Present invention relates to new processes for making Swiss cheeses or Continental cheeses type with an improvement of eyes formation and distribution. This present invention relates the culture design and use of particles with defined properties based on technical knowledges about eyes formation. More specifically the present invention relates to a process for making cheese, the process comprising: a. Obtaining a milk composition b. Optionally maturing said milk composition by physical, chemical or biological means c. Adding particles with a size of 1 μm to 50 μm to said milk composition d. Adding lactic acid bacteria and/or proprionic bacteria e. Adding coagulant, wherein steps c, d, and e may be done in random order, sequentially or simultaneously f. and further processing the composition to produce a cheese.

The invention pertains to whey-bound fresh cheese such as cream cheese, and the stabilization thereof using granular starch and an amylomaltase-treated starch and/or an emulsifier, and to methods of making such fresh cheeses. Whey-bound fresh cheeses with these additional ingredients display increased stability, which makes them suitable for application in heated food products. In addition, the invention is directed to food products comprising such whey-bound fresh cheeses, as well to methods of making these food products, and to use of a granular starch and amylomaltase-treated starch for the stabilization of a whey-bound fresh cheese.

Disclosed is a method for manufacturing a cheese-based food product, advantageously a cheese, cheese specialty, or cheese substitute, the method including: a) a step A) of providing at least one flavoring matrix, the consistency of which ranges from liquid to pasty, the flavoring matrix resulting from a step of cultivating at least one flavor producing microorganism in a culture medium, the step A) also providing a texture matrix, the consistency of which ranges from liquid to pasty, the texture matrix being suitable for providing the texture of the food product; then b) a step B) of mixing the at least one flavoring matrix with the at least one texture matrix; then c) a texturing step C), during which the mixture from mixing step B is subjected to physiochemical texturing conditions that are adjusted according to the final texture sought for the cheese-based food product.

The present invention relates to a method for making Cheddar type and Continental type cheese with an adjunct culture comprising a Lactobacillus helveticus strain.

The present invention relates to a method which allows to quick-freezing or freezing, and subsequently thawing, without inducing any damage or modification, milk derivatives particularly sensitive to such thermal treatments, due to their distinct ive chemical-physical characteristics. The present method is useful for preparing cream, ricotta, and mixtures thereof, as well as foods containing the same, which can be stored while keeping their characteristics intact. Finally, the present invention further relates to cream, ricotta, and mixtures thereof, as well as foods containing the same thus obtained, capable to retain the organoleptic and chemical-physical characteristics of the fresh product. Thus, the present invention concerns a method for preparing milk-derived products preferably based on cream, ricotta or mixtures thereof intended for quick-freezing or freezing in order to retaining the organoleptic and chemical-physical characteristics of the fresh product.

The invention relates to a process to produce a fresh cheese said process comprising the step of adding natamycin, characterized in that at least part of the natamycin is added to milk before curd formation. Adding natamycin before curd formation results in a cheese wherein the natamycin is distributed throughout the cheese, without substantial loss of natamycin.

The present invention relates a heteropolysaccharide characterized in that it is substantially composed of the monosaccharides glucose and galactose and rhamnose and N-acetylgalactosamine and a process for the production thereof. The invention further relates to a bacterium capable of producing said heteropolysaccharide and to the use of the heteropolysaccharide and the bacterium for improving the texture of fermented milk products.

The present invention relates to a stabilized starch obtained by reacting under alkaline conditions a base starch having a protein content of less than 0.4% w/w with a reactant capable of forming active chlorine, wherein the reactant is used in an amount sufficient to provide between 4000 and 8200 ppm of active chlorine during the stabilization reaction.

The present invention discloses a novel probiotic fermented beverage based on whey, comprising whey and a high probiotic microorganism concentration in the range of 10.sup.7-10.sup.8 CFU/mL, and a method for producing said beverage. The probiotic microorganism is a commercial yogurt culture of Streptococcus salivarus subsp. thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbruecki subsp. bulgaricus and a commercial culture of Lactobacillus acidophilus. The method for producing the probiotic fermented whey based beverage comprises recovering whey by an enzymatic coagulation process, percolation, enriching and pasteurizing whey, fermentation, sweeting and flavoring. The beverage comprises the following physico-chemical characteristics: pH 5.0±0.00; titratable acidity 68.0±1.4 mL NaOH 0.1N/100 mL; total solids 12.4±0.1% w/v; fat 0.8±0.1% w/v; protein 1±0.1% w/v; cinder 0.55±0.02% w/v; Total sugar 10.0±0.2% w/v; Reducing sugar 4.20±0.15% w/v; and Energic value 87.2±0.00 cal/100 g sample. The beverage comprises the following physico-chemical characteristics and probiotics count at 4° C. and 8° C.: 1-21 day shelf-life; pH 4.77-4.85; titratable acidity 72-73 mL NaOH 0.1N/100 mL; and probiotic count of about 31×10.sup.7-39×10.sup.7 CFU/mL.

The camel-milk products with plant-based protein additives include camel milk in the form of plant-based milk, plant-based milk powder and/or derivatives thereof and have enhanced gel strength. The plant-based protein additives may be derived from soybeans; oats; almonds; lupin chickpeas or navy beans. The camel-milk products include fermented and non-fermented camel-milk products, such as: set and stir yogurt; all cheese varieties; cultured camel milks; and custard-based products. The camel-milk products are prepared by mixing camel milk with plant-based protein additives to form a mixture and coagulating the mixture by acid or enzyme treatment.