The present invention relates to a food product which food product is frozen and thawed before consumption as well as to methods for preparing such a food product. The invention further describes production of an ice structuring protein (ISP) in high amounts.

Disclosed is a method for making cheese powder using freeze-dried cheese, the method eliminating the need for added emulsifying salts. Also disclosed are products made by the method.

To minimize the frequency of losses in the form of product tailpieces, which cannot be sliced because of gripper claws located therein, long or endless products are produced, whether outside or inside the cutting machine, by positioning product parts adjacently in lengthwise direction one behind another and joining mutually facing end faces of these product parts. The product parts may be joined outside the machine, resulting in long but finite products, or by positioning within the machine and on a feed belt a new product part in each case in succession at the rear end of the product currently being sliced and joining the new product part to the rear end of the rearmost product part of the previous product to form a virtually endless product.

Heating the natural cheese to cause at least one of modification of the structural chemistry of the proteins, completely or partially denaturing proteins, and inactivating proteolytic enzymes, lipolytic enzymes, and microbial organisms within the cheese allows for the cheese to be fried or grilled while maintaining its consistency and shape, baked as Juustoleipa; heated and mechanically processed as in cooking-stretching process used for mozzarella. The method produces cheese with various structural and melting properties using a single recipe and manufacturing facility.

Cheese sauce products including phospholipid emulsifiers exhibit delayed, reduced or eliminated formation of a surface film upon prolonged exposure to air. The cheese sauce products include a cheese composition that is non-solid at room temperature, a liquid, and a phospholipid emulsifier composition. The cheese sauce products are clean label due to the absence of disodium and/or trisodium phosphates therein. Methods of preventing the formation of a surface film on a cheese sauce product involve mixing a cheese sauce composition with a liquid to form a cheese sauce, and admixing a phospholipid emulsifier composition to the cheese sauce. The phospholipid emulsifier composition constitutes about 0.5 wt % to about 5 wt % of the cheese sauce product.

The present invention discloses a method to eliminate gram negative bacterial pathogens from food or produce. This method includes the steps of exposing produce or food to an electrically conductive medium having an anode and a cathode; inserting the anode of the electrically conductive medium into a water flume; connecting the cathode of the electrically conductive medium to a conveyor belt to convey the produce or food through the water flume for increasing the negative electrostatic charge on the surface of the pathogen cells selected to cause cell lysis; and attaching one or more misters to the roof of a water chamber to disperse the water in the water chamber. When DC current is applied to any pathogen cell that is gram negative, it overrides the internal governing electrostatic charge controlling the pathogen cell causing cell lysis. This is the Achilles heel of gram negative bacteria pathogen cells.

Cheese sauce products including phospholipid emulsifiers exhibit delayed, reduced or eliminated formation of a surface film upon prolonged exposure to air. The cheese sauce products include a cheese composition that is non-solid at room temperature, a liquid, and a phospholipid emulsifier composition. The cheese sauce products are clean label due to the absence of disodium and/or trisodium phosphates therein. Methods of preventing the formation of a surface film on a cheese sauce product involve mixing a cheese sauce composition with a liquid to form a cheese sauce, and admixing a phospholipid emulsifier composition to the cheese sauce. The phospholipid emulsifier composition constitutes about 0.5 wt % to about 5 wt % of the cheese sauce product.

A method to produce cheese chips, consisting in provides that cut cheese slices are frozen and then raised by means of rapid water evaporation due to the application of microwave and vacuum drying. The freezing step is preceded by drying and cooling, and the raised cheese chips containing cheese and flavourings are characterised in that their density does not exceed 0.46 g/cm.sup.3, the porosity does exceed 40%, and the crunchiness does exceed 4.

A cheese cave with adjustable shelves for storing cheeses and improving cheese quality by maintaining preferable temperature and humidity levels, air exchange levels, and air circulation levels, using a water soaked block and a plurality of selectively adjustable ventilation holes. The number and positions of shelves are adjusted to accommodate cheeses of different sizes and also creates different regions allowing the maintenance of multiple microclimates within the cheese cave.

A food production method that is operable to produce a smoked and freeze dried cheese product wherein the cheese product of the present invention is provided in a plurality of flavors. The method of the present invention initiates with smoking of a cheese block wherein the smoking occurs for at least an hour and is executed at a temperature range of thirty two to seventy five degrees. The smoked cheese block is subsequently cut into a multitude of small portions wherein the portions are placed in a freezer at a temperature of minus ten degrees Fahrenheit. While the cheese portions are in the freezer, a vacuum is placed on the interior of the freezer for at least twenty four hours. The cheese portions are tested for an active water content and ensuing achieving a desired measurement for active water content the cheese portions are packaged.