Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Products per se – or processes of preparing or treating... – Foam or foamable type
Reexamination Certificate
1999-02-25
2002-03-05
Bhat, Nina (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Products per se, or processes of preparing or treating...
Foam or foamable type
Reexamination Certificate
active
06352734
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to frozen dairy products. More particularly, the present invention relates to formulations and methods for producing frozen dairy products for dessert use that have surprising stability, organoleptic, and body characteristics.
2. Statement of the Problem
Frozen dairy products enjoy great popularity. Many variations of frozen dairy products have been developed for dessert use, including ice cream, whipped toppings, and soft-serve products. Soft-serve products are particularly popular and have a wide appeal. Distinguishing features of conventional soft serve products are that they are frozen in a special soft-serve freezer, are dispensed by extrusion at carefully chosen subfreezing temperatures, and generally stand up on a cone or dish upon extrusion. Conventional soft-serve products are usually dispensed at an overrun on the order of 40% to 60%. Although soft-serve products of this character have been marketed for many years, they are still available only from stores having special freezers that dispense the product for immediate consumption. This is because the product generally is dispensed at temperatures between 16° F. and 24° F. At lower temperatures, the product is no longer sufficiently soft. Thus, conventional soft-serve products are not suited for sale from grocery store freezers for home storage and use. Home freezers maintain temperatures generally around 0° F. to 10° F., and store freezers, which as used herein includes grocery store, supermarket, and restaurant freezers, are generally at colder temperatures. Others have expended considerable effort to develop a soft-serve product for home use, but apparently with little success. A search of the prior art concerning such frozen dairy products discovered the following patents:
Rivière et al.
WO 97/30600
Aug. 28, 1997
Morley et al.
4,346,120
Aug. 24, 1982
Morley et al.
4,400,406
Aug. 23, 1983
Tapfer et al.
5,482,728
Jan. 9, 1996
Sponholtz
5,690,983
Nov. 25, 1997
Cole et al.
4,452,824
Jun. 5, 1984
Zobel et al.
4,478,867
Oct. 23, 1984
Gonsalves et al.
5,077,076
Dec. 31, 1991
Martin et al.
5,171,602
Dec. 15, 1992
Martin et al.
5,358,728
Oct. 25, 1994
Kahn et al.
4,421,778
Dec. 20, 1983
Greenberg et al.
4,840,813
Jun. 20, 1989
PCT Patent No. WO 97/30600 to Rivière et al. teaches a compound that is “spoonable” at −18° C. to −24° C. (−0.4° F. to −11.2° F.) and that contains 6 to 18 wt % milk proteins (as skim milk or dried milk powders), 6 to 24 wt % fat, 20.3 to 24.6 wt % carbohydrates (8.2 to 13.3 wt % dextrose, 3.3 to 8.2 wt % invert sugar, and 7.0 to 8.2 wt % glucose syrup), 0.25 to 0.8 wt % stabilizer, and 49 wt % liquid skim milk. The overrun is 50 to 200%. The Rivière patent relies on vegetable fat with a very low melting point, specifically sunflower oil, to achieve the softness or spoonability set forth. There is a further reliance on the use of emulsifiers (mono- and diglycerides) to provide the whipability, desirable texture, and shelf life characteristics of this frozen dessert.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,346,120 and 4,400,406 to Morley et al. teach a soft-serve compound. U.S. Pat. No. 4,346,120 shows a compound with 5 to 15 wt % milk solids non-fat (MSNF), 5 to 15 wt % fat, 20 to 40 wt % carbohydrates, 0.25 to 1.3 wt % stabilizer, 0.2 to 0.8 wt % emulsifier, and 43 to 65 wt % water. The overrun is between 110 and 220%. U.S. Pat. No. 4,400,406 is a continuation in part of the U.S. Pat. No. 4,346,120 patent that has different ranges: protein is between 3 and 7 wt %, fat is at 3 to 15 wt %, carbohydrates are at 18 to 30 wt %, stabilizer is at 0.35 to 1.0 wt %, water is at 43 to 65 wt %, and emulsifier is at 0.2 to 0.8 wt %. The overrun is between 100 and 220%. The Morley patent relies upon providing a saccharide system containing various sugars, a stabilizer system employing at least one stabilizer from each of at least three groups of stabilizers, and an emulsifier system having particular emulsifiers to provide an extrudable product at home freezer temperatures (0° F. to 10° F.). The carbohydrates used include fructose, sorbitol (a sugar alcohol), and corn syrup. The presence of the sorbitol is justified by a need to compensate for the excessive sugary taste imparted by the fructose.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,482,728 (to Tapfer et al.) teaches “hard” ice cream compositions containing 10 to 12.19 wt % MSNF, 5 to 14 wt % milk fat, 12.99 to 18.48 wt % carbohydrates as sugars encapsulated in fat, 0.29 to 0.34 wt % stabilizer/emulsifier, and 58.28 to 69.48 wt % water. The overrun is 50%. The key to the Tapfer et al. results is their method in which the sugar components are encapsulated in fat before use.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,690,983 (to Sponholtz) discloses an unfrozen expanded ice cream mix having 10.70 wt % MSNF, 8.00 wt % milk fat, 8.00 wt % sucrose, 7.0 wt % dextrose, 2.55 wt % stabilizer-emulsifier mix (Mixture TS-D 434), and 4.5 wt % flavor, for a total solids content of 42.75 wt %. The composition forms a liquid aerated mix with an overrun of 90% that can be stored at non-freezing temperatures.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,452,824 (to Cole et al.) teaches a soft-serve composition containing 2 to 10 wt % MSNF, 2 to 15 wt % milk fat, 24 to 34 wt % carbohydrates, 0 to 2 wt % stabilizer, 0.2 to 1.0 wt % emulsifier, and 45 to 65 wt % water. The carbohydrates are distributed in a critical combination so that the ratio of higher saccharides to mono- and disaccharides (ratio 1) and the ratio of disaccharides to monosaccharides (ratio 2) satisfy the relationship of 11≦(28×ratio 1)+ratio 2≦28. The overrun is 50 to 200%.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,478,867 (to Zobel et al.) teaches a process for whipping an emulsion. The emulsion contains 2 to 30 wt % nonfat dry milk, 18.0 to 30.0 wt % vegetable fat, 20.0 to 30.0 wt % carbohydrates, 0.01 to 2.0 wt % stabilizer, 0.5 to 2 wt % sodium caseinate, 0.4 to 2.0 wt % emulsifier, and 40 to 60 wt % water. The overrun is 200 to 350%. This emulsion has a texture similar to that of whipped cream (Cool Whip®).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,077,076 (to Gonsalves) teaches a formula for a whipped topping. The topping is comprised of 2.5 to 7.0 wt % MSNF, 5 to 15 wt % fat (either vegetable fat or milk fat), 15 to 25 wt % carbohydrates, 0.05 to 1.0 wt % stabilizer, 0.5 to 2 wt % sodium caseinate, 0.15 to 0.6 wt % emulsifier, 0.03 to 0.15 wt % phosphate salts, and 57 to 62 wt % water. The overrun is more than 250%. This topping also has a texture similar to that of whipped cream (Cool Whip®).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,171,602 (to Martin et al.) discloses a nonfat composition for a dessert product consisting of 8 to 18 wt % MSNF, 12 to 36 wt % carbohydrates, 0.5 to 3.0 wt % starch, and the balance being water. There is no fat, stabilizer, or emulsifier. The overrun is 80 to 100%.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,358,728 (to Martin et al.) is similar to U.S. Pat. No. 5,171,602, except that 0.03 to 0.3 wt % polyphosphate compounds are added.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,421,778 (to Kahn et al.) teaches compounds that contain a premix comprising 10 to 30 wt % fat, 3.5 to 20 wt % emulsifier, 6 to 34 wt % stabilizer, and the balance being a protein carrier, such as MSNF, dairy whey, whey protein, and/or a carbohydrate carrier. The basic composition is described as an oil-in-water emulsion of 3.00 wt % premix, 10.85 wt % protein, 24.00 wt % carbohydrates, 54.24 wt % water, 0.50 wt % flavor, and 7.41 wt % fat, of which at least 50% is a solid beta phase-tending crystalline fat (such as lauric fats, coconut oil, palm kernel oil, palm oil, etc.) that prevents the formation of crystalline surfaces. The overrun is 70 to 130%.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,840,813 (to Greenberg et al.) discloses a product having 4.0 to 7.2 wt % casein and 1 to 7 wt % whey. It is required by this patent to have a whey:casein ratio from 1:0.5 to 1:4. The product also includes 0.1 to 9.0 wt % fat, 14 to 18 wt % carbohydrates, 0.5 to 2 wt % ash, 0.1 to 5.0 wt % flavor, and 55 to 65 wt % water. The overrun is 40 to 100%.
In these prior formulations, it has been common to obtain a soft-serve type of produc
Brake Nicole C.
Martin, Jr. Robert W.
Bhat Nina
Dorr, Carson , Sloan & Birney, P.C.
Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, Inc.
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