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Chr. Hansen launches eXact NG Flavor+

Chr. Hansen has launched eXact NG Flavor+, a culture that is said to gives a creamy and rich dairy flavour with increasing diacetyl production during shelf life – without gas production. Production of traditional mesophilic fresh dairy products like sour cream, quark, buttermilk, fromage frais and cream cheese is often a compromise between optimal flavour […]

Chr. Hansen has launched eXact NG Flavor+, a culture that is said to gives a creamy and rich dairy flavour with increasing diacetyl production during shelf life – without gas production.

Production of traditional mesophilic fresh dairy products like sour cream, quark, buttermilk, fromage frais and cream cheese is often a compromise between optimal flavour development and a risk of CO2 development during distribution, the company said. For traditional starter cultures containing e.g. Leuconostoc, flavour production is linked to gas development and the risk of blowing cups or bottles.

eXact NG Flavor+ – a phage robust adjunct culture that increases the fat perception of fresh dairy products and maintains good flavour through shelf life – is said to respond to the growing consumer demand for tasty dairy products with natural ingredients and improved flavour.

“In mesophilic fresh dairy application, flavour development and gas development during production and distribution are usually linked – eXact NG Flavor+ breaks that link,” said Lasse Vigel Joergensen, Global Marketing Manager, Chr. Hansen.

The new culture, which is a blend of Lactobacillus species, is claimed to show an ability to improve the flavour profile during storage of fresh dairy products. While most fresh dairy products lose their delicious, fresh and indulgent flavour during the first 2-3 weeks of storage, Chr. Hansen says that products fermented with eXact NG Flavor+ experience an improved flavour that is maintained for longer by the diacetyl production during chill storage, which gives increased shelf life with high quality.

“When we tested fermented milks produced with eXact NG Flavor+ in a sensory panel, the product came out with an improved fat perception in head-to-head comparison made without the new culture. Samples with 1.5 % fat were perceived to contain 2.5 % fat – a 67 % increase in fat perception,” said Joergensen.

The culture is designed to be added on top of the normal starter culture and has no effect on the acidification speed of the fermentation or the post acidification. As a result, the texture of the product is not influenced.

“On the contrary, we often see a glossy or more shiny look of the fresh dairy product when produced with eXact NG Flavor+,” said Joergensen. “We invite our customers to unfold the value of eXact NG Flavor+ through increased shelf life with high quality that enables them to reach new markets and growth their business.”