Methods for treating a divided cheese product and compositions thereof

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.

The present disclosure relates to compositions used for treating divided cheese, for example to prevent sticking, clumping, or caking and compositions thereof, and related methods.

For convenience, hard and semi-hard cheeses are often sold in diced, shredded or chunked form. These divided cheeses have a propensity to clump together during storage, especially high moisture or high fat cheeses, making them difficult to handle. Anticaking agents are often added to divided cheese, to prevent sticking.

There are many anticaking compositions commercially available, including ingredients such as celluloses, starches, flours, clays, such as bentonite, metal carbonates, such as calcium carbonate, and silicon dioxide. The pre-existing anticaking additives have several drawbacks, particularly for the divided food product industry. These agents are often expensive and may deteriorate the performance of the cheese in finished products. Additionally, these compositions generate considerable dust during packaging, and are a health hazard to workers.

Thus, there remains a need for improved methods for treating divided cheese to prevent sticking, clumping, or caking.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, disclosed herein are anticaking products for use on divided cheese usable at higher percentage (w/w or wt. %) compared to conventional anticake treatments with no or minimal impact on flavor and textural properties, such as mouthfeel, oiling, shredding, and stringing, while inhibiting excess browning.

The present disclosure provides an anticaking agent for cheese, comprising 20-70 wt. % one or more dairy ingredients; and 30-80 wt. % one or more non-dairy ingredients; wherein the anticaking agent can be applied to divided cheese to prevent caking.

In certain embodiments, the one or more dairy ingredient is chosen from dairy product solids (milk permeate powder, whey permeate powder, deproteinized whey, or combinations thereof), cheese whey powder, sweet dairy whey powder, non-hygroscopic dried whey, whey powder, whey protein concentrate, whey protein isolate, milk protein concentrate, milk protein isolate, whey cream, whey protein-lipid concentrate, rennet casein, calcium caseinate, sodium caseinate, milk minerals, milk calcium, milk calcium phosphate, lactose, skim milk powder, non-fat dry milk, acid casein, and combinations thereof. For example, the one or more dairy ingredient may be chosen from milk permeate powder, whey permeate powder, dried whey, and combinations thereof. In certain embodiments, the anticaking agent comprises 46-70 wt. % milk permeate powder. In certain embodiments, the anticaking agent comprises 60-70 wt. % whey permeate powder. In certain embodiments, the anticaking agent comprises 60-65 wt. % dried whey.

In certain embodiments, the anticaking agent is chosen from Examples 1 to 9 from Table 1 or Examples 10 to 18 from Table 2. In certain embodiments, the anticaking agent is chosen from Examples 19-23 from Table 4, from Examples 24-30 from Table 6, 3 from Examples 31-34 from Table 8, from Examples 35-40 from Table 10, from Examples 45 and 46 from Table 13, or from Examples 47-51 from Table 17.

The present disclosure further provides an anticaking agent for cheese, comprising 40-70 wt. % one or more dairy ingredients chosen from milk permeate powder, whey permeate powder, dried whey, and combinations thereof; and 30-60 wt. % one or more non-dairy ingredients chosen from cellulose, sugarcane fiber, calcium sulfate, calcium phosphate, dicalcium phosphate, silicon dioxide, starch, dextrose monohydrate, glucose oxidase, natamycin, potassium sorbate, mineral oil, high oleic sunflower oil, and combinations thereof; wherein the anticaking agent can be applied to divided cheese to prevent caking.

The present disclosure provides an anticaking agent for cheese, comprising 20-70 wt. % one or more dairy ingredients; and 30-80 wt. % one or more non-dairy ingredients; wherein the anticaking agent when applied to a divided cheese 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.

The present disclosure provides an anticaking agent for cheese, comprising 20-70 wt. % one or more dairy ingredients chosen from milk permeate powder, whey permeate powder, deproteinized whey, and combinations thereof; and 30-80 wt. % one or more non-dairy ingredients chosen from sugarcane fiber, calcium sulfate, calcium phosphate, silicon dioxide, starch, dextrose monohydrate, glucose oxidase, natamycin, mineral oil, high oleic sunflower oil, and combinations thereof; wherein the anticaking agent when applied to a divided cheese 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.

The present disclosure also provides a food product comprising: divided cheese comprising a plurality of individual cheese particles; and an anticaking agent disclosed herein dispersed on the individual cheese particles in an amount sufficient to inhibit caking of the individual cheese particles. In certain embodiments, the anticaking agent is applied at up to 6 wt. % of the product.

Also provided is a method of treating divided cheese for anticaking, comprising: dispersing an anticaking agent described herein over a divided cheese.

Also provided is a method of treating divided cheese for anticaking, comprising: providing divided cheese; dispersing an anticaking agent described herein over the divided cheese; wherein the anticaking agent provides a means for controlling the cheese browning during cooking. In certain embodiments, the anticaking agent is applied at up to 6 wt. % of the food product.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

To aid understanding of the disclosure, several terms and abbreviations as used herein are defined below as follows:

The term “and/or” when used in a list of two or more items, means that any one of the listed items can be employed by itself or in combination with any one or more of the listed items. For example, the expression “A and/or B” is intended to mean either or both of A and B, i.e. A alone, B alone or A and B in combination. The expression “A, B and/or C” is intended to mean A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B in combination, A and C in combination, B and C in combination or A, B, and C in combination.

Anticaking agent in the food industry, especially in the dairy and cheese industry, is defined as any safe and suitable food ingredient which, when added, should prevent lumping of shredded, diced or chunked dairy product, such as cheese, during storage at room temperature or refrigerator or freezer. Such a dairy product with anticaking agent in it should be easy to handle at the time of applying on the final food product. Some cheeses, after they are chunked and if the anticaking agent is not used, will cake and are very difficult to handle. This is a serious problem especially with high moisture and high fat cheeses. Several anticaking agents are commercially available, such as cellulose, microcrystalline cellulose, and starch.

The dairy-based anticaking agents herein have several advantages over prior anticaking agents. When an anticaking agent described herein is applied to a divided cheese, it has low visibility on the divided cheese, becoming practically invisible within a few moments, even after application at 4 wt. % or greater loading. These anticaking agents also prevented caking of the divided cheese, even after storage for up to about two weeks.

The dairy-based anticaking agents herein also had exceptional browning qualities. Whey and whey powder typically contain 61-75 wt. % lactose. Lactose is a disaccharide consisting of galactose and glucose. Lactose is a reducing sugar and in the presence of amino acids and heat undergoes Maillard browning. Even reduced lactose whey products comprising 50 wt. % lactose are expected to significantly accelerate the browning process. Surprisingly, the anticaking agents herein browned similarly to divided cheese without the anticaking agent when baked in an impinger oven at between 425° F. and 450° F. for 5 minutes, despite containing a relatively high amount of lactose because of the dairy ingredient. Thus, the anticaking agents described herein are suitable for institutional and pizza cheese type applications subjected to high heat conditions, such as those tested under the impinger oven conditions employed herein.

The term “cheese” as used herein refers broadly to all types of cheeses including, for example, cheeses as defined under the CODEX general Standard for Cheese and as defined under various state and national regulatory bodies. Exemplary classes of cheeses include, but are not limited to, firm/semi-hard cheeses, soft cheeses, analog cheeses, blended cheeses, and pasta filata cheeses, among other types of cheeses.

The present disclosure provides an anticaking agent for cheese, comprising 20-85 wt. % one or more dairy ingredients; and 15-80 wt. % one or more non-dairy ingredients; wherein the anticaking agent can be applied to divided cheese to prevent caking. In certain embodiments, the anticaking agent for cheese comprises 40-70 wt. % one or more dairy ingredients; and 30-60 wt. % one or more non-dairy ingredients; wherein the anticaking agent can be applied to divided cheese to prevent caking.

The term “dairy ingredient” as used herein refers to products or byproducts obtained from processing milk. In certain embodiments, the dairy ingredients consist essentially of one or more constituents of milk, namely, milk proteins, milk fat, lactose and/or milk minerals. In various embodiments, the dairy ingredient is chosen from milk permeate powder, whey permeate powder, cheese whey powder, sweet dairy whey powder, non-hygroscopic dried whey, acid whey powder, whey protein concentrate, whey protein isolate, milk protein concentrate, milk protein isolate, whey cream, whey protein-lipid concentrate, rennet casein, calcium caseinate, sodium caseinate, milk minerals, milk calcium, milk calcium phosphate, lactose, skim milk powder, non-fat dry milk, acid casein, and combinations thereof. For example, the one or more dairy ingredient may be chosen from milk permeate powder, whey permeate powder, dried whey, and combinations thereof. In certain embodiments, the dairy ingredient is dairy product solids. In certain embodiments, the dairy ingredient is dairy product solids (DPS), which consists essentially of milk permeate powder, whey permeate powder, deproteinized whey, and combinations thereof.

The term “non-dairy ingredient” as used herein refers to ingredients essentially free from milk components. In various embodiments, the non-dairy ingredient is chosen from cellulose, modified cellulose, calcium sulfate, calcium phosphate, dicalcium phosphate, silicon dioxide, native starch, modified starch, bentonite, and combinations thereof. In certain embodiments, in the one or more non-dairy ingredient is chosen from cellulose, sugarcane fiber, calcium sulfate, calcium phosphate, dicalcium phosphate, silicon dioxide, starch, dextrose monohydrate, glucose oxidase, natamycin, potassium sorbate, mineral oil, high oleic sunflower oil, and combinations thereof.

As used herein the term “starch” refers to any material comprising the complex polysaccharide carbohydrates of plants, comprising amylose and amylopectin with the formula (C6H10O5)x, wherein x can be any number. In various embodiments, the starches used herein are native starches and/or are starches that have been modified by cross-linking, derivatization, substitution, or other processes that involve chemical treatment to impart desired functional properties. In certain embodiments, the modified starches are cross-linked starches, which may comprise a native starch that has been cross-linked via any suitable cross-linking technique known in the art or otherwise found to be suitable in conjunction with the disclosed compositions. In a specific embodiment, the modified starch is distarch phosphate with and without substitution using any type of native starch or acid or enzyme modified starches with or without cross-linking and/or substitution.

A “resistant starch” is the sum of starch and products of starch degradation not absorbed in the small intestine of a healthy human being. Resistant starch occurs naturally in foods but may also be added to foods as isolated or manufactured types of resistant starch.

Resistant starch has been categorized into four types:RS1—Physically inaccessible or undigestible resistant starch, such as that found in seeds or legumes and unprocessed whole grains;RS2—Resistant starch is inaccessible to enzymes due to starch conformation, as in high amylose corn starch;RS3—Resistant starch that is formed when starch-containing foods are cooked and cooled, such as pasta. Occurs due to retrogradation, which refers to the collective processes of dissolved starch becoming less soluble after being heated and dissolved in water and then cooled; andRS4—Starches that have been chemically modified to resist digestion.

Some resistant starches (RS1, RS2 and RS3) are fermented by the large intestinal microbiota, conferring benefits to human health by producing short-chain fatty acids, increasing bacterial mass, and producing butyrate-producing bacteria. Starches with high amylose content generally have increased resistant starch.

Suitable examples of native starch include, but are not limited to, cereal starch, potato starch and legume starch, such as Irish potato starch, sweet potato starch, tapioca starch, cornstarch, rice starch, wheat starch, sorghum starch and the like; typical examples of starch derivatives are dextrin, cross-linked starch and the like. Regardless of the starch-containing material from which the starch and its derivatives are derived, and the form of the starch (e.g. a straight-chain starch or a branched starch), D-glucose bonded with α-1,4-glucoside or α-1,6-glucoside linkage constitutes the fundamental structure, and thus starch and its derivatives either those described above or those not mentioned here may be applicable.

In various embodiments, the starch is chosen from corn starch, potato starch, wheat starch, rice starch, sago starch, tapioca starch, and sorghum starch. In certain embodiments, the starch is corn starch. In certain embodiments, the starch is potato starch.

“Sugarcane fiber” or “bagasse” is the fibrous matter that remains after sugarcane or is crushed to extract its juice. Typical washed and dried sugarcane fiber comprises 45-55% cellulose, 20-25% hemicellulose, 18-24% lignin, 1-4% ash, and less than 1% waxes. Sugarcane fiber begins as a heterogeneous material containing about 30-40% “pith” fiber, which is derived from the core of the plant and is mainly parenchyma material, and “bast,” “rind,” or “stem” fiber, which comprises the balance and is largely derived from sclerenchyma material. Sugarcane fiber is a soluble fiber.

In certain embodiments, the anticaking agent is essentially free of clays, such as bentonite. In certain embodiments, the anticaking agent is essentially free of metal carbonates, such as calcium carbonate. In certain embodiments, the anticaking agent is essentially free of silicon dioxide. In certain embodiments, the anticaking agent is essentially free of cellulose. In certain embodiments, the anticaking agent is essentially free of cellulose and metal carbonates.

Food Product

The present disclosure also provides a food product comprising: divided cheese comprising a plurality of individual cheese particles; and an anticaking agent disclosed herein dispersed on the individual cheese particles in an amount sufficient to inhibit caking of the individual cheese particles. In certain embodiments, the anticaking agent is applied at up to 6 wt. % of the product.

In various embodiments, the anticaking agent is applied to divided cheese at between 0.1 wt. % and 10 wt. %. In various embodiments, the anticaking agent is applied to divided cheese at about 1 wt. %. In various embodiments, the anticaking agent is applied to divided cheese at about 2 wt. %. In various embodiments, the anticaking agent is applied to divided cheese at about 3 wt. %. In various embodiments, the anticaking agent is applied to divided cheese at about 4 wt. %. In various embodiments, the anticaking agent is applied to divided cheese at about 5 wt. %. In various embodiments, the anticaking agent is applied to divided cheese at about 6 wt. %. In various embodiments, the anticaking agent is applied to divided cheese at about 7 wt. %.

Methods

In various embodiments, there is provided is a method of treating divided cheese for anticaking, comprising: providing divided cheese; dispersing an anticaking agent described herein over the divided cheese; wherein the anticaking agent provides a means for controlling the cheese browning during cooking. In certain embodiments, the anticaking agent is applied at up to 6 wt. % of the food product.

After reading this description, it will become apparent to one skilled in the art how to implement the disclosure in various alternative embodiments and alternative applications. However, although various embodiments of the present disclosure will be described herein, it is understood that these embodiments are presented by way of example only, and not limitation. As such, this detailed description of various alternative embodiments should not be construed to limit the scope or breadth of the present disclosure as set forth in the appended claims.

EXAMPLES

Tables 1 and 2 illustrate formulations for anticaking compositions that have been prepared and tested.

The properties of the anticaking compositions were studied via a series of iterative pizza cheese bake tests. Each bake test contained a control sample—cellulose added to shredded cheese at 1.5 wt. %, and experimental samples—anticaking blends at 4.0 wt. %. Results from each test were used to modify ingredient blends for subsequent tests. Visual examination of anticaking effectiveness was determined 1-2 days following addition to the shredded cheese. Anticaking blends that resulted in pizza cheese shreds sticking or lumping may be excluded from the bake tests. The treated cheeses were evaluated in tests using the following guidelines shown in Table 3.

Cheese were prepared with the anticaking compositions as follows:1. Shred cheese using the Kitchen Aid™ stand mixer (speed setting 2) with the attached coarse shredder. Target average shred size: length—45 mm, width—3-4 mm.2. Weigh desired quantity of cheese.3. Place cheese into a 60-ounce plastic container and add anticaking agent, either 1.5 wt. % cellulose powder or 4 wt. % experimental anticaking blend (pre-mixed).4. Put a lid on the container and shake the container by hand until anticaking agent is incorporated into the shredded cheese (approximately 15 seconds).5. Hold the shredded cheese with anticaking ingredients in the 60-ounce containers at 40° F. for 20-60 hours.6. For pizza cheese bake evaluation, follow the Pizza Preparation and Evaluation procedure.

Pizza was prepared and evaluated using the following methods:1. Preheat Impinger Oven to 450° F. Set the bake time for 4 minutes and 30 seconds.2. Remove up to 4 sets of shredded cheese with anticaking ingredient from cooler and up to 4 pizza crusts from a freezer. Place on counter at room temperature.3. Place 130 g pizza sauce on a 12″ pizza crust and spread uniformly to within about 1″ of the edge. Uniformly distribute 200 grams of cheese with anticaking agent onto the pizza.4. Place the pizza on a round pizza screen. Then, place the screen on the conveyor belt and bake the pizza. Do not push pizza into oven; allow the belt to pull the pizza into the Impinger Oven.5. While cooling, evaluate pizza for browning, oiling off and shred using the Pizza Cheese Evaluation Guidelines (Table 3).6. After 2 minutes, test string by inserting a fork under the cheese and pulling in an upward motion and noting the height with a ruler at which the cheese breaks.7. Evaluate flavor, mouth feel and appearance at 10 minutes.8. Evaluate pizza cheese appearance after 30 minutes and 60 minutes. Record any observations.

TABLE 3Pizza Cheese Evaluation Guidelines1Browning10No or very few small brown spots8Small brown spots about the size of a dime (1.8 cm diameter)450% brown spots on the surface-some large, some small195-100% covered with large (quarter-sized, 2.4 cm diameter)brown spots on the surface2Oiling10Slight oil sheen visible8Very few pools present, smaller than a dime (1.8 cm)4Slight pools present, larger than a dime (1.8 cm)1Many large pools present4Shred10Confluent-melting all together8Outline of shred still evident-10%5Outline of shreds still evident-30%1Little to no sign of melting5String-a 2 minutes until breakageNoted as the actual length of string when lifted with fork.6Flavor10Good flavor-no off tastes5Some off notes on flavor1Unacceptable flavor7Mouthfeel10Smooth tender body8Mostly soft or slightly chewy, but smooth4Moderately tough or chewy, mealy, grainy plastic mouthfeel1Extremely tough, excessive graininess,sandiness and/or chewiness8Appearance at 10 minutes10White or slight off-white8Slightly translucent4Moderately translucent1Very translucent

This study compared the performance of Ex. 19 (dairy product solids/sugarcane) with that of formulations wherein dairy product solids (DPS) was replaced with sweet whey (Ex. 20-23, whey/sugarcane). In Ex. 20, sweet whey was substituted for DPS in the 70:30 DPS/sugarcane formulation (1% mineral oil and 0.12% Sipernat™ 50 S). In Ex. 21, the 70:30 whey/sugarcane formulation had an increased silicon dioxide concentration (1% mineral oil and 0.18% Sipernat™ 50 S). In Example 22, the whey concentration was reduced to a 60:40 whey/sugarcane ratio (1% mineral oil and 0.18% Sipernat™ 20 S). In Example 23, the whey/sugarcane ratio was partly increased to 65:35 plus more mineral oil and silicon dioxide (1.5% mineral oil and 0.21% Sipernat™ 50 S).

FIG. 1depicts a flow function graph of unconfirmed failure strength (kPa) to major principal consolidating stress (kPa) for examples 19-23 in experimental Example 2. The reference lines radiating from the origin are, from top to bottom, very cohesive, cohesive, easy flowing, and free flowing. The whey-based formulations had insignificantly more moisture. Dusting was slightly improved, whereas flow was correspondingly retarded with whey substitution. Improvement in the flow was small when silicon dioxide was increased from 0.12% to 0.18%, with 1% mineral oil.

The bulk density of the 70:30 whey/sugarcane fiber formulations was slightly lower than that of the DPS/sugarcane fiber anticaking compositions, and that of the 65:30 and 60:40 formulations was a little further decreased. Shred separation (anticaking) was decreased using whey instead of dairy product solids (average rating, 4.6 vs. 4.9 in mozzarella, and 4.3 vs. 4.8 in cheddar). Shred appearance was slightly improved: 3.9 against 3.8 in mozzarella, and 3.8 against 3.4 in cheddar. Browning of mozzarella upon pizza baking in an impinger oven at 425° F. for 5 min (exit temp 184-185° F.) was perceivably reduced for the whey/sugarcane fiber formulations (3.7 vs. 3.3), particularly in Ex. 21. Though the browning differences were less visible in pizza cooked at 415° F. for 5 min (exit temperature 174-179° F.), the relative intensities were little affected.

Example 3—Three-Component Formulations with Resistant Wheat Starch

The 3-component formulation (Ex. 24) comprising DPS/cellulose/potato starch was modified to replace DPS with whey, cellulose with sugarcane fiber (SCF:SF601), and potato starch with a modified or resistant starch. Modified potato (Emflo™ KV 20 from Emsland-Stärke GmbH) behaved well in browning. Emflo™ KV 20 and Emflo™ KVA 20 with resistant wheat starch were included here. The formulations containing 300 ppm natamycin and 0.40% mineral oil were tested for flow, dusting, anticaking in cheddar and mozzarella at a 4% load, and browning on pizza baked at 415° F. for 5 min in an impinger oven.

FIG. 2depicts a flow function graph of unconfirmed failure strength (kPa) to major principal consolidating stress (kPa) for examples 24-30 in Example 3. The reference lines radiating from the origin are, from top to bottom, very cohesive, cohesive, easy flowing, and free flowing. Moisture ranged between 7% and 10%. The tapped bulk density ranged between 0.60 and 0.72 g/mL. Flowability was largely “good.” While Ex. 24 had very good flow, Ex. 26 was the least flowable.

Dusting was nearly the inverse function of flow. Ex. 29 (DPS/sugarcane fiber/resistant wheat starch) was the least dusty, whereas Ex. 24 was the most. Ex. 30 had an appreciably higher major principal consolidating (MPC) stress maximum (13.7 kPa) than most other formulations, but it had a high critical rat-holing diameter (1795 mm), indicating that it clogged the hole and did not flow well. The anticaking effect as seen through clumping/shred separation (4.5 in mozzarella and 4.75 in cheddar) was highly acceptable for all formulations. The shred appeared speckled.

Browning on pizza (exit temperature 178-185° F. for the sample mean, and 168-191° F. to 177-199° F. for the sample range) was acceptable as compared to plain mozzarella or 2% cellulose. The crust appearance suggested a little under baking. Ex. 27 had the least browning followed by Ex. 26 and Ex. 28.

Example 4—Two-Component Anticake Compositions with Additional Sweet Whey and/or an Oxygen-Scavenging System

This example tested whether sweet whey with or without an oxygen-scavenging system (dextrose/glucose oxidase) in a two-component (DPS/sugarcane) formulation of Example 2 could overcome the appearance problem seen in the three-component system of Example 3. Ex. 19 containing 1% mineral oil and 0.12% silicon dioxide was reformulated with sweet whey replacing the DPS and/or introducing the dextrose/glucose oxidase system. The reformulated products were tested for powder properties and appearance, shred separation (anticaking effect), and browning on pizza.

The anticaking effect in cheddar cheese was lower when DPS was replaced with sweet whey, and when the enzyme system was use, the latter having a smaller effect. A similar but less prominent result was found in mozzarella. The shred appearance in cheddar with whitish specks on the surface was perceivably improved by using whey instead of DPS and by the enzyme system. The two constituents together additively improved appearance for cheddar.

Dusting was lower with whey and dextrose. Together the two gave better results than either did alone. Thus, Ex. 19 was the dustiest (3.25), whereas Ex. 34, which had both sweet whey and dextrose/GO, was the least dusty (4.37). While whey impeded flow, dextrose improved it, resulting in a combination with desirable flow and dusting. Like shred separation, browning upon pizza baking (at 415° F. for 5 min) increased when DPS was replaced with sweet whey and the dextrose/GO system.

Example 5—Visibility of Anticake Formulations on Cheddar Shreds After 6 Weeks at 40° F.

In this Example, an anticake was formulated with good resistance to browning and clumping but little or no visibility on cheese shreds.

Lots of 200 g were prepared by mixing dry ingredients for about 7 seconds, adding the mineral oil for about 12 seconds, and scraping the mixture for about 10 seconds. Because the dry blend was too dusty, the mineral oil was increased from 0.55% to 0.90%. No flow agent was needed for batching, so tricalcium phosphate (Ca3(PO4)2) was not used. Generally, the dry blends were moderately dusty. Compositions were coated onto 6-mm Supremo Italiano™ low-moisture part-skim (LMPS) mozzarella and 3-mm Schnucks™ medium cheddar in 200, 250 or 300 g lots.

The three-component formulation Ex. 37 (41.68% DPS, 38.35% Emflo™ KV-20, 16.04% CaSO4, and 3.03% potassium sorbate) had very good anticaking in both mozzarella and cheddar, excellent browning resistance, and little visibility on the shreds.

In this example, decreasing concentrations of calcium sulfate and mineral oil were studied, and replacing the sulfate with DPS in Ex. 42 on the anticake performance in respect of fines visibility, clumping, shred separation, and browning on pizza at 450° F. for 5 min. Calcium sulfate was reduced from 38% to 31%, with HOSFO being decreased from 5.0% to 1.75% (Ex. 43) or 1.0% (Ex. 44); or the sulfate was replaced with Dairy Product Solids (DPS) (21%) and HOSFO (1.75%) was substituted with mineral oil using 0.50% (Ex. 45) & 0.20% (Ex. 46) silicon dioxide.

FIG. 3depicts a flow function graph of unconfirmed failure strength (kPa) to major principal consolidating stress (kPa) for examples 41-46 in Example 6 and comparing to FlowLite 1000 for reference. The reference lines radiating from the origin are, from top to bottom, very cohesive, cohesive, easy flowing, and free flowing. Replacing modified potato with regular potato starch, and USG sulfate with ACG sulfate in Ex. 41 gave better flow but slightly increased dusting. Ex. 42 blended in the Cuisinart™ had slightly better flow than Ex. 42 blended in the KitchenAid™ with no visible impact on dusting. With decreased calcium sulfate (30.8%), 1.75% high oleic sunflower oil (HOSFO), and 0.5% silicon dioxide, Ex. 43 was slightly more cohesive than 1.0% HOSFO alone (Ex. 44), the latter being the most flowy but most dusty of samples tested. Using DPS instead of calcium sulfate together with 1.75% mineral oil and 0.50% silicon dioxide (Ex. 45) or 0.20% silicon dioxide (Ex. 46) resulted in a flow intermediate between Ex. 42 and the reduced-oil formulations (Exs. 43 and 44).

The anticake visibility rating for mozzarella and cheddar matched well. The formulation with reduced sulfate and mineral oil showed improved fines visibility, especially with the lower level of HOSFO (1.0%) with no flow agent Ex. 44) or 0.5% silicon dioxide (Ex. 43). Ex. 45, which had DPS instead of calcium sulfate and contained 1.75% mineral oil and 0.50% silicon dioxide, also showed good visibility. Fines visibility generally improved over the first few days, and up to about 2 weeks, after loading.

Pizza was prepared with 12″ thin crust, 113 g Ragu™ pizza sauce and 200 g cheese, baked in an impinger oven at a set temperature of 450° F. for 5 min (measured temperature of 435° F.). Examples 43-46 at 4% loading on mozzarella did not lose any significant browning resistance compared to Exs. 41 or 42 or 2% cellulose. However, while cheese melt at the surface was normal, the underlayer retained shred definitions, thus restricting the stretchability. DPS ameliorated melt resistance.

Calcium sulfate replaced with DPS (21%) in the presence of 1.75% mineral oil and 0.50% silicon dioxide Ex. 45 had good flow (slope 0.30 and a critical rat-holing diameter of 658 mm) with moderate dusting. For less dusting, Ex. 45 can be prepared with 0.25-0.35% silicon dioxide instead. Reduced calcium sulfate (31%), mineral oil (1.75%), and silicon dioxide in the Ex. 43 gave a little better flow (slope 0.26 and a critical rat-holing diameter of 632 mm) than Ex. 45 but had comparable dusting.

Example 7—Further Low Visibility Anticake Compositions

The anticaking agents of Table 17 were prepared and tested for anticaking, visibility and browning (Table 18).

FIG. 4depicts a flow function graph of unconfirmed failure strength (kPa) to major principal consolidating stress (kPa) for examples 47-49 in Example 7. The reference lines radiating from the origin are, from top to bottom, very cohesive, cohesive, easy flowing, and free flowing. The anticaking effect of shred separation was good to very good for Examples 47-49. Visibility ranged from fair (3.5, Ex. 47) to excellent (4.9, Ex. 48). Browning at cheese temperature of 186-193° F. was moderate, with Ex. 47 being slightly better than the others (4.25 for Ex. 48, and 4.0 for Ex. 49). Stretchability was good in all three anticaking compositions, but Ex. 48 exhibited a little less stretch than the other two. The good stretchability coincided with good melt evinced by near absence of un-melted shreds in the top and underlayers of the cheese.