Frozen low-fat food emulsions

Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Products per se – or processes of preparing or treating... – Foam or foamable type

Reexamination Certificate

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C426S103000, C426S578000, C426S650000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06607775

ABSTRACT:

The present invention relates to frozen low-fat food emulsions, particularly to low-fat oil-in-water emulsions, and to processes for preparing these emulsions.
Although an increasing number of consumers prefer low-fat food products over full fat food products, it is difficult for manufacturers of low-fat products to replicate the desired flavour of full-fat products. This difficulty is particularly a problem in frozen low-fat food products such as ice-creams, and other low-fat food products.
It has been demonstrated that lowering the fat content of foods gives rise to flavour imbalance, as the rate of flavour release is greater in fat-reduced foods; in this respect, reference is made to an article by Shamil et al in Food Quality and Preference 1991/2, 3 (1) 51-60 entitled “Flavour release and perception in reduced-fat foods”.
The greater rate of flavour release in reduced-fat frozen oil-in-water food emulsions is demonstrated by the present inventors in
FIG. 1
, which is a graph of profiles of flavour intensity against time for non-aerated ice-creams having different levels of fat (see in particular line 7 (0.5 wt % fat) and line-1 (12.8. wt % fat)).
During oral processing, full-fat (eg 12.8 wt % fat) ice-creams exhibit a gradual build up of flavour to a low peak of maximum flavour impact, followed by a slow dissipation of flavour. In contrast, traditional very low-fat/zero-fat (less than 3 wt % fat) ice-creams exhibit a rapid dissipation of flavour creating a very high peak of maximum flavour impact at an early stage of oral processing.
The same greater rate of flavour release in reduced-fat food products also occurs in the oral processing of full fat versus low fat non-frozen food emulsions, as is known from our co-pending application PCT/EP98/00645.
The profile exhibited by full-fat frozen products eg ice-creams equates to a taste and mouthfeel that are preferred by consumers; the profile exhibited by equivalent low-fat products equates to a flavour which is initially too intense, with no pleasing aftertaste.
Many important flavour molecules are lipophilic i.e. hydrophobic. As fat levels are reduced in oil-in-water emulsions, a greater proportion of these flavour molecules are found in the water phase. When the emulsion is broken down, eg in the mouth during eating, the hydrophobic nature of the flavour molecules results in their rapid release into nasal airspace.
Developments in flavour technology have resulted in flavour molecules being encapsulated to control flavour release and to stabilise and protect the molecules. Commonly-used encapsulation techniques include spray-drying, bed fluidisation and coacervation. (See the reference “Encapsulation and Controlled Release” by Karsa and Stephensen, Royal Soc Chem, ISBN 0.85/86-6/5-8.)
These techniques involve entrapping a flavour molecule within a covering or microcapsule. The resulting encapsulated product is often in the form of small dry particles, which are added to foodstuffs. Upon heating or eating the foodstuffs, the particles are thermally or physically broken down to release the flavour molecules. The release is normally rapid.
U.S. Pat. No. 5 498 439 discloses encapsulating flavour oils in a colloid gel, which is made from water and animal protein polymers or plant polysaccharides. The flavour oil is mixed with the gel components under high shear pressure to create a stable colloid gel matrix, in which the flavour oil is physically encapsulated and retained by the hydrophilic nature of the gel. A solution of the encapsulated flavour oil may be injected into meat to impart flavour thereto.
Our co-pending patent application PCT/EP98/00645 discloses non-frozen low-fat food emulsions having a rate of flavour release which is comparable to that of the equivalent full-fat non-frozen food emulsions. In particular it discloses a non-frozen low-fat food emulsion comprising a continuous aqueous phase and a dispersed phase which comprises fat particles, gel particles and fat-soluble flavour particles with the rate of release of the flavour molecules from the emulsion being delayed to provide a similar release rate to that of the corresponding full fat product.
The present invention seeks to provide a frozen low-fat food emulsion having a rate of flavour release which is comparable to that of a full-fat frozen food emulsion, thereby creating a frozen low-fat food emulsion having the flavour of a frozen full-fat food emulsion.
According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a frozen low-fat food emulsion comprising a continuous aqueous phase and a dispersed phase which comprises fat particles, gel particles and fat-soluble flavour molecules, wherein substantially all of the fat particles are located within the gel particles, and wherein at least 35% of the flavour molecules are located in a plurality of the gel particles to thereby delay the rate of release of the flavour molecules from the frozen emulsion.
It is preferred that at least 50% of the flavour molecules are located in a plurality of the gel particles, and most preferably at least 60% are so located.
The actual proportion of flavour molecules which are located in the gel particles will depend on the oil/water partition coefficient of the flavour molecules concerned. In the above, it is preferred that a plurality (i.e. more than 50%) of the flavour molecules are located in a plurality of the gel particles (which may be the case when the flavour molecule has a better solubility in oil than in water). The higher the percentage of the flavour molecules that is located in the gel particles, the better is the delayed release effect obtained.
For the purpose of the present invention, fat-soluble flavour molecules include flavour molecules which are totally soluble in fat or oil, and flavour molecules which are only partially soluble in fat or oil.
‘Frozen’ as used herein refers to emulsions that contain part of their composition as ice. The characteristic temperature at which ice forms is dependent on the amount of soluble components in the composition. Typically the temperature at which ice forms in the composition, or at which freezing occurs, is in the range of 0° C. to −5° C., but it may be lower, e.g. 5° C. to −20° C. if a high solids (especially sugar) content is used. The frozen emulsion is designed to be stored and/or consumed with an ice-phase present.
The frozen low-fat emulsions of the present invention have a continuous aqueous phase (which may be in a partially or fully frozen state in the frozen product) and a dispersed phase which comprises fat particles, gel particles and flavour molecules. Any food product that is frozen and has the above structure is encompassed by the term “frozen (low-fat) food emulsion” as used herein.
Also, it is herein to be understood that the present invention is limited (application in) to frozen emulsions. Examples include ice-creams, sherbet, frozen custards, frozen yoghurts, frozen mousses, and other conventionally fat containing frozen (emulsion) confections. A list of typical frozen food products is given in “Ice-cream”, by Arbuckle 4th edition, Appendix B and E, published by Van Nostrand Reinhold Company. Also covered by “frozen emulsions” are frozen “microstructured emulsions”. Furthermore within the term frozen-emulsions as used herein are encompassed frozen food products that are not conventionally produced as emulsions such as e.g. water ices, sorbets and frozen fruit purees, but which will be in the form of a frozen emulsion when produced in accordance with the invention.
It is to be understood that the term “frozen food emulsions” as used herein includes all such suitable emulsions. Also encompassed by the term “frozen emulsions” as used herein are water ices, sorbets and other conventionally fat free food products having a fat ingredient added thereto. In certain circumstances it may be desirable to include a fat-containing component in a water ice or sorbet, etc., for example to produce a ‘creamy’ or ‘milky’ texture, or to allow the introduction of fat-soluble flavours. In such case

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