Dive Brief:
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DSM has introduced a range of cultures to produce a variety of aged cheddar cheese taste profiles, Ingredients Network reports.
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Sold under its DelvoADD brand, the seven new ingredients are adjunct cultures, meaning they are added during the cheese making process to deliver or enhance specific taste and textural characteristics. Cheesemakers can use the cultures to increase savory, buttery, mature or caramel-sweet notes, the company said.
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The range includes options to create the flavor complexity typical of aged cheddar, or a rich, savory profile by boosting umami notes. It also includes a culture that can speed ripening time by 30%, and an option to add full-fat flavor to low-fat cheese.
Dive Insight:
Cheddar is one of the most popular cheeses in the United States, but consumer tastes are changing, leading to rapidly increasing demand for new and interesting taste experiences — including specialty varieties. U.S. consumption of natural cheese rose 26% from 1996-2015, according to a report from the International Dairy Deli Bakery Association (IDDBA). It found consumer demand for unprocessed foods has boosted sales of full-fat cheese, while reduced-fat cheese sales have declined.
Cheesemakers looking to tap into desire for more flavor complexity can use cultures as a clean label way to differentiate their products. Flavor is all-important, as in-store delis are the most popular place for experiencing specialty cheeses. They account for two-thirds of total cheese sales.
Retailers also see the value in specialty cheeses, which can attract more adventurous millennial consumers and foodies to their stores — who then stay to complete their grocery shopping.
Wegmans and Whole Foods are two of the larger grocery chains with employees who provide specialty cheese samples and information on their taste properties and manufacturing methods, a service that can help boost consumer loyalty and encourage shoppers to add one of the products to their cart after sampling. As grocers look for any way they can to draw consumers into their stores, cheese and other samples are one way to do that. Supermarket chains also could benefit from the creation of new cheddar varieties with millennials and other consumers who are looking for new and adventurous tastes.