Cheese stabiliser cuts costs, but causes controversy
Ingredients firm Hydrosol claims it can cut the raw material cost of feta cheese production in half by removing milk from the equation, but whether manufacturers will accept it remains to be seen.
With Stabisol FTC, Hydrosol's applications technologists have now succeeded in developing an integrated compound enabling manufacturers to produce various products similar to feta at low cost in a standardised process that is not dependent on milk. It is so flexible that the milk fat can be replaced by vegetable fat, claims the firm.
The company says that the cheese has a firm consistency that cuts well, and the end product can be shaped to the manufacturer's specifications - an aspect that is important for use in restaurants, for example, in Greek salads or as a pizza topping.
"The key advantage is that manufacturers are independent of fresh milk and thus of seasonal fluctuations in the composition of fresh milk," says Hydrosol.
But not everyone is convinced. Shepherds Purse's feta equivalent Fine Fettle Yorkshire Cheese has been so popular that it has sold out and won't be available for several weeks, due to sheep's milk being out of season. But chief executive Judy Bell refuses to consider an alternative to sheep's milk: "It [Stabisol FTC] isn't something I'd want to use. I don't like anything with vegetable oil"
She admits that the flavour of vegetable oil-based white cheese is satisfactory, but doesn't think that mouthfeel comes up to scratch. "A lot of processed cheeses based on vegetable fat can manipulate the flavour, but the texture just isn't as good," she says.
"Traditional feta is made from sheep's milk, starter culture and rennet. Even cows' milk doesn't have a complex flavour, compared to sheep's, so I'd be interested to see what the product tastes like against sheep's milk."
