Using cream cheese presents certain challenges to food developers, and Kraft Food Ingredients Corporation (Memphis, Tenn.) provides some answers. For one thing, cream cheese is a fresh, non-cured cheese that requires refrigeration. Freezing damages the distinctive texture, so proper refrigeration is a must and adds to product costs. Cream cheese often represents one of the more expensive ingredients in many popular desserts. Since its price fluctuates considerably, food processors frequently request an ingredient that delivers the flavor and texture of cream cheese at a lower, more stable cost.
Kraft[r] Cream Cheez Blend PN 62515 and Kraft[r] Neufchatel Cheez Blend PN 70507, both introduced recently by Kraft Food Ingredients, address the cost complications for food processors that wish to use cream cheese and Neufchatel cheese in their formulations. Designed as 1:1 replacements, these blends provide similar levels of saturated fat and trans fat as standard cream cheese and Neufchatel cheese. Made with real cream and Neufchatel cheese, the two blends offer the same functional characteristics of the cheeses and can be used as direct replacements, without the costly reformulation of existing products. Kraft[r] Soft Cream Cheez Blend, PN 62527, a soft version of the Cream Cheez Blend, is ideal for products requiring a smoother texture, such as icings, fillings and spreads.