Ingredion adds to processed cheese portfolio

24 Jul 2018

Ingredion has added three functional potato starches to its processed cheese ingredient portfolio. CheeseApp 50, 70 and 80 are said to enable recipe cost savings in analogue block and block processed cheeses.

Ingredion adds to processed cheese portfolio

This is the first time Ingredion has brought potato-based starches to the processed cheese market, bringing its total portfolio of solutions to 12. With the addition of the three CheeseApp starches, the company claims food producers can improve the meltability, firmness and gratability of analogue block and block processed cheeses for applications including pizza toppings, processed cheese slices and individually wrapped slices.

Available in the UK, Ireland, Turkey, Africa and the Middle East, the CheeseApp range is also said to be suitable for vegan and vegetarian cheeses, enabling manufacturers to tap into new and growing consumer trends.

Severine Bensa, Senior Marketing Manager at Ingredion EMEA said; “Cheese is generally made up of three significant components - fat, protein and moisture - which together deliver the texture and flavour consumers have come to enjoy. However, when developing processed and analogue cheese, manufacturers often look to replace expensive ingredients such as protein, while being careful not to affect the eating experience. This is particularly the case in emerging markets where affordability is key for consumers and producers alike.

“With the CheeseApp solutions, manufacturers can substitute protein and still produce a high-quality product with appealing texture at a lower cost. They also help to facilitate cost-effective gelling and melting properties at different protein levels and we have already developed a number of successful prototype recipes in our Idea Labs innovation centres.”

The three potato starches are described as giving strong gelling capacity or melting and can be listed as ‘modified starch’ on the label. Based on potato, they are said to deliver a neutral taste that makes them suitable for a broad range of applications.

According to Ingredion, CheeseApp 50 modified potato starch provides firmness and strong gelling, while CheeseApp 70 provides a soft texture and perfect melt for pizza shreds and cheese slices. CheeseApp 80 can be used alone to give processed and analogue block cheese a low firmness and good melting behaviour.

These potato-based starches are designed to be easy to use and incorporate into formulations, gelatinising even at low processing temperatures and shear with improved meltability and extended texture stability over shelf life.

Bensa continues: “Whether you are looking to develop a new vegan block cheese, slices for burgers or the perfect melted grated pizza cheese as it comes out of the oven, our in-house chefs and food technologists can help identify the right cheese solutions for you.”

“With a deep knowledge in starch technology and understanding of the processing challenges manufacturers face, we can replicate our customers’ conditions to scale in our dairy pilot plant, helping to quickly identify the recipes with the right ingredients before moving to larger batch production.”

“These latest solutions build on our broad portfolio of starches from different bases. We can work with you to create consumer-winning recipes with improved functionality at a reduced cost.”

This portfolio extension follows Ingredion’s announcement of its strategic alliance with potato-based starch and fibre manufacturer Lyckeby in September 2017. These CheeseApp products are some of the first Ingredion has made available to its customer base following the agreement.