PLANT BASED DAIRY ALTERNATIVES 2022
fiildDairy-series products
enable the production of creamy
camembert alternatives with
a protein content of 10 to 13
percent (photo: Planteneers)
September/October 2022 ¦ international-dairy.com · 7
cheese processes, and therefore feasible for all kinds of
industries. However, up until now protein content was a
limitation. Proteins can interact with the starches, giving
the product a very high fill viscosity. We set out to overcome
this hurdle, step by step, with good results. For example,
with specific Planteneers systems it is now finally
possible to produce elastic alternatives to hard cheese
with five percent protein.
Traditional manufacture as a basis
However, we took a different route for the plant-based
alternative to camembert. We invested in a new cheese
line as used in traditional cheese production. Naturally,
ours is in smaller scale for pilot tests. We also did some
basic research, testing all kinds of raw materials for both
the proteins and the hydrocolloids. After many tests
we selected soy and pea protein. For each we created
a blend with a vegetable fibre and a hydrocolloid. From
this we made a plant-based alternative to starter milk,
to which we added a vegan starter culture in our trial
cheese plant. Just like in traditional cheese manufacture,
this was followed by steps like thickening, cutting
and pressing, and finally resulted in a comparatively high
protein content. Finally, we sprayed our camembert alternatives
with a mould culture and let them rest in a ripening
cabinet. The results were convincing. Both blends
gave a product with a soft, creamy texture. The mould
culture brings them very close to the aromatic flavour
of classic camembert. The plant-based product also behaves
very similarly in use. It can be eaten on bread, or
breaded and baked. The traditional production process
on conventional cheese-making machinery is an advantage,
as are the declaration-friendly ingredients.
/international-dairy.com
