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Cheese from Brazil

Requeijão cremosorequeijão

Requeijão cremoso is a boundary entry, a melted cheese spread in which fermentation is optional. A curd made by acid and/or rennet coagulation is drained and washed, then melted at about 85 °C with cream or butter and emulsifying salts until smooth, and packed hot. Brazil's standard allows acid and/or rennet coagulation and lists dairy cultures as optional; the study recipe sets the curd with added lactic acid.

Fully documentedCheese10 min

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe amounts are the conventional laboratory recipe of Moura et al. 2024, which used a curd set by added lactic acid rather than by fermentation. The standard fixes composition, not amounts.
Washed acid curd of pasteurised milk393 g (45.0 %)In the study recipe, 2 L of milk heated to 80 °C was set with 0.4 % of 85 % lactic acid[moura2024][mapa-359]
Cream358 g (41.0 %)Cream, butter, anhydrous milk fat or butter oil is a required ingredient of requeijão cremoso[moura2024][mapa-359]
Water110 g (12.6 %)[moura2024]
Salt (NaCl)3.50 g (0.400 %)[moura2024]
Emulsifying (melting) saltsCitrates, phosphates or polyphosphates; at most 40 g/kg in the standard[moura2024][mapa-359]
Lactic cultures or rennet (optional)The standard lists rennet, other coagulants and dairy cultures as optional ingredients[mapa-359]
Starteroptional; the standard lists dairy cultures as an optional ingredient, and the study recipe used added lactic acid instead

Total time across the recorded steps: 10 min

Start
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80 °C

What changes: Lactic acid added to hot milk curdles it in minutes

Step 1 of 4
Heat the milk and set the curd with acid
Time
10 min
Reported
Temperature
80 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

The standard allows the curd to be set by acid and/or rennet, and lists dairy cultures as optional.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Requeijão cremoso is a boundary entry, a melted cheese spread in which fermentation is optional. A curd made by acid and/or rennet coagulation is drained and washed, then melted at about 85 °C with cream or butter and emulsifying salts until smooth, and packed hot. Brazil's standard allows acid and/or rennet coagulation and lists dairy cultures as optional; the study recipe sets the curd with added lactic acid. Made in 4 steps over 10 min. The longest step, heat the milk and set the curd with acid, takes 10 min (Moura R.S 2024) and runs at 80 °C (Moura R.S 2024).

Key numbers
Main step10 minReported[moura2024]Heat the milk and set the curd with acid
Temperature80 °CReported[moura2024]Heat the milk and set the curd with acid
AciditypH 5.4–5.8Reported[moura2024]Drain and wash the curd

What makes this one different

A melted cheese spread made from a washed curd and cream; unlike Requeijão Serra da Estrela it is not a whey cheese, and its curd may be set by acid or rennet, so fermentation is optional.

Composition (standard)
Requeijão cremoso has at least 55.0 g fat per 100 g dry matter and at most 65.0 g moisture per 100 g; plain requeijão has 45.0–54.9 g fat in dry matter and at most 60.0 g moisture
Boundary
A melted (processed) cheese; fermentation of the curd is optional

Related ferments

Safety

The standard requires heating to at least 80 °C for 15 seconds during melting and storage below 10 °C, and sets limits for coliforms and coagulase-positive staphylococci. Spores survive melting; in one survey blowing clostridia were found in about 30 % of samples and could grow during the more than 60-day shelf life even at 4 °C.

Hazards the sources name: Clostridium sporogenes and other blowing clostridia, found in about 30 % of samples; it could grow even at 4 °C; Coagulase-positive staphylococci and coliforms (limits set in the standard).

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Brazil's technical regulation for requeijão, Portaria 359 of 4 September 1997, follows Mercosur resolution GMC 82/96 and also defines requeijão de manteiga, which may be called requeijão do Norte.

  1. [mapa-359] Ministério da Agricultura e do Abastecimento (Brazil), Portaria nº 359, de 4 de setembro de 1997, Regulamento Técnico para Fixação de Identidade e Qualidade de Requeijão ou Requesón (D.O.U. 08/09/97)spec
  2. [moura2024] Moura R.S., Guimarães J.T., Scudino H., Freitas M.Q., Mársico E.T., et al. 2024, Thermosonication as an effective substitution for fusion in Brazilian cheese spread (Requeijão Cremoso) manufacturing, Ultrasonics Sonochemistry 105:106867paper
  3. [oliveira2018] Oliveira R.B.A., Lopes L.S., Baptista R.C., Chincha A.A.I.A., Portela J.B., Nascimento J.S., Costa L.E.O., Cruz A.G., Sant'Ana A.S. 2018, Occurrence, populations, diversity, and growth potential of spore-forming bacteria in "requeijão cremoso", LWT 89:24–31 (abstract)paper