Palm oil is a vegetable oil appearing in half of all packaged items found in supermarkets – margarines, biscuits, breads, breakfast cereals, instant noodles, chocolates, ice creams and more. This common ingredient is widely used in processed foods for its unique properties as a milk fat or hydrogenated fat substitute due to its functionality and low flavor profile.

Produced with palm oil rather than butterfat, Schreiber’s cream cheese substitute is a cost-friendly solution to your establishment’s cream cheese needs. The product’s clean flavor tastes like cream cheese in baking and frying applications. Taste testers rated it highly for its similarity to cream cheese in both cheesecakes and fried foods.

We all love cream cheese, and it deserves to keep a place in our kitchens. Restaurant operators may opt for a substitute ingredient in some situations due to performance or cost:

• Schreiber’s cream cheese replacement solution outperforms cream cheese in deep-fried applications (its firmer texture holds up better in the fryer) and pastry fillings (the firmness helps suspend mix-ins like fruit or chocolate pieces).
• The cream cheese substitute costs less than cream cheese because palm oil is not subject to butter market fluctuations. Restaurants reexamining their expenses in the current economy can save by using a substitute without sacrificing quality or taste.

Schreiber’s cream cheese substitute is available through IPAP in 10/3 lb. loaves (Item #008995). This formula is nutritionally equivalent to regular cream cheese, so it can be used as an easy one-to-one replacement in most recipes. For more information, contact your IPAP Account Manager.

These selections of cheeses are crafted with pride in Wisconsin using milk from local, family farms. Cheese kits generate cost savings with complete yields, portion control and minimization of labor. The smaller cuts are easier to store and handle and offer minimal prep time.

*No significant difference has been shown between milk derived from rBST-supplemented and non-rBST-supplemented cows.

The dairy markets have swung all over the place since the coronavirus pandemic began, making it hard to keep up. Where do things sit now?

Milk production in June was down 3% from May. Cheese market prices hover well above average, but demand is trending downward now that reopened restaurants have restocked. Buyers in foodservice expect rising COVID-19 cases to again hurt business. Cheesemakers have responded by lessening production, according to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), but production remains “stable to strong.” Buyers anticipating price drops are holding out to make their next cheese purchases.

The Wisconsin State Farmer summarized the market volatility of the last few months: “Sharp reductions in milk and milk solids production, major government purchases of dairy products for food assistance programs, increased retail sales of dairy products, and a temporary spike in foodservice restocking purchases quickly flipped a switch from severe oversupply to substantial market tightness within a span of weeks, dramatically raising milk and dairy-product prices.” Since then, block prices have declined by almost one-third after hitting a record-high $3 in mid-July. Barrel prices have been falling, too.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) continues to purchase cheese for distribution to food banks as part of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program. The federal government is helping to keep demand and prices higher than they might have been otherwise. However, if schools and universities go online this fall, a major consumer base for dairy products will once again be missing like in the spring. That being said, some of these sales could shift from foodservice to retail.

Prices could soon fluctuate for another reason: Many export contracts between West Coast cheese plants and Asia are expiring this month, according to the Wisconsin State Farmer. These American suppliers sold more cheese and nonfat dry milk around the world to stay afloat when domestic foodservice demand cratered and the United States’ lower prices attracted other countries. “But the price of cheese and nonfat dry milk moved above world prices in June and July which likely slowed exports,” writes Emeritus Professor Bob Cropp of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

IPAP offers weekly dairy market updates offering data and analysis from the USDA and CME. To see the latest insights, bookmark the Market Recap page and check back each Friday afternoon.

July is National Ice Cream Month. Although IPAP does not redistribute ice cream, this $11 billion industry supports many farmers who do business with IPAP’s suppliers. Test your knowledge of this delectable frozen treat, then go enjoy a cone or pint for your local dairy farmers. Answers appear below the Dairy Dive.

1. Which is not among the top five selling ice cream flavors in the U.S.?

A) Cookies and cream

B) Mint chocolate chip

C) Strawberry

A) New Zealand

B) Brazil

C) France

A) Bill Clinton

B) George W. Bush

C) Barack Obama

A) Granny’s Sweet Potato Casserole (Kentucky)

B) Honey Jalapeno Pickle (Colorado)

C) Biscuits and Gravy (Mississippi)

A) The waffle cone

B) Neapolitan ice cream

C) Hot fudge syrup

• Dairy farmers dumping milk worldwide are on brink of crisis (The Detroit News)
• Roller-coaster milk prices bring uncertainty in dairy country (Wisconsin State Farmer)
• These restaurant chains filed for bankruptcy during the pandemic (CNBC)
• Farmers’ milk prices rising, easing dairy farm losses, but for how long? (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
• Walmart, Kroger bottle their own milk and shake up American dairy industry (Fox Business)
• Current milk prices show need for major program changes (Wisconsin State Farmer)
• The Cost of Reopening a Restaurant in a Pandemic (Eater)
• The pandemic has hit restaurants hard, but experts say the ‘ghost food hall’ concept might save them (The Washington Post)
• Latin America’s Dairy Industry Finds Own Way Through Pandemic (Lancaster Farming)
• American Cheese Society president, and lifetime achievement honoree, grew up loving Wisconsin flavors (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
• Wisconsin diners are using Facebook groups to rate restaurants by how well they’re following COVID-19 health guidelines (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
• ‘I think once the consumer tries it, they’ll be hooked’: Fennimore farmer produces milk tolerable by lactose-sensitive customers (Channel 3000)
• Cheese might save the small dairy (Salina Journal)

C) Strawberry

A) New Zealand

C) Barack Obama

C) Biscuits and Gravy (Mississippi)

A) The waffle cone