Manufacture of Large Blocks of Pasta Filata Cheese
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Office europeen des brevets (fi) Publication number : 0 674 835 A1 @ EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION @ Application number : 95302042.7 @ Int. CI.6: A23C 19/06, A23C 19/068 (g) Date of filing : 27.03.95 (30) Priority: 28.03.94 US 218519 @ Inventor: Meilleur, Rheal Philipe 37 Maple Street Ontario, KOC 1MO Ingleside (CA) @ Date of publication of application : 04.10.95 Bulletin 95/40 @) Representative : Eyles, Christopher Thomas W.P. THOMPSON & CO. (84) Designated Contracting States : Celcon House AT BE CH DE DK ES FR GB GR IE IT LI LU MC 289-293 High Holborn NL PT SE London WC1V 7HU (GB) © Applicant : KRAFT FOODS, INC. 250 North Street White Plains New York 10625 (US) (54) Manufacture of large blocks of pasta filata cheese. (57) A method is disclosed for manufacturing a block of pasta filata cheese of desired size and configuration, e.g., a 680-pound (308.44 kg.) block, from finished pieces of pasta filata of typical size which may be about five pounds (about 2.27 kg.) each. The method includes milling the finished pieces into shreds, filling the shreds into a cheese box to form a cheese mass, and while in the cheese box, applying pressure to the cheese mass, vacuuming and draining the cheese mass, and curing the cheese mass to form the desired block which can be used for a variety of end uses such as retail, slices, or food service. < CO 00 <o o Q_ LU Jouve, 18, rue Saint-Denis, 75001 PARIS 1 EP 0 674 835 A1 2 Field of the Invention large blocks of soft pasta filata cheese have not been obtainable. The present invention is directed to the manufac- Improved methods and apparatus for the manu- ture of uniformly shaped large blocks of pasta filata facture of large American type cheese blocks involv- cheese and more particularly to the manufacture of 5 ing the placement of fresh (uncured) curd into a large uniformly shaped large blocks of soft pasta filata container are disclosed in U.S. Patents 3,969,995 to cheese from a plurality of smallerfully finished pieces Krueger, et al., 4,049,838 to Krueger, et al., and of soft pasta filata cheese. Large uniformly shaped 4,234,615 to Krueger. These patents focus on the blocks of pasta filata cheese have the benefit of sim- draining of whey and the pressing of curd in a large plified handling by modern equipment as well as f lex- 10 container, preferably using drainer blades of a partic- ibility for further uses, including the preparation of re- ular design. The inventions focused primarily on large tail, slices, or food service portions of pasta filata sized blocks of American type natural cheese, such cheese. Also within the scope of the invention are as cheddar or Colby varieties of cheese. Although the smaller blocks of any desired size and shape which patents mention possible applicability to mozzarella may be formed by the same process from fully finish- 15 cheese, in practice the disclosed invention has not ed pieces of soft pasta filata cheese. been attempted for the manufacture of mozzarella or other pasta filata cheese because of the require- Background of the Invention ments for working, stretching and molding while in a plastic condition that is necessary to obtain accept- The cheeses known as pasta filata (plastic curd) 20 able pasta filata cheese. The methods and apparatus are Italian-type cheeses characterized by the fact disclosed in the above-identified Krueger patents that, after the whey is drained off, the curd is im- have not been used for soft pasta filata cheeses such mersed in hot water or hot whey and is worked, as Italian mozzarella because the product is too hot stretched, and molded while it is in a plastic condition. for direct fill at a typical processing temperature of Pasta filata cheese can be divided into two distinct 25 about 63°C (145°F). The hot cheese would caramel- types, hard cheeses such as provolone and cacioca- ize (turn brown). On the other hand, cooling of soft vallo which are salted and cured, i.e., ripened, for 2 to pasta filata cheese results in characteristics which 12 months, and soft or moist cheeses such as moz- are not suitable for direct fill. zarella and scamorze which are eaten fresh with little Another approach to the manufacture of large or no ripening. 30 cheese blocks is described in U.S. Patent 5,175,014. The present invention is directed to the soft pasta This patent discloses collating and consolidating suc- filata cheeses, principally mozzarella, and, as used cessive layers of fresh uncured cheese blocks. The herein, it is to be understood that the term pasta filata method disclosed in the '014 patent would not work is intended to be limited to the soft uncured type. The for the manufacture of large blocks of soft pasta filata traditional process for the manufacture of pasta filata 35 cheese for the same reasons explained above with re- cheese and several improvements are described in spect to the requirements for processing such U.S. Patent 4,898,745. This patent recognizes that cheese. considerable handworking is required in the manufac- While the methods of the above described pa- ture of pasta filata cheese curd and that the process tents may represent improvements in the convention- is complicated and subject to control problems. Be- 40 al method for the manufacture of pasta filata cheese cause of these difficulties, pasta filata cheese gener- or for the manufacture of large blocks of cheese gen- ally is produced in small pieces, generally irregular in erally, it would be desirable to provide a method for shape, of no more than about five pounds (2.27 kg.) making pasta filata-type cheeses in the form of a in weight. large uniformly shaped block. For many years, the cheese industry has sought 45 Accordingly, it is an object of the present inven- to be able to produce the various cheese varieties in tion to provide an improved method for making a large large uniformly sized blocks which can readily be han- uniformly shaped block of pasta filata cheese. It is an- dled by large and modern cheese factory and food other object of the present invention to provide a packaging equipment and yet retain the characteris- method for remolding a plurality of finished pieces of tics, e.g., appearance, texture and taste, of tradition- so pasta filata cheese into one or more blocks of desired ally prepared cheese. Large blocks of cheese can shape and size. It is a further object of the invention readily be divided and packaged in a wide variety of to provide a method for manufacturing a block of pas- sizes and shapes, for example, as smaller blocks for ta filata cheese that is simple and economical and individual consumers, as slices of varying thickness, which maximizes the flexibility of the end uses of the width, and length, or in large blocks for food service 55 cheese block. applications. While large blocks of American type cheese have been successfully produced for a num- ber of years, until the present invention, satisfactory 2 3 EP 0 674 835 A1 4 Summary The temperature of the cheese mass is then quickly, over a period of a few days, cooled to a sub- Generally, the present invention is directed to a ambient temperature when it is held in a cooler until method for making a uniformly shaped block of pasta the cheese mass has reknitted into a solid block. The filata cheese from a plurality of finished pieces of the 5 resulting solid block of cheese is then removed from same. The term "finished" is used to denote a piece the container and delivered to a cutting station where of pasta filata cheese that is obtained from the pasta it is cut into preferred sizes for retail or food service filata cheesemaking process in completed orfinished usage. The invention permits the manufacture of a form, i.e., ready to be eaten or otherwise consumed. novel large block of pasta filata cheese having a The block product may be of large size and consider- 10 weight of at least several multiples of five pounds able weight, but the invention also permits the forma- (several multiples of 2.27 kg.). A variety of sizes and tion of blocks in a variety of sizes. In the method of shapes for the new block are possible. the invention, the finished pieces of pasta filata Preferably, for large scale operations involving a cheese are comminuted into shreds in a curd mill, and variety of further uses, the cheese box is of size to the comminuted cheese is placed in a container 15 permit formation of a 680-pound (308.44 kg.) block of where it is pressed, vacuumed, and drained. The cheese. The dimensions of the large block may be cheese is then held under cool conditions for a time about 22" by 28" by 28" (about 55.9 cm. by 71.1 cm. sufficient to cause the comminuted cheese to reknit by 71.1 cm.). About 136 small pieces or loaves of into a single block of cheese of desired size and con- cheese are required for the production of each 680- figuration. 20 pound (308.44 kg.) block, assuming that each small block weighs about five pounds (about 2.27 kg.) and Description of the Drawing further assuming that there are no significant losses of cheese, whey, or moisture. Additional small pieces The single FIGURE is a schematic flow diagram may be required if some of the pieces weigh less than depicting the practice of the present invention.