. Thanks to the smoking process, the processed cheese became fragrant and denser in texture. At the same time, it was inexpensive, it was tasty and looked elegant. That is why sausage cheese has become so popular, and today its popularity has not decreased.
The production technology of natural sausage cheese includes several stages.
Preparation of raw materials
As raw materials for the production of sausage cheese, only products of dairy origin should be used: hard and / or rennet cheeses, butter, natural milk cream, secondary products of milk processing (whey, buttermilk). Salt, spices and food additives are also supposed to be added to the raw materials (but only those permitted for use in the food industry and not more than the permissible norms): melting salts, structure formers, acidity regulators, preservatives, thickeners, antioxidants, sweeteners, dyes, flavorings.
For the manufacture of this unusual cheese during its creation, “substandard” cheeses were used, that is, rejected during the technological process. This does not mean that they are spoiled or expired: these cheeses simply have non-critical defects, that is, they do not meet the requirements of standards and specifications for:
- appearance;
- consistency;
- structure;
- drawing;
- are deformed;
- have the wrong skin.
After selecting the raw material, it is crushed: the crushed raw material is easy to mix and bring to the desired taste. In order for the raw material to melt well, melting salts (potassium and sodium citrates and phosphates) are added to it.
Maturation of the mixture
In order for all the ingredients inside the resulting cheese mixture to be well distributed and mixed, it must “ripen”. Melting salts at this time do their job: under their influence, milk proteins swell, which facilitates their binding to each other during further melting. The ripening process is also necessary in order to prevent the separation of different structural components of the product.
melting process
Prepared and brought to the desired taste, the cheese mixture is sent to special boilers, in which it melts at a temperature of 70-90 ° C with constant stirring.
Sausage cheese packaging
To form sausages, with the help of a special syringe, a warm molten mixture is poured into a package (protein-cosine, cutisine, paraffin or polymer). To divide the cheese into loaves of a given size, clippers are used, which fix the clip on a long tape of the casing after filling it with a portion of processed cheese. After packaging, the cheese is suspended in crates and cooled to a temperature of 20-30°C.
cheese smoking
After cooling, the cheese sticks are smoked in smoking chambers for 3 hours at a temperature of 45-60°C. For smoke, waste from wood of non-resinous tree species (ash, birch, oak, alder) is used. Smoking gives the product not only a specific taste and aroma, but also exhibits bactericidal and antioxidant effects, as a result of which sausage smoked cheeses are stored longer than their “predecessors” (hard and soft cheeses).
Many manufacturers, in order to reduce the cost of the product, replace the laborious and expensive process of smoking in smoking chambers by soaking cheese sticks in chemical “liquid smoke”. Processing with this food additive provides the product with a smoky aroma and taste, and also has a certain antimicrobial effect. However, this substance in itself is an additional chemical ingredient that increases the load on the digestive organs. Unfortunately, such “smoking” is not prohibited by the state standard: in this case, the manufacturer is obliged to indicate on the label that this is sausage processed cheese with smoke flavoring.
Composition of the product
In fact, the benefits and harms of sausage cheese as a food product are determined by what manufacturers make it from. Currently, unscrupulous manufacturers, in order to reduce the cost of sausage cheese production, often put in them not natural dairy ingredients (cheeses, cream, butter), but their substitutes (cheese products, vegetable cream, vegetable-milk fat mixtures). Such a product is not entitled to be called sausage smoked cheese and does not apply to useful ones either.
Due to the fact that natural smoked sausage cheese has a very dense texture, and it is made from dairy products, it contains a large amount of those chemical ingredients that are part of cow’s milk:
- protein (21-23%);
- fats (19-30%);
- macronutrients;
- microelements;
- organic acids (lactic);
- enzymes;
- vitamins of groups B, D, A, E.
At the same time, the content of these substances in 100 g of the finished product is many times higher than that in milk. The calorie content of a sour-milk smoked product depends on its composition and ranges from 275 to 380 kcal per 100 g, so it is not suitable for dieters.
Useful Properties
Proteins, vitamins and minerals in sausage cheese are in a bioavailable form, so they are well absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract. Due to the content of a large amount of mineral salts, this product, with its regular use:
- improves the condition of bone tissue;
- normalizes the work of the heart and blood vessels;
- restores normal intestinal microflora;
- improves the condition of the skin, hair and nails;
- promotes mental activity;
- increases visual acuity;
- normalizes metabolism;
- restores hematopoietic function;
- slows down the aging process in the body.
Enzymes and organic acids contained in sausage cheese improve digestion and facilitate the work of the digestive glands (pancreas, liver), and also contribute to the natural cleansing of the body from toxins and toxins accumulated in the intestines.
These beneficial properties of sausage cheese can manifest themselves only if a high-quality natural product is used and in a very limited amount (no more than 50-70 g per day).
Possible harm
Despite the many beneficial properties that sausage cheese can have on the human body, do not forget that this is a fatty product. It is high in saturated fats, which are sources of cholesterol. Frequent consumption of this fermented milk product in food can lead to an increase in the level of cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood, dyslipidemia, which subsequently threatens with lipid metabolism disorders and an increased risk of atherosclerosis.
In the process of making this type of cheese, salt is added to it in large quantities. Salt, or sodium chloride, is not only a flavoring agent, but also a preservative that is needed in the product to increase its shelf life. But salt not only adds flavor to cheese, it is also a source of sodium and chloride ions. In moderation, they are required by the body, since they are actively involved in many metabolic processes. An excess of sodium and chlorine contributes to fluid retention in the tissues, which manifests itself in the form of edema and a decrease in diuresis.
In the process of smoking, specific substances accumulate on the surface and inside the cheese loaf – benzapyrene and other carcinogens. These are common volatile combustion products of biofuels, which are always formed when frying on an open fire or smoking. Often entering the human body, benzapyrene is able to cause gene mutations in those cells where it enters. As a result, this leads to disruption of the process of cell reproduction and the development of neoplasms.
Carcinogens with food enter the digestive tract, adversely affecting the cells of their mucous membrane. Being absorbed into the blood, benzapyrene promotes the progression of sclerotic changes in the walls of blood vessels.
Food additives (melters, flavors, dyes, acidity regulators, etc.), which are present in abundance in sausage cheeses, are strong allergens. They can cause allergic reactions not only in “experienced” allergy sufferers, but also in people who are not prone to them.
Given such a number of harmful properties of sausage cheese, it is not recommended for use by people suffering from:
- cardiovascular diseases (atherosclerosis, hypertension, coronary heart disease, cerebral ischemia);
- diseases of the digestive system (gastritis, pancreatitis, hepatitis, intestinal diseases);
- allergies of various origins;
- obesity;
- pathologies of the kidneys (with impaired excretory function);
- endocrine diseases (diabetes mellitus, hypothyroidism, hyperaldosteronism).
The use of this type of cheese is contraindicated for children, pregnant women, breastfeeding, the elderly. During these periods of life, the metabolism has its own characteristics, which can affect the functioning of the digestive and other body systems. In addition, preservatives and other food additives are harmful to a growing and aging body.
Cooking application
In cooking, this type of cheese is usually used as an independent snack or as one of the components of a cheese plate. With it you can cook a sandwich, a snack. It is added to soups, main courses, salads and even pastries, cooked in batter. A delicious dish is obtained by melting grilled sausage cheese and serving with baked vegetables or meat.
Taking into account all the pros and cons, sausage cheese cannot be considered a product for proper nutrition, so it should rarely appear on the table – only on holidays. Treat it as a delicacy, not as everyday food.
Selection and storage
When purchasing sausage cheese, each buyer would like to buy a high-quality and natural product. How to choose it correctly? First of all, you need to carefully study the label. It must contain detailed information about the product:
- name (in the name of phrases such as “cheese product” or “milk product” should not be);
- composition of the product (the composition should not contain products of plant origin);
- information about the manufacturer and importer (name, address, contact phone number);
- fat content of cheese, content of proteins, fats and carbohydrates, energy value;
- the weight;
- date of manufacture, period and storage conditions;
- reference to the regulatory document in accordance with which the product is manufactured;
- marks of quality and conformity.
After examining the label, you should pay attention to the type and condition of the package: it must be clean, whole, dry and without plaque. The quality of the packaging material often speaks volumes about the quality of the product. It is better to give preference to paraffin packaging: the shelf life of such sausage cheese does not exceed 2 months, but a high-quality product is often packed in it.
If the buyer prefers natural smoking of the product, then the label should not contain the phrase “with smoke flavor”, and the composition should not contain such a component.
The product in the store should only be stored in a refrigerator at a temperature not exceeding +4°C. If possible, you need to inspect a slice of cheese. There should be no cracks, voids, crumbs on the cut. When cutting, the product should not crumble and stick to the knife, and when slightly bent, the slice should not break.
Sausage cheese is not as useful as hard or soft cheeses, but its presence on the festive table diversifies the menu. By replacing the usual semi-hard or hard cheese with sausage, you can add spicy notes to the taste of the dish. When choosing it in a store, you should be careful, carefully read the information on the label and give preference to natural products.