A process for the production of cheese is suggested, comprising or consisting of the following steps: (i) providing milk; (ii) coagulation of the milk while adding starter cultures and/or rennet material; (iii) separation of the coagulated milk of step (ii) into whey and curd; (iv) processing the whey obtained in step (iii) with fine curd particles contained therein into a stable suspension; and (v) further processing of the curd obtained in step (iii) into cheese, characterised in that (a) before the separation of whey and curd, the process contains a further step, wherein milk is subjected to filtration and/or bactofugation, obtaining a bacterial concentrate and a treated milk; (b) the bacterial concentrate obtained in step (a) is sterilised, and the sterilised bacterial concentrate is re-added to the treated milk; and (c) the suspension produced in step (iv) is either added to the bactofugate obtained in step (a), or is added to the sterilised bacterial concentrate obtained in step (b).

The invention relates to cheese and cheese-like products comprising about 0.2 to about 6% by weight ?.sub.s-casein, ?-casein, or a combination thereof, at least about 5% by weight of one or more hydrocolloids comprising one or more starches, and wherein the cheese or cheese-like product has one or more characteristics of a dairy product, such as flavour, taste, aroma, body, appearance, texture, firmness, handling, density, structure, coagulation, binding, leavening, aeration, foaming, emulsification, elasticity, viscoelasticity, melt, creaminess and mouthfeel.

Disclosed herein is an anticaking agent for cheese, comprising one or more dairy ingredients; and one or more non-dairy ingredients. When applied the anticaking agent is applied to a divided cheese, it has low visibility on the divided cheese, prevents caking of the divided cheese, and browns similarly to divided cheese without the anticaking agent when baked in an impinger oven at between 425 F. and 450 F. for 5 minutes. Also disclosed are food products containing an anticaking agent described herein, and methods for treating divided cheese for anticaking using an anticaking agent described herein.

A liquid edible dip that includes a first lactose-based composition, a second lactose-based composition, at least one spice, and a cucumber extract based bitter-blocking agent that can block the bitter tastes present in certain edible foods. The cucumber extract based bitter-blocking agent can modify, reduce, or block the bitter taste present in some edible foods. The first lactose-based composition may be a strained yogurt and the second lactose-based composition may be an evaporated milk powder.

The present invention relates to a heat stable milk protein product. Particularly, the invention relates to a heat stable milk protein product which can be used as a meat substitute that can be heated by microwaves, fried or grilled. The present invention relates also processes for producing such heat stable milk protein products.

A liquid edible dip that includes a first lactose based composition, a second lactose based composition, at least one spice, and a cucumber extract based bitter-blocking agent that can block the bitter tastes present in certain edible foods. The cucumber extract based bitter-blocking agent can modify, reduce, or block the bitter taste present in some edible foods. The first lactose based composition may be a strained yogurt and the second lactose based composition may be an evaporated milk powder.

Embodiments may include a method of making a cheese shape. The method may include providing a cheese-shaping system. The cheese-shaping system may include at least a first chilled roller belt. The method may also include supplying a cheese mass in molten form to the first chilled roller belt. A cheese sheet may then be formed on the first chilled roller belt. The method may further include cooling the cheese sheet through contact with the first chilled roller belt. In addition, the method may include forming and removing the cheese shape from the cooled cheese sheet. Furthermore, the method may include applying a liquid application to the cheese shape.

The present invention relates to a method of preparing sour dairy products wherein the amount of acid whey as a by-product is considerably reduced. In particular, the sour dairy products are concentrated fermented milk products including all kinds of strained yoghurt such as Greek yoghurt, labneh and skyr, as well as fresh cheeses such as cream cheeses and quark, and other products which are concentrated after fermentation.

The invention relates to cheese and cheese-like products comprising about 0.2 to about 6% by weight .sub.s-casein, -casein, or a combination thereof, at least about 5% by weight of one or more hydrocolloids comprising one or more starches, and wherein the cheese or cheese-like product has one or more characteristics of a dairy product, such as flavour, taste, aroma, body, appearance, texture, firmness, handling, density, structure, coagulation, binding, leavening, aeration, foaming, emulsification, elasticity, viscoelasticity, melt, creaminess and mouthfeel.

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.