Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Fermentation processes – Of isolated seed – bean or nut – or material derived therefrom
Reexamination Certificate
1998-11-18
2001-07-03
Wong, Leslie (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Fermentation processes
Of isolated seed, bean or nut, or material derived therefrom
C426S034000, C426S044000, C426S634000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06254900
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for the manufacture of cheese, quark, cottage cheese or curd and yogurt products from soybeans or from the beans of other legumes.
2. Background Information
Soy products are well-known and are widely used in many different forms. The 100% vegetable protein obtained from the soybean can be easily digested and is a valuable substitute for animal protein in various applications. Soy products also contain substantially no cholesterol and substantially no animal fats, excessive amounts of which substances can have a harmful effect on health. Soy products can also be particularly important for people who are allergic to the protein in animal milk or who cannot digest cholesterol or lactose, or who are diabetic. Soybean protein can also be significantly easier to digest than animal milk protein by people suffering from stomach and intestinal illnesses.
Finally, there has been a constant increase in the number of people who, for a variety of reasons, are required to or choose to eat vegetarian food exclusively.
Soybean protein can theoretically replace animal protein in substantially any food. The disadvantage of foods manufactured using soybean protein is primarily that they substantially always have the taste typical of soybeans, which can be subjectively more or less unpleasant, in particular if foods from such a source must be eaten frequently.
German Laid Open Patent Application No. 37 30 384 describes a known method for the use of soy milk to manufacture a product that is similar to a Camembert cheese. Using this known method, however, it is not possible to completely eliminate the typical aftertaste of soybeans.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is therefore to create a method for the manufacture of cheese, yogurt and quark, cottage cheese or curd products from soybeans or other legumes, by means of which process the typical slight taste of soybeans can be substantially eliminated.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention teaches that this object can be accomplished by a method of the type described above which is characterized by the following process steps:
(a) Preparation of soy milk from soybeans;
(b) Addition of vegetable sugar to the soy milk in a proportion from approximately 1 to approximately 5% by weight;
(c) Emulsification of vegetable fats and/or vegetable oils with a total content of approximately 15% by weight into the soy milk;
(d) Preparation of a culture cocktail suspension with a pH of between approximately 3.8 and approximately 4.5 by the addition of commercial cheese cultures and animal lactose in a proportion of approximately 10% by weight of the vegetable sugar added in Step (b) to soy milk as described in Step (a);
(e) Addition of the culture cocktail to the soy milk as described in Step (c), to acidify the soy milk and to ferment it if necessary, and
(f) A final ripening and processing in a known manner into the desired cheese, quark or yogurt product.
The method can also be used for the manufacture of cheese, quark and yogurt products from the beans of other legumes, although it is undoubtedly of the greatest importance for soybeans.
Using this method, it becomes possible for the first time to manufacture various types of cheeses, such as cream cheese, soft cheeses and hard cheeses on a substantially purely vegetable basis, which in terms of their taste, their scent, their appearance and their consistency differ little or not at all from the corresponding types of cheese manufactured substantially from cow's milk, and in some instances can even be superior to cheeses made from cow's milk.
An additional advantage of the method is that it can be suitable not only for the manufacture of different types of cheeses, but also for the manufacture of yogurt and quark, curd or cottage cheese products, if the subsequent ripening and final processing are performed in the customary manner for these products.
It is also particularly advantageous if the final product manufactured is not only substantially free of animal ingredients and therefore contains substantially no animal protein, substantially no animal fat, substantially no cholesterol and substantially no lactose (milk sugar), but also contains substantially no sodium chloride and substantially no refined sugar.
As a result of the addition of very small amounts of animal lactose (in particular sugar from cow's milk), which is fermented substantially in its entirety into lactic acid, the lactic acid bacteria in the lactose weaning phase are stimulated to ferment the plant sugars that are available in copious amounts. The way is thereby opened for the decomposition of the plant protein by the generic mold and yeast mold fungi symbiosis described below. As the process continues, the enzymes of the above named species, by lipolysis, produce the cheese taste typical of the corresponding type of cheese.
As a result of the addition of vegetable fats and vegetable oils, the fat content of the final product can be adjusted to meet the desired and requirements of the final consumer. The same is true for the selection of the quality, type or grade of fat.
Quark and cream cheese products can be manufactured in particular in that the soy milk is acidified with the culture cocktail to a pH of approximately 4.5 and then up to 30% by weight of water is separated and removed, and then, approximately 0.5% sea salt and herb and/or fruit preparations are added to enhance the taste. The method including the soybean protein from the soy milk is coagulated by the addition of a coagulant, and the water that is discharged is removed is particularly well suited for the manufacture of soft cheese. The method including the coagulant is magnesium chloride from sea salt, which is added at a temperature of the soy milk of approximately 85° C. in a proportion of approximately 2.5% by weight is preferably used for the manufacture of hard cheese.
Three particular preferred and advantageous methods are described below by way of example.
In all three examples, soy milk is first obtained from the soybeans in the usual manner. For this purpose, the soybeans are preferably soaked in cold water, with or without their shells, hulls or husks, for approximately 12 to 14 hours, whereby the quantity of water is approximately five times greater than the quantity of soybeans, and the water is removed after the soaking.
The beans are then ground into a puree with an amount of hot water that is approximately six times greater in a colloid mill. The fibrous material or okara, is then separated through a sieve or using a decanter or a centrifuge.
The soy milk discharged has a solid matter content from approximately 5 to 15% (normally about 12%) and is then subjected to a known heating process, such as a pasteurization or an ultra-pasteurization.
Before or after the heating, a significant portion of the undesirable scent and taste substances (purines) are extracted from the soy milk by vacuum degassing.
The soy milk prepared in this manner is the primary material for the further processing as claimed by the invention into cheese, quark or yogurt products, as indicated in the following examples.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3857970 (1974-12-01), Tsumura et al.
patent: 2406600 (1974-08-01), None
patent: 3730384 (1988-02-01), None
patent: 0500132 (1992-08-01), None
patent: 2629310 (1989-10-01), None
patent: 874537 (1961-08-01), None
patent: 1356363 (1974-06-01), None
patent: 1383149 (1975-02-01), None
patent: 1383148 (1975-02-01), None
patent: 1518952 (1978-07-01), None
patent: 60-12929 (1985-01-01), None
Minegishi, N., Patent Abstracts of Japan, abstracting JP 63-7743, Jan. 1988.*
Indian Journal Of Microbiology, vol. 15, No, 1, 1975, pp. 18-26, XP002040240 S. Kothari: “Studies on fermented milk products III. Activity of cheese and yoghurt cultures in soymilk and fortified soymilk.” see p. 18, col. 2, paragraph 3 -p. 19.
Nils H. Ljungman & Associates
Wong Leslie
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