IDM International Dairy Magazine

Ausgabe 01-02/2017

Es erwarten Sie folgende Themen:

Acid whey

Turning waste streams into a valuable source for food applications

Acid whey is nowadays typically referred to the ever expanding amount of whey originating from the Greek-style yoghurt making process. However, there are more types of acid whey. The composition of each type of acid whey depends on the origin of the material and process used. The presence of acid not only affects the preparation of non-hydroscopic powders from acid whey but also its possible applications. The challenge for the food industry is how to valorise acid whey and turn it into a money maker.

The available volume of acid whey is growing significantly as Greek and Greek-style yogurt products are becoming more and more popular. Whey streams from for example cottage cheese, quark and tvarog further contribute to the volume of acid whey. Acid whey from casein production is another acid whey source. This contains no lactic acid but other in-organic acids. Whereas cheese whey currently is the source for a wide variety of ingredients with a broad applications areas (Figure 1), the acid whey sources originating from fresh cheeses and/or Greek and Greek-style yoghurt production need to be further explored.

The World Champion Camembert from Germany

R&D cooperation between a private cheese maker and Chr. Hansen

Last year, privately owned cheese maker Käserei Altenburger Land from Lumpzig, Germany, won the World Champion Cheese Contest 2016 in Wisconsin, USA. The Camembert made by the company actually received the award in its category for the second consecutive time. This was amazing because the recipe was completely changed in between. IDM asked what is behind this success.

The awarded cheese is named "Der Cremige natur" (The Creamy, plain) and runs under the famous "Rotkäppchen" brand. Alexander Kolb, CEO of the Altenburger cheese making plant and of its parent company, market-leading Rotkäppchen Peter Jülich GmbH in Dortmund, Germany, explains: "We entered the Wisconsin competition for the fourth time. In 2010, our creamy Camembert ranked fifth and only four years later, it actually became the winner. Since then, we are eager to defend our title. For the first time, our "Altenburger Ziegenkäse" [made from cow’s and goat’s milk] entered the competition in 2016 and was named first runner up." Seemingly proud, Mr. Kolb adds that no German cheese maker so far has excelled in the World Champion Cheese Contest like his company.