Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Products per se – or processes of preparing or treating... – Foam or foamable type
Reexamination Certificate
2002-03-08
2004-04-27
Bhat, N. (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Products per se, or processes of preparing or treating...
Foam or foamable type
C426S518000, C426S524000, C426S654000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06726949
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an aerated frozen product having low fat content. More particularly, the invention relates to an aerated frozen dessert product having low fat content wherein at least part of the fat is present in the form of platelets and which achieves physical and sensory properties more commonly associated with higher fat products.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Frozen aerated products such as ice cream are complex mixtures, which are often defined in terms of continuous and dispersed phases. The continuous phase is a combination of an unfrozen solution, a fat emulsion and a suspension of solids in liquid. Water, sugar, hydrocolloids, proteins and other solubles make up the unfrozen solution. Suspended in the aqueous phase are insoluble solids, including ice crystals, and milk solids. The continuous phase also consists of dispersed air bubbles, or foam.
The ingredients and processing variables used in its production dictate the characteristics of this mixture and therefore the aerated product's sensory attributes. Quality ice cream, for example, should possess a smooth and creamy mouthfeel resulting from a high level of homogeneity of the components. An ice cream's texture refers to its smoothness and is perceived whilst the ice cream is being manipulated in the mouth. The characteristic is directly related to the size of the crystalline material present. Most of the fat and water present is in the crystalline state, but ice crystals and air cells form a coarser dispersion than that of fat globules. The roughness observed when perceptible crystals are present is generally felt to be a sign of diminished quality.
In addition to controlling the extent of crystallisation in the frozen aerated product, the physical properties of frozen ice cream complex must be controlled for a quality ice cream. Such a product should not melt away too quickly at ambient temperature so as, for example to retain its firmness to the spoon for the period of its consumption. However, the product must melt when exposed to elevated temperatures and in particular should exhibit a gradual and controlled melting behaviour when put in the mouth upon eating.
Air cell stability and size in the aerated frozen product influence that product's meltdown characteristics and mouthfeel. After ice cream has been extruded, for example, the stability and size of the cells depend on the mechanical properties of the air interface and the properties of the medium surrounding the cells. The interface comprises emulsifiers, such as proteins, fat globules and agglomerated fat globules or droplets. On account of their shape, globules are typically equated with “spheres” and innumerable shapes can be formed from combination of those globules as they agglomerate. However, the partial protrusion of these globules and agglomerates from the interface together with fat completely dispersed in the continuous phase also indirectly stabilize the aerated product.
These fat agglomerates are formed during the processing of ice cream emulsion. Fat present in the pre-mix (simply the mixture of ice cream ingredients before the steps of homogenization and pasteurisation) is emulsified when that pre-mix is homogenized to form fat globules. The extent of emulsification depends on the type of fat, proteins and other emulsifiers present in the pre-mix. Typically the homogenized mixture containing emulsified fat is then pasteurised to form what is known in the art as the “mix”, aged for a period of time, and later frozen, aerated and extruded. The actual agglomeration of emulsified fat occurs during the later freezing and aerating process.
Emulsifying ingredients must be chosen to allow this fat agglomeration to occur. The possibility of obtaining too much agglomeration (resulting in an oily sensation upon eating the final aerated product) and no agglomeration (resulting in a poor structure for the product) is considerable.
Small molecular emulsifiers control the extent of fat agglomeration by partially destabilizing the fat globule membrane. Although there are a number of suitable food grade emulsifiers, fatty acid monoglyceride and diglyceride esters are commonly used.
During the ageing time of the mix used to form the aerated product, the action of the small molecule emulsifiers causes protein rearrangement at the oil/water interface, and some protein is desorbed. The state of the interfacial layer at the end of this ageing time will determine the stability of the fat globules to the subsequent shear and aeration process. The lower the emulsion stability, the more fat agglomeration that will result during processing. During ageing of the mix, some liquid fat present will crystallise. This crystallisation process does not, however, lead to any significant change in the geometry of the fat globule.
Since the beginning of the 1980s there has been an increasing demand for confectionery products and desserts such as ice cream and related products which have a reduced calorific value.
Reducing the amount of fat in the ice cream would be the most effective way of reducing the calorific value as it has a calorific value per gram which is higher than that of carbohydrates. By reducing the amount of fat in the ice cream, considerable difficulties arise as its effectiveness in stabilising the structure is reduced. Further, key sensory attributes of ice cream such as creamy texture, mouthcoating and thickness are dominated by the flow behaviour of the aerated product during melting; changes to the fat content alters the viscosity of the mix and the air cell structure of the aerated product.
To compensate for reduced stability as the content of the fat is reduced, solutions would include using polysaccharide as a stabilizer and modifying the proteins (which are also adsorbed in the air cell interface). These changes to formulation have unsatisfactory results for the taste and texture of the ice cream. An alternative solution is to replace the typical fats of ice cream (triglycerides) with a fat simulating material. WO91/11109 (Whelan et al.) discloses replacement of fat with polyol fatty acid polyesters having at least four fatty acid groups, each group containing from 2 to 24 carbon atoms. These polyesters retain the organoleptic properties of the ice cream but have the disadvantage that they either have an undesirable laxative effect or give a waxy mouthfeel.
Recently, homogenisation technologies have been utilized in the ice cream industry to decrease the size and increase the number of fat globules in the ice cream product. This provides better distribution of the available fat in the fat-reduced product. However, to maintain maximum functionality of the small oil droplets the emulsifier system needs to be adjusted (as described in Barfod N. M. et al. “Effects of Emulsifier on Protein-Fat interactions in the Ice Cream Mix during Ageing: Quantitative Analysis” Fat Science and Technology 93 (1991) 24-29) and severe shear conditions such as those applied by low temperature extrusion are advantageous. Such technologies are not readily available and are expensive.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an aerated frozen product having low fat content but high stability and meltdown resistance at ambient temperatures.
It is another object of the invention to provide an aerated frozen product that exhibits controlled and gradual meltdown when exposed to the temperatures of the mouth upon eating.
It is also an object of the invention to provide an aerated frozen dessert product having low fat content that has a thick and creamy mouthfeel.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an aerated frozen product that can be produced economically using readily available technologies.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
These and other objects of the invention are achieved by the present invention which comprises an aerated frozen product comprising less than 8% fat by weight and characterized in that the aerated frozen product comprises fat platelets, and after it has been melted and cooled comprise
Adolphi Ulrich
Cox Andrew Richard
Kirkland Mark
Singleton Scott
Bhat N.
Good Humor−Breyers Ice Cream, Division of Conopco, Inc.
McGowan, Jr. Gerard J.
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