How cheese is faked. How to distinguish cheese from rennet product? How to distinguish natural cheese from fake

It's no secret that nowadays cheese, like many other products, is counterfeited. And if, for example, counterfeiting of electronics is usually carried out by third-party illegal factories, then food products are often counterfeited by completely official manufacturers.

And cheese is one of the most “bodily” products. Nowadays it is very difficult to buy real cheese for reasonable money. Quite often they sell mozzarella and parmesan that are not even remotely reminiscent of the original.

Moreover, even our purely domestic cheeses - Soviet, Altai, Russian, the production technology of which was developed in the USSR, and which have been produced for more than 50 years at the same factories, have recently acquired such a variety of tastes that, it seems, in the recipe Only one name remains true. Nowadays it is quite common that cheese, for example Russian, from different factories has completely different tastes.

There's no point in matching the brand; I'd rather just buy good cheese. How to distinguish normal cheese from outright ersatz?

Since hard rennet cheeses are the most popular, we will talk about them. For those to whom the name “hard rennet” does not mean anything, I will explain it more simply - we will talk about the most common “regular yellow” cheese.

How to choose cheese and determine its quality First of all, we look at the color of the cheese. In hard rennet cheeses it should really be yellow, or rather a clear yellowish tint. The pallor of cheese in our time indicates not so much a lack of natural pigment in the milk used for production, but rather the mixing of vegetable, especially soy, additives. Do you know what color tofu and soy cheese are? Pure white. Therefore, now many cheap cheeses literally look pale. They just have a lot of soy filler.

Next, we pay attention to the holes, which are correctly called eyes. So, “ordinary” cheese must have eyes-holes. The so-called “blind cheese” (cheese without eyes or with a sparse and small pattern) is considered a significant defect in normal cheese production.

Moreover, each type must have its own typical pattern (the pattern of a cheese is the location, shape and size of the eyes). A deviation in the pattern is also a defect, indicating an incorrect cheese preparation process and, of course, a deterioration in the quality of the cheese. This sounds fantastic to us. What a definite drawing! On the shelves of our stores, more than half of the varieties of cheese have no holes at all, with barely noticeable cracks. Therefore, I will not bore you with a list of typical patterns of cheese varieties and possible defects in cheese holes. I will only say one thing - the cheese must have eyes, and not just one, but forming at least some kind of pattern.
Now about the consistency. In most hard cheeses, the consistency of the cheese mass (called “dough” in cheesemaking) should be soft and plastic. The most common defects in the consistency of modern cheeses are “crumbiness,” excessive softness or increased hardness. What “crumbiness” means is clear from the word itself. Cheese of heterogeneous, crumbly consistency is obtained when the product’s aging time is not observed, due to additives not provided for by traditional technology (plant components, preservatives, acidifiers, thickeners and other components that reduce the cost of the cheese production process).

How to choose cheese and determine its quality Cheese can also crumble after freezing and subsequent defrosting, which, unfortunately, also often happens with us. Manufacturers and suppliers often save on delivery and transport cheese in the winter without heating, and in the summer in refrigerators, freezing it along with meat products. Whereas, according to the standards, transportation of cheese should take place in isothermal in summer, and in winter in insulated vans and cars with an internal temperature not higher than +8 and not lower than 0 degrees Celsius.

Here are the main parameters by which you can determine the quality of cheese in a store by eye. There is no particular need to write about the taste defects of cheese. As a rule, pale cheeses without eyes with a crumbly consistency have a weakly expressed, so-called “empty” taste.

When heated, high-quality cheese melts well and becomes even tastier. If the cheese after heating remains refractory, does not stretch, and acquires an unpleasant taste, then this is, with one hundred percent certainty, a cheese product with a large number of plant components.

The situation with low-quality cheeses is further aggravated by the fact that the buyer usually sees not a wheel of cheese (traditionally weighing several kilograms) with the manufacturer’s marking, but a piece cut from it. If in a supermarket we can turn a stick of sausage in our hands, read the composition, date of manufacture, by what standard it was produced, who the manufacturer is, then in the case of cheese we can only rely on our ideas about the type of cheese and the conscientiousness of the sellers.

And even GOST P52176-2003, adopted 10 years ago, distinguishing between cheeses and cheese products (cheeses with the addition of plant components) does not really help. If the manufacturer honestly indicates “cheese product” on the cheese wheel, then the seller, cutting the product into small pieces for sale, does not cost anything to slyly write “cheese” on his label.

Well, in conclusion, a brief definition of high-quality cheese - the cheese should be yellowish in color, not too pale and not very yellow, with obvious eyes (holes). The configuration, size, and location of the eyes are different for each type of cheese and should not depend on the manufacturer. Most hard rennet cheeses must have a plastic consistency and should not crumble.

In our turbulent times, when cheese is, to put it mildly, not cheap, manufacturers are massively supplying store shelves with its unique analogue - a cheese product. It costs much less than the original cheese, which means it is more affordable for the buyer. Plus, visually the cheese and the cheese product differ quite little. What is the difference between them? Let's figure it out.

Let's start with the fact that cheese is a dairy product, since it actually consists of milk with the addition of various rennet enzymes, sourdough, etc. At the same time, a cheese product is a milk-containing product, not a dairy product. As a rule, it contains no more than 20% milk. The rest is fat and protein, which have nothing in common with milk. Oh yes, and, of course, they prepare the cheese product, generously using the well-known palm or coconut oil.

Hence the much lower price compared to regular cheese. The components are significantly cheaper, so you can play around with the price. To please the client, so to speak.

But is it worth buying such “joy”? The Internet is simply overflowing with articles about the dangers of palm oil, which, due to its cheapness, is now added to everything possible. Transgenic fats, which can cause thrombosis, cholecystitis, etc. – have you heard this? It all starts with palm oil.

Therefore, whether or not to buy a cheese product is, of course, up to you. And ours is to give 5 simple tips that will help you distinguish cheese from a cheese product. 🙂

1. Of course, the price. A cheese product will always cost significantly less than even the cheapest cheese.

2. Carefully study the label with the name and the sticker with the composition. Manufacturers are very fond of lying, since by law it is forbidden to call a cheese product cheese. So companies have to resort to tricks, calling their “cheese clones” Syrochka, Cheesecake, etc.

If you don’t find the word “cheese” anywhere on the package, this is a purebred cheese product.

3. Always read the product ingredients in full. Especially, as usual, everything that is written in the smallest font. If you find palm or coconut oil, vegetable fats and other non-milk products somewhere in the composition, you should know that this “cheese” is not cheese at all!

4. There is a folk method for recognizing a cheese product. If suddenly the cheese you like does not have a label or other identifying marks - it is simply sealed in polyethylene or something similar, press it with your fingers. If some liquid starts to come out from your pressure, it means that this “cheese” contains vegetable fats. So this is a cheese product.

Choosing high-quality and fresh cheese is quite difficult. The reason is the wave of cheese products that has overwhelmed retail establishments. How to distinguish cheese from cheese substitute?

What causes the appearance of a cheese product

As you know, real hard cheese is made from milk, natural enzymes and bacterial starter. The resulting product not only has an original and incomparable taste, but also has extremely useful and nutritional properties.

Since 10 liters of milk produces no more than 1 kg of cheese, this product has the highest cost among all dairy products.

To meet the demand for hard cheeses and reduce the cost of their production, many manufacturers are making changes to the cheese preparation technology, replacing milk with palm or coconut oil in the recipe. Vegetable fats are lower in cost and last much longer.

The price of the final product becomes more affordable, sales increase, but the quality of the cheese and its health benefits are rapidly declining.

Product name and price

According to the legislation, the manufacturer does not have the right to use the word “cheese” in the name of the cheese product, otherwise he will face a serious fine and other sanctions.

Carefully examine the label of the product you are about to buy. Its design and color scheme may be extremely similar to the label of the cheese you are used to buying. If instead of the name “Cheese” it says “Cheese product”, know that this product is made from vegetable fats.

Due to the low cost of coconut and palm oil, the manufacturer offers the consumer a cheese product at a very attractive price, ranging from products with a slight addition of vegetable fats to a cheese product that does not contain milk at all.

Compound

Carefully study the composition of the cheese indicated on the label. The characteristics of a cheese product are its following ingredients:

- powdered milk;

- palm, coconut and any other vegetable oil;

— substitutes and flavor enhancers, dyes, preservatives, stabilizers and other food additives.

The list of components of real cheese is quite short:

— fermentation of lactic acid organisms;

- rennet or other milk-clotting enzyme of animal origin.

It is allowed to contain salt and calcium chloride in the composition of hard cheese.

What else to look for when purchasing

Natural cheese has a very pale color, but if the product contains dyes, it will attract attention with a rich yellow-orange color.

The surface of natural cheese should be smooth and slightly dull, and its crust should not have cracks or plaque.

Its eyes will tell you about the quality of the cheese. Uniformly distributed over the entire surface of the cheese, regular shape and smooth edges are found only in a good natural product. If in the middle of the cheese circle the eyes are large, and closer to the edges their size decreases noticeably, you have a surrogate in front of you.

Press on the cheese; oily drops appear on the surface - evidence of the inclusion of vegetable fats in its composition. If a smear mark remains on the knife after slicing a product, such a product is made from powdered milk and it may be a stretch to be called cheese.

Taste the cheese. Real hard cheese has a slight pungent flavor with an accompanying pronounced milky aroma.

You can avoid buying a surrogate.

Good luck with your choice and bon appetit!

Cheese is a tasty and popular product in our country. It is ideal in many dishes and on its own. But there is one serious problem - the quality of the cheese.

We, of course, are already accustomed to various types of counterfeit food: there is sour cream, and there is a sour cream product, there are cakes with vegetable cream and “lean butter”. In the same way, cheese and cheese product are distinguished.

“Does it matter?” - you ask. After all, these two types of products are almost indistinguishable in taste (there are even very high-quality fakes), and the cost of the latter is much lower.

And I will answer: “It has.” Believe me!” The main argument in favor of cheese is its naturalness. We eat to live, not live to eat. Food should be a source of useful and important elements and compounds. The cheese product is made from harmful palm oil, which provokes the appearance of cholesterol plaques, excess weight and increases the risk of diabetes.

Ways to identify low-quality cheese:

• Bend a slice of cheese (at room temperature) at a 90-degree angle. If it is cracked at the fold, then this is a fake.
• Normal cheese should not crumble. Otherwise it is a mixture of palm oil, milk powder and dyes.
• Presence of holes. This may seem funny, but it is the “holeiness” of the cheese that determines its quality. Among cheesemakers, a perfectly smooth texture is considered a kind of vice.
• Low price. It’s sad, but high-quality hard cheese cannot be cheap.

Cheese composition. Read the label. The composition of real cheese is limited to milk, fermentation of lactic acid microorganisms, rennet enzymes or other milk-clotting preparations of animal origin. Allowed to contain salt and calcium chloride. If any of the following is present on the product label, you have a cheese product:

• Powdered milk
• Palm, coconut or other vegetable oil
• Preservatives, stabilizers, dyes and other food additives
• Flavor Substitutes

The presence of vegetable fats in the product is indicated by oily drops on pieces of cheese. If, when cutting a product, a smearing consistency remains on the knife, this is a sign that the cheese is made from milk powder.

There are more than 500 types and 2000 varieties of cheese in the world. But, despite the diversity, the list of raw materials for the manufacture of this product is limited.

Despite the huge number of variations, cheese in its composition is a simple product.

Cheese quality requirements

The main component is milk, and pasteurized milk, since in Russia it is prohibited to produce dairy products from raw milk. In addition to cow, goat, sheep, and buffalo are used.

Naturally, the organoleptic properties of cheese are influenced by the food that animals eat and the climate; even with the same recipes, products with different tastes are obtained.

When producing mass-market cheeses, Russian producers rely on GOST standards. Thus, GOST 32260-2013 is the main guideline when creating semi-hard cheeses, such as “Russian”, “Gollandsky”, “Kostromskoy”.

As for small farms, they make original cheeses here, and not according to GOST standards, but according to specifications and their own recipes. But it’s almost impossible to understand whether farmers pasteurize milk for cheese.

In addition to milk, the composition contains salt, bacterial starter and rennet (listed on the packaging as “enzyme preparation of animal origin”). It is produced in the stomach of calves or adult animals - bulls, pigs, and is used to curdle milk. This component is also obtained from genetically modified microorganisms that produce enzymes that are almost identical in composition and properties to veal enzymes. Animal enzymes are more expensive.

A separate variety is fermented milk cheeses, similar to cottage cheese. They do not ripen; lactic acid bacteria are used for their preparation, usually without the use of milk-clotting enzymes.

There should be no vegetable fats in the composition, otherwise it is already a cheese product - and vegetable substitutes for milk fat are allowed in it.

In the list of ingredients you can find potassium chloride - it is used as a sealant, and it does not raise any doubts among technologists.

The same cannot be said about potassium nitrate (E252), sodium nitrate (E251) and lysozyme (E1105). These are preservatives, of course, permitted by GOST. But you can usually find them in inexpensive cheese. They protect it from spoilage, but, according to experts, a product made from high-quality raw materials does not need such additives.

The use of dyes is allowed, but GOST allows only natural beta-carotene or annatto. However, high-quality cheese can easily do without coloring.

Cheese is a derivative of mother's milk. That is, a product for which all people have an innate genetic instinct. Dairy, and therefore animal, proteins are a necessary building material for our body, because they contain a complete set of amino acids.

It is difficult to talk about the big difference between hard and soft cheeses. The benefits from them are approximately the same. But, if a person is on a diet, then hard cheese is recommended. It has a richer taste. Therefore, it is easier for them to eat or satisfy their passion for cheese. And passion can be strong. This food dependence is explained by the optimal combination of fat and salt in its composition. That's why it's very tasty.

There are also contraindications.

1. Gastrointestinal diseases.
2. Overweight people.
3. Limit in case of cardiovascular diseases, for example, atherosclerosis.

The harm of cheese is due to animal fats and its calorie content. This is a heavy dish. That is, you can afford a sandwich with cheese every morning, but the benefits of this sandwich will depend on the thickness of the cheese, the thinner the better.

Quality of Russian cheese

The most popular domestic cheese is the inexpensive and tasty “Russian”. But not every Russian has the right to be called that.

How to check the quality of Russian cheese?

1. It should have an openwork pattern of irregularly shaped eyes; they should be small in size - no more than 2 mm, located at a distance of 2-3 mm from each other and extend across the entire head of cheese. If the holes are large or stuck together, the cheese may be sour.
2. The crust is thin and smooth. And the consistency is elastic, but GOST allows for a slightly dense one.
3. The color should be from white to light yellow, always uniform. If the color is uneven, it means it is not ripe. If it is bright yellow and produced in winter, it most likely contains dyes.
4. The composition should not contain preservatives
5. Among cheeses made in accordance with GOST, choose a premium product.

The inscription 50% does not mean that exactly half of the product consists of fats. The figure accounts for the share of dry matter, that is, cheese without water. Therefore, in 100 g there is only 29 g of fat. However, according to the official classification, cheese with a fat content of 45% to 59.9% is already fatty.

During ripening, the semi-finished cheese mass turns into real cheese. Under the influence of enzymes, protein breaks down into simple compounds - primarily into useful amino acids. The cheese becomes darker, a characteristic pattern appears, a crust and a sour-creamy taste, beloved by many (according to technology, this is a cheese with high acidity).

If the product is not allowed to sit longer or the manufacturing process is accelerated, it will taste bitter, crumble or taste “rubbery”, and the eyes will become sparse and very small.

Depending on the quality, GOST divides semi-hard cheeses into premium and first grade. This means that the appearance, taste, smell, consistency, color, packaging and labeling scored the maximum number of points on a special scale. The grade is determined in production and controlled by the quality department. If a cheese does not get the highest score, it is assigned first grade.

The manufacturer himself decides to indicate the variety on the packaging or not. If you buy a product according to GOST, then choose the one where the grade is indicated.

Quality of Kostroma cheese

“Kostromskoy” is the closest relative of the Dutch “Gouda” cheese. Nevertheless, it is considered ours, native, because it appeared in Russia. Now it is on the list of the most popular domestic cheeses.

This is a semi-hard cheese with a fat content of 45%.

A high-quality “Kostromskaya” should contain:

• milk;
• bacterial starter;
• milk-clotting enzyme preparation of animal origin;
• calcium chloride sealant;
• salt;
• natural dyes - beta-carotene, annatto.

Pay attention to the color, it should be from white to light yellow. Uneven color, “marbling”, gives rise to manufacturing errors.

This product ripens quickly, only 45 days. During one and a half months of ripening, a chemical composition is formed that is characteristic of this species. Every detail is important here - the size of the cheese grain, the duration of processing, time, and heating procedure. Even a precise number of turns during ripening. “Kostromskaya” is turned over 2-3 times.

Only by following all the rules according to GOST will the cheese turn out correct, and any violations can ruin it.

But, unfortunately, standing at the store counter, we cannot determine whether there were violations.

How to determine the quality of Kostromskoye cheese?

1. There must be oval or round eyes on the surface. Holes in such a product are formed when the microorganisms of the starter cultures “breathe,” releasing carbon dioxide and forming voids in the cheese layer. Therefore, ideal eyes should be of the correct shape. But in practice this is not always possible, due to poor-quality raw materials or unsuccessful fermentation.
2. If there are few holes, the cheese is not ripened correctly and the taste will be dull. Or it contains a lot of vegetable fats.
3. It’s bad if there are cracks on the surface instead of oval eyes. The taste will be sour. If the eyes are too large, then the maturation process may have been accelerated.
4. It should have a firm yet elastic consistency and not break when bent. Good cheese does not “spread”, losing its shape, and does not crack.
5. The cheese crust is smooth, thin, without a thick subcortical layer. If the protective layer is damaged, it means that the damaged areas were cut off in the store.

If you buy slices, it is better to choose one that is made not in a store, but in production, using an industrial method. Only then will it be absolutely safe, and you will be sure that you are buying Kostromskaya.

Cheese absorbs foreign odors well. If you choose a loose product, be sure to look at the location of the counter. There should be no strong-smelling goods nearby.

Quality of Dutch cheese

By and large, many semi-hard cheeses can be called Dutch. After all, the Dutch group includes, for example, “Kostomskoy”, “Poshekhonsky”, “Uglichsky”. They are all similar in technology - semi-solid rennet, with a low second heating temperature.

And they don’t even taste much different. But only one is called “Dutch”.

“Dutch” cheese is amazing - its name is foreign, but its origin is ours, Russian. Its recipe was developed by our cheese makers 150 years ago, although this cheese still has a close connection with Holland. It is a descendant of the classic Edamer cheese.

"Dutch" is a semi-hard cheese made from cow's milk. GOST for it has existed since Soviet times. The standard is updated periodically, but the list of ingredients is still the same:

• milk;
• leaven;
• rennet extract;
• salt;
• dyes.

This product comes in different fat contents - 45% and 50%. Cheese with a fat content of 45% is produced in the form of a bar; it matures for at least 60 days. But the fatter ones have a spherical shape and ripen for at least 75 days.

GOST allows a product to be released for sale at the age of 45 days if it is highly rated in taste, smell, appearance, and consistency.

How to determine the quality of Dutch cheese?

1. There should always be a pattern: the eyes should be clearly visible on the cut. They can be of completely different shapes - round, oval, angular with uneven edges.
2. The crust is smooth and thin.
3. Consistency - elastic. If, when slicing, you notice that the cheese is soft and sticks to the knife, then you have a stale or overripe product.
4. Shouldn't fall apart. But the state standard allows it to break slightly at a bend. So, if you made a sandwich in the morning, a broken piece of cheese should not ruin your mood.
5. Technologists explain that if “Dutch” seems to be “crying,” that is, when droplets of moisture are visible on the cut, this is good. Cheese “tears” indicate full ripening and its good, rich taste.
6. The most important word on the package should be “cheese”. If it is not there (for example, just “Dutch” - without specifying cheese or a cheese product), then most likely the manufacturer was embarrassed to tell customers that the package contains a cheese product.

Quality of Poshekhonsky cheese

Imported hard and semi-hard cheeses are expensive, of course, not only because of sanctions, but also because they sometimes ripen for years and under special conditions.

The result was a light product (45% fat) and fast maturing (up to 45 days).

“Peshekhonsky” is a semi-hard rennet cheese, but it is not included in GOST for semi-hard cheeses.

However, its composition is no different from other semi-solids and is simple:

• pasteurized cow's milk;
• rennet extract;
• bacterial starter;
• salt.

“Poshekhonsky” is very similar to “Kostromskaya”. The color can be white and light yellow. The taste is moderately cheesy and sour.

Light spice and bitterness are allowed. If the cheese has a milky smell but no sour smell, this means that the ripening process has not gone through the full cycle.

When the expiration date expires, strong bitterness may appear, so on the label, in addition to the packaging date and expiration date, look for the third number - the production date.

It’s better not to guess and ask the seller to cut a piece of cheese from the head in front of you. This way you will be sure that it has not been repackaged several times.

The cheese eyes should be round or oval, but evenly distributed over the surface.

If the product is made from low-quality milk, then the holes at the edges will be small, and towards the middle they will be large and torn, with cracks.

Processed cheese quality

It appeared in the last century, and has changed significantly since then. The composition has become more complicated, the price has increased, the range has expanded, but the reputation among nutritionists, on the contrary, has fallen.

But the people's love remains the same.

Processed cheeses are:

• slice;
• pasty;
• sweet and special for soup;
• smoked, with fillers, with or without flavorings;
• different fat content;
• pasteurized, sterilized and untreated.

With classical pasteurization (heating to 83 degrees), harmful microbes are killed, but some useful ones are retained.

With hard processing (up to +140) everything dies.

You won't see the production method on the label. But the expiration date will help you. Pasteurized is stored for no longer than 6 months, sterilized for more than a year.

1. The first place in the list of ingredients should be cheese, or cheese and cottage cheese. For production they use: “Russian, Kostroma, Shauda, ​​Emmental. If the raw materials are not mature enough, then the taste will be weak and dull. If overripe, it’s loose.
2. The composition may contain cream, milk powder, water, salt. Even the highest quality product contains additives. Without them, processed cheese simply won’t work.
3. Melting salts are emulsifiers that, during the melting process, interact with the protein, transferring it from an insoluble to a soluble state.

GOST lists 17 additives with the letter E.

Often used:

• Sodium triphosphate (E 451);
• Sodium pyrophosphate (E 450);
• Sodium orthophosphate (E339).

Technologists are convinced that there is no need to fear them; they are of natural origin. Phosphates are a natural component, citrates are salts of citric acid.

Preservatives are often found in the composition. Gosstandart allows natural ones, for example, sorbic acid (E 200), which is found in cranberries.

Dyes, thickeners, and acidity regulators are also allowed.

But what definitely should not be in the composition are vegetable fats - only milk.

The main principle when studying ingredients is that the shorter it is, the better.

Due to the large amount of E in the composition, nutritionists consider this product to be heavy and allergic. Compared to hard cheeses, processed cheese contains a lot of sodium and is not recommended for those who suffer from hypertension.

Phosphates can leach calcium from bones.

Processed cheese is a universal product. It can replace meat in soup, add flavor to sauce, make a light salad hearty, or turn a hearty salad into a full-fledged second course. Therefore, it can be very different - with mushrooms, herbs, ham.

The main thing is that what is stated on the label is inside. If the name has the word “ham” in it, then, of course, we expect it to be inside the jar too. You can tell whether the ham is real or a substitute by examining the packaging. Ham must be included in the ingredients. And the product should be called “with ham”. If it says: owl with a bite of ham, then the manufacturer replaced the meat with artificial additives and flavors.

Real ham will never stain, the color should remain the correct light cream shade.

Production without flavorings is impossible. After all, any filler during heat treatment loses its taste properties and without food additives simply will not be felt in the cheese. Therefore, as a rule, the composition contains both the fillers themselves and their flavorings at the same time.

How to determine the quality of processed cheese?

1. It should spread smoothly and be uniform, with a glossy surface. According to GOST, there should be no pattern on the surface. Pictures are not allowed. If they are, most likely, this product was stored incorrectly, perhaps it “survived” temperature changes.
2. Color ranges from white to intense yellow. If the cheese is bitter or has a soda taste, it means that the proportion of melting salts has been violated.
3. Before purchasing, look at the bottom of the plastic packaging. If you see the letters PS, it is made of polystyrene. When interacting with hot or acidic foods, it can release toxins. It is better if you see the letters PP - a container made of polypropylene.

Quality of sausage cheese

They say about such a product that there is no sausage and not enough cheese. But the demand for it in stores does not disappear. How to choose the best?

Sausage cheese is a processed cheese. Substandard cheeses or a special cheese mass for melting are often used as a base. Moreover, the manufacturer is not required to indicate the variety.

Ideal composition on the label:

• semi-hard cheese;
• cottage cheese;
• butter;
• powdered milk;
• water;
• melting salts.

The resulting mass is formed into loaves.

The distinctive feature of this product is not only its shape, but also its aroma. There are different ways to obtain it.

High-quality smoked on natural sawdust of non-resinous trees, for example, alder or oak. But they can also save money by adding smoke flavors. To buy a naturally smoked product, see the name.

It should say “smoked,” not “smoky flavored.” Look at the shell - paraffin or film coating. It is paraffin that allows you to smoke the cheese better and extend its shelf life.

Uneven color also indicates artificial smoking. A good product has a uniform shade - from light beige to brown. The structure is not brittle, not viscous. It is dense and dry.

When cut, the cheese mass is without yellow streaks or cracks. Voids and holes indicate microbiological damage - it is better not to buy such a product.

If the manufacturer has gone too far with melting salts. the crust will turn out spotty, and the taste will suffer. The surface is not damaged. Paraffin does not crumble, the shell is dry.

Sausage cheese or cheese product?

You will find vegetable fats in the cheese product. After all, in the production of processed cheese there should be only milk fats.

In most cases, in appearance and taste, natural sausage cheese can hardly be distinguished from its plant clone. But their biological value is different.

Do not forget that it is impossible to make such a product without dyes and emulsifiers - vegetable fats require improved consistency and a pleasant aroma.

Several rules for choosing a product with a high milk fat content.

1. The mass fraction of milk fat is more than 50%.
2. The shorter the shelf life, the more dairy ingredients it contains and, naturally, it is more natural. Shelf life: no more than 3 months.
3. The name “Processed cheese product” means the cheese content is much less than what is called: “Processed cheese product”.
4. If cheese is in the first place in the list of ingredients, it means there is more of it in the product.
5. A quality product that is not hard and not too soft, elastic. Its color is uniform, it is easy to cut, does not break or crumble. The smoked aroma is not strong.

Conclusion: the quality of cheese will help us determine its color, appearance, and composition. When purchasing a product, pay attention to the composition, packaging, and expiration date.