Analogue cheeses and cheese products without fresh milk Manufacturing technologies

Traditional cheese-making is now being challenged by the emergence of alternative cheese production processes. Some of these processes emerged in the 1970s, and over the last few decades have undergone significant evolution, differentiating them from traditional cheeses. The background to their emergence and their regulatory framework, as well as the interests of these products, are the subject of the article [F 6 313] . In this article, we present the advantages and technological constraints associated with the manufacture of these products, grouped into three main categories: cheeses made from recombined milk, cheeses without serum separation and cheese analogues (CA). First, we describe the range of ingredients available for making these products. Indeed, these innovations have been made possible by the development of a diversity of raw materials with specific technological and functional properties. We then describe the manufacturing technologies used for each product family.

These technologies initially involve their own processes for processing raw materials, which may, depending on the case, require a rehydration stage or be mixed directly in dry form. Secondly, the raw materials thus prepared undergo a succession of processing steps. The principles and roles of each stage are described. The final part of the article looks at the development prospects for the various product families.

A glossary and table of abbreviations appear at the end of the article.