{"componentChunkName":"component---src-templates-blog-post-js","path":"/blog/another-granted-patent-for-new-culture","result":{"data":{"blog":{"_id":"2c732049-ee7f-4ac4-90b6-5bc98ace2aa0","slug":{"current":"another-granted-patent-for-new-culture"},"date":"2026-07-07","_rawContent":[{"_key":"0c41de2e18aa","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"865a05684a760","_type":"span","marks":["em"],"text":"We’re excited to "},{"_key":"97449810b3cc","_type":"span","marks":["em","c0a302cad668"],"text":"share"},{"_key":"d098bb92cf4e","_type":"span","marks":["em"],"text":" that we’ve been granted another patent for dairy made from animal-free casein! The patent focuses on our signature animal-free dairy product: mozzarella cheese. An earlier patent, granted in 2023, more broadly covers animal-free cheese products made from recombinant alpha casein, regardless of cheese type, formulation, or production process."}],"markDefs":[{"_key":"c0a302cad668","_type":"link","href":"https://cdn.sanity.io/files/0ntsulhy/production/13900fb4e5c59f06e900be785437acab161822ae.pdf"}],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"0bdda70f0ed5","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"17a1a14e51aa0","_type":"span","marks":["em"],"text":"Though we’ll be launching our animal-free dairy mozzarella into the food service channel with pizzerias, we’ve partnered with global CPG companies to demonstrate that our casein can be used to create other dairy products including yogurt, creamers, and beverages. It can also serve as the foundation of protein-forward products for performance nutrition, metabolic health, GLP-1 nutrition, and everyday consumption."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"0e77a154e854","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"9c6946e49fed0","_type":"span","marks":["em"],"text":"But of all the qualities and parameters that we’re asked about our cheese, which comes up most frequently - and is mentioned in our latest patent? Stretch (of course!)."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"1f93b2e26fea","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"375963cb9c2a0","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"--"}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"96c2839f8c70","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"caace956d5b80","_type":"span","marks":["strong"],"text":"Casein: the Cheese Stretch Protein"}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"e5e3888bf67e","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"c4bdd973fee30","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"There’s one component of cheese that’s responsible for the ooze of brie, the crumble of feta, the chew of cheddar, the melt of mozzarella. It’s called casein protein. Until now, casein could only be found in animal milk. Yet at New Culture we’re transforming the dairy industry by producing casein without needing animal milk, or any animal inputs at all. Instead, we produce casein by fermenting sugars in large fermentation tanks and then we recover the casein as a white protein powder. By mixing the casein powder with plant-based oils, salt, sugar and minerals, we’re able to make an animal-free dairy mozzarella."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"97a67341ef5c","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"8e61b63d882e0","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"This means we’re able to make a totally animal-free mozzarella that stretches (and tastes) just like conventional mozzarella. That’s why when it came to filing our patent, stretch was a critical characteristic of our cheese to include."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"d262474190f9","_type":"blogImage","alt":"Another patent for New Culture","asset":{"_ref":"image-e80561ff644ab65241742f224480bf0695ccad0c-6000x4000-jpg","_type":"reference"},"options":{"_type":"options","width":"small"}},{"_key":"53a2520f1638","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"503f0325b1fc","_type":"span","marks":["strong"],"text":"Stretch is a Complex Dance"}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"07fd97f316f0","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"acc9c60e050d0","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"There’s a whole lot more to stretch than meets the eye. In our quest to make animal-free mozzarella that performs just like conventional mozzarella, we’ve had to learn all about how cheese actually stretches. Regardless of whether a mozzarella has a wide, “sheety” stretch or several thinner strands or an oilier stretch or a nice snap when the strands finally break, the foundation of it all is casein protein."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"5706c40ce6bf","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"a8f10f409ee70","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Along with the other components of mozzarella (either a milk-based version or New Culture’s animal-free version), casein forms an interlocking protein network or matrix. Imagine a dance floor where everyone is dancing on their own until that special song comes on and a conga line gets started. Everyone comes together, links into a line, and starts moving in the same direction. Then, once the conga line starts to heat up, there starts to be some space in between each person, so much so that sometimes you need to run to catch up to the person in front of you!"}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"afc63284f612","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"a2db44a1b93e0","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"The same goes for the protein network that casein enables. Once the cheese starts to heat up, the network softens and expands, leading to the mozzarella stretch that we all know and love. At different temperatures the cheese will stretch to different lengths and in different ways, all depending on the protein network and cheese."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"3653768378de","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"951cc1910d4c0","_type":"span","marks":["strong"],"text":"Assessing Stretch"}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"09332578fb02","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"3b99525d1fcc0","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Our team is constantly trying to find new and creative ways to push the stretch of our animal-free cheese. Sometimes it’s adding a little more of an ingredient, other times it’s adjusting steps or temperatures in the cheesemaking process. Regardless of how we make the cheese, one thing is a constant once it’s been made and ready to evaluate: we put the cheese through a series of tests to see how it performs. Some tests are meant to assess visual characteristics, some functional, some sensory. Stretch as a property of cheese falls into both the visual and functional categories."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"878eca42b4ad","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"31a0f30676b7","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"There are two primary ways that we (and the rest of the cheese industry) measure stretch. First: the “fork test.” It may be surprising to learn that a gold standard analytical technique in the cheese industry involves a regular fork. Yet, to measure stretch, something has to lift up melted cheese and the fork is the tried and true tool for the job. Our teammates wedge the fork horizontally into the melted cheese atop a pizza, get underneath a good amount of cheese (but not any of the pizza crust), and then pull the fork directly up from the plate. Another team member holds a ruler in the background so we can measure how many inches the cheese stretch extends. Depending on the cheese, the stretch may hit a few inches before snapping, sometimes it extends for more than a foot. Either way, the longer the stretch, the wider our smiles get."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"2f5da84c2429","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"2b5f6959946b0","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"The second way we measure stretch is using an industry standard piece of equipment called a Texture Analyzer (TA). A TA assesses various textural qualities of food, primarily mimicking the sensation of biting into a food (e.g. hardness, springiness, cohesiveness, chewiness). However, a TA has an attachment called an “extensibility rig,” which is used to measure the stretch of melted cheese. The rig is wedged into melted cheese and then pulls upward, measuring the sample’s stretch profile, resistance to pulling and the height at which the stretched cheese snaps."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"c77a39f6b48e","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"08918ab988490","_type":"span","marks":["strong"],"text":"Stretching the Boundaries of Dairy"}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"eba1de1dab47","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"f9327cc5c97a0","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Pizza lovers know that the experience of eating pizza has an important visual quality to it. All of the stretch tests that we run at New Culture are for the purpose of creating the best possible animal-free dairy mozzarella to enable the best possible eating experience. As we think about what makes New Culture special, it’s the breakthroughs our team has made in generating our animal-free casein protein and then turning that protein into delicious animal-free dairy cheese. We’re extremely proud of our scientific progress and the transformation that we’re leading in the dairy industry. As we continue to push the industry forward, we’re excited to share about upcoming milestones, and how far we’re able to stretch the boundaries of animal-free dairy."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"}],"title":"Another granted patent for New Culture","_rawHero":{"_type":"figure","alt":"Another patent for New Culture","asset":{"_ref":"image-e80561ff644ab65241742f224480bf0695ccad0c-6000x4000-jpg","_type":"reference"}},"hero":{"hotspot":null,"crop":null,"asset":{"_id":"image-e80561ff644ab65241742f224480bf0695ccad0c-6000x4000-jpg"},"alt":"Another patent for New Culture"},"seo":{"title":"Another granted patent for New Culture","description":"We secured another patent for dairy made from animal-free casein. 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