| abstract |
Vegetable proteins may be converted into isolates which are useful for preparing imitation cheese products. These unique isolates are characterized in general as: having an NSI of at least 90, having not been subjected to enzymatic or chemical hydrolysis, forming an insoluble gel when reconstituted in water at a 15% by weight protein isolate concentration and heated to 85 DEG C. for 30 minutes, and yielding a melt value of at least 15 cm2. The isolates are prepared under conditions which precondition the protein molecules so that they may be converted, upon heat treatment, into protein aggregates which simulate the hydrocolloidal attributes of caseinate. The heat treatment causes restructuring of the proteinaceous molecules into large molecular weight aggregates. Soy isolates prepared in accordance with this invention may be utilized to replace from about 20% to 60% or higher of the caseinate in an imitation cheese recipe without adversely affecting the melt characteristics of the imitation cheese product. |