Patrick Oconnell
Cheese curls, also known as cheese puffs, cheese balls, cheesy puffs, corn cheese, and corn curls, are a popular snack made from corn and flavoured with cheese or cheese-flavoured additives. The primary ingredients are cornmeal and water, which are mixed and formed into dough. This dough is then put through an extruder, which uses heat, moisture, and pressure to form the dough into its distinctive shape. The resulting product is then dried, seasoned, and packaged.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Main Ingredients | Corn, Cornmeal, Water |
| Other Ingredients | Oil, Salt, Spices, Flavors, Colors |
| Cheese | Real cheese, Cheddar cheese, Cheese powder, Artificial cheese flavor |
| Manufacturing Process | Extrusion, Baking, Drying, Packaging |
| Shape | Balls, Cylinders, Snakes, Irregular |
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What You'll Learn
Cornmeal and water are the base ingredients
Once the desired consistency of the cooked cornmeal is achieved, it is processed by an extruding machine, which propels the cornmeal mixture using an auger or tapered screw. While the cornmeal is liquid under the high pressure of the extruding machine, it immediately solidifies, expands, and puffs as soon as it exits the machine through a die. The die is a critical aspect of the manufacturing process as it gives the product its distinctive shape. As the dough is pushed through the dies, it takes on the shape of puffy snakes. These extruded snakes are known as collettes and are cut to the desired length by a rotating knife.
The collettes are still moist at this stage, containing between 6-10% water, and are conveyed to the drying area. The drying area consists of a series of ovens with different stations, including flavoring stations. During transport, deformed or imperfect collettes are separated, and only the perfect pieces are left on the conveyor. The flavoring of the curls is done in a rotating barrel where they are tumbled while being sprayed with flavored liquids. These liquids are a mixture of oils, flavors, spices, and colors. An additional layer of oil is necessary on the outside of the curls.
After drying, the curls are packaged, sealed, and stored for transport. The entire process of creating cheese curls in an industrial environment is closely monitored to ensure health and safety quality control standards are met.
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Heat, moisture, and pressure are applied to the cornmeal dough
The primary ingredients of cheese curls are cornmeal and water. The cornmeal must be finely textured and have a low moisture content of 6-10% to ensure a pleasant texture when eaten. The cornmeal is mixed with water to form a dough, which is then put through an extruder machine. This machine uses heat, moisture, and pressure to work the dough, forcing it against the inside of the extrusion chamber and creating a shearing effect as pressure is increased. The heat and pressure applied to the cornmeal dough are essential to achieving the desired texture and shape of the cheese curls.
The extruder machine propels the cornmeal dough through a die, which forms the distinctive shape of the cheese curls. The dough exits the die in puffy ribbons or snakes, which are known as collettes. The shape of the die determines whether the collettes will be ball-shaped, curly, straight, or irregularly shaped. As the collettes exit the extruder, they immediately solidify, expand, and puff up due to the sudden release of pressure.
The collettes are still raw and moist at this stage, so they are conveyed to a drying area. This area consists of a series of ovens with different stations, including flavoring stations. The collettes are tumbled in a rotating barrel while being sprayed with flavored liquids, oils, spices, and colors. An additional layer of oil is necessary to ensure the flavors adhere to the collettes. The oil layer also adds to the crunchy texture of the final product.
After drying and flavoring, the collettes are conveyed to the packaging area. A vibrating conveyor belt is used to prevent the collettes from sticking to each other or the ground during transport. The collettes are then weighed, packaged, sealed, and prepared for transport to warehouses. The entire process is closely monitored to ensure health and safety quality control standards are met.
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The dough is extruded through a die to form its shape
The dough, made from a mixture of cornmeal and water, is put through a machine called an extruder. The extruder uses heat, moisture, and pressure to work the dough until it is ready to be pushed through a die to form its shape. The shape of the die is critical as it gives the product its distinctive shape. As the dough is pushed through the dies, it looks like puffy snakes. These extruded snakes are called collettes.
The collettes are then cut to the desired length by a rotating knife. The shape of the collette depends on the shape of the die. For example, some dough may become cheese puff balls, while others may become cheese puff cylinders. The uncooked cheese puff that comes out of the die is still in a pretty raw state. The collettes are then conveyed to the drying area.
The drying area is not just a single oven but a series of them with different stations, most notably flavourings. The collettes are tumbled in a rotating barrel while being sprayed with flavoured liquids. These liquids are a mixture of oils, flavours, spices, and colours. An additional layer of oil must be present on the outside of the curls. The curls are then dried and packaged.
The entire process of creating cheese curls in an industrial environment is very precisely monitored to ensure that all aspects of production adhere to health and safety quality control. The bags are then heat-sealed and shipped to a warehouse.
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The curls are dried and flavoured with oils, spices, and colours
Once the collettes have been extruded and cut, they are still in a raw state and need to be dried. The drying area is not just a single oven, but a series of them with different stations between them, most notably flavouring stations. During transport, deformed, too-small or too-large collette particles are separated, and only the perfect pieces are left on the conveyor. The flavouring of the curls is done in a rotating barrel where they are tumbled while being sprayed with flavoured liquids. These liquids are a mixture of oils, flavours, spices and colours. One of the most important steps in the flavouring and drying process is that an additional layer of oil must be present on the outside of the curls.
The oils used can include vegetable oil, soybean oil, cottonseed oil, coconut oil, palm olein oil, safflower oil, and sunflower oil. The cheeses used can include cheddar, whey powder, and artificial cheese flavour. Other common ingredients include salt, acid whey powder, disodium phosphate, autolyzed yeast extract, annato and turmeric extracts (for colour), lactic acid, citric acid, and natural flavour.
The curls are then dried. This is done in a large oven called a dryer, where they move continuously through the dryer until they emerge at the other end, considerably crisped up. The dryer is hot enough to remove the moisture but not so hot that it darkens the collette. The ideal temperature is around 140° F (59.9° C). The curls are dried on a vibrating conveyor belt so that they don't stick to the ground or each other. Once dried, the curls can be packaged, sealed, and stored for transport.
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The final product is packaged and sealed
Once the cheese curls have been dried, they are ready to be packaged and sealed. The entire process of creating cheese curls in an industrial environment is very precisely monitored to ensure that all aspects of production are within the tolerances of health and safety quality control.
The packaging process begins with a weighing machine that weighs out the correct amount of curls to go into each bag. The bags are made of polypropylene, which is resistant to moisture and helps to keep the product crisp. Huge rolls of flattened bags are loaded into the weighing machine, formed, and prepared to receive the corn curls that drop into them.
The filled bags are then heat-sealed to ensure freshness and maintain crispness. These bags are then packed into cartons and shipped to a warehouse, ready for distribution to retailers and, ultimately, consumers.
The final product is a packaged, sealed bag of cheese curls, ready for sale and consumption. The bags are designed to maintain the freshness and crispness of the cheese curls, ensuring that the product reaches the consumer in optimal condition. The sealing and packaging process is a critical step in the production of cheese curls, as it helps to preserve the product's quality and extends its shelf life.
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Frequently asked questions
Cheese curls are made from cornmeal and water. The cornmeal must be finely textured with a low moisture content.
The cornmeal is mixed with water to form a dough, which is then put through an extruder machine. The extruder uses heat, moisture, and pressure to form the dough into a particular shape. The cheese curls are then baked in an oven, sprayed with oil, and dusted with cheese powder.
Cheese curls are coated with cheese or cheese-flavored powders. Other ingredients may include oil, spices, and color.
No, cheese curls are baked, not fried.
