I have growing fond of Havarti in the last month or so but, suddenly I am having a falling out with the particular brand I have been consuming and wonder if it is even a real havarti.
What does this have to do with cream cheese you ask? Please indulge me as this is a tale of two cheese adulterants albeit, naturally derived but all the same unnatural.
It all started when I decided to look on the label for the maker and visit whatever website I may find in the interest of gleaning any bit of data on its making. Well this eventually led to a couple of discoveries that are both disappointing and alarming to us wannabe Cheese Artisans.
Dofino led me to Arla. At Arla's website interesting documents surface targeted at manufacturers.
Highlights:
FMP or functional milk protein powder: "Cream Cheese is 20 minutes instead of 24 hours", "more yoghurt from less milk", "replace skimmed milk in ice cream", etc.
I quote:
20 minutes to quality
cream cheese
Not even an expert sensory panel can taste the difference between cream
cheese made the traditional way and one made utilising our simple but
revolutionary technique. By using a combination of water, fat and our functional
milk proteins we are able to cut cream cheese production from 24
hours to 20 minutes – without the need for any investment in expensive
equipment. No more fermentation tanks and filtration equipment – you
can achieve this saving using pasteurisation and homogenisation equipment
alone. The technique can also be used with other cheese products
like feta and processed cheese.
And behind door number two we have:
Nutrilac CH-4560:
Benefit number one: "The protein particles in Nutrilac® CH-4560 imitate the removed fat globules, and ensure that cheese containing Nutrilac® CH-4560 has the same creaminess and texture (mouthfeel) as a full fat alternative. Production is standardised, ensuring the exact same product every time."
Here's a good one: "CH-4560 makes it possible to increase the water content in cheese by up to 3%, without resulting in softer textures. This can increase yields by 5-18%, with a reduced raw material cost pr. kg cheese of 2-4%"
Good reading. And, goes to illustrate that even in places like Denmark, technology helps produce industrial/factory cheese far removed from their namesake. More importantly, trying to duplicate a tasty piece of supermarket cheese is pointless.
http://dofinousa.com/http://www.arlafoodsingredients.com/applications/application-overview/cheese/