Chapter 29 - Ingredient Cheese and Cheese-Based Ingredients

Abstract

There are a total of 500 (IDF, 1981) to 800 varieties of cheese. Although most cheese is consumed as “table cheese,” which may be arbitrarily defined as cheese eaten on its own or as an accompaniment to bread or crackers during meals, significant quantities of cheese are also consumed as an ingredient in cheese-based dishes/snacks in the home, food service, and prepared consumer foods. Notable examples of natural cheeses used in these applications include Cheddar, Mozzarella, and Emmental, with typical dishes including toasted sandwiches, quiche, omelettes, pasta, pizza, and lasagne. As an ingredient, pertinent attributes or functionalities of the unheated cheese include crumbliness, sliceability, spreadability, shreddability or grateability, and those of a heated cheese include overall appearance, flavor, extent of flow, stringiness, fluidity, and oiling-off. The type and level of functionality required depends upon the application. Hence, Feta cheese which is crumbly is ideal for tossed salad; Parmesan, which grates very well into small particles, for sprinkling onto lasagne or pasta dishes; and heated Mozzarella, which exhibits moderate flow and the ability to form fibrous strings when extended, for pizza. Nevertheless, the functional attributes, and, hence, suitability of any specific cheese type as an ingredient can vary due to age and degree of maturity, slight differences in make procedure and composition (such as calcium content and pH).