DE102018212628A1 - Food product - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for producing a food product, preferably a vegan food product, comprising heating a first mixture comprising water, vegetable fat, vegetable protein and thickening agent to produce a fat emulsion; adding a gelling agent to the fat emulsion to make a second mixture; and cooling the second mixture to produce the food product. Furthermore, a food product is described which can be produced by the method.

Description

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the field of food preparation. In particular, the invention is directed to a method for producing a preferably vegan food product. With the method according to the invention, good sensory properties as well as scalloping properties can be achieved in the food product, which also have a high protein content. The food product is particularly suitable as a vegan cheese alternative.

Background of the Invention

In Germany, around 8 million people eat vegetarian and 1.3 million people vegan. According to estimates, around 2,000 vegetarians and 200 vegans are added every day. The vegan trend can also be recognized globally. The number of people currently eating vegetarian or vegan is estimated at 1 billion worldwide with corresponding continuous increases.

According to the market research company Mintel, more vegan products were launched in Germany in 2016 than in any other European country. Germany is now at the top of Europe with 18% of all imports. In addition, the “vegan” claim (13%) has now overtaken the “vegetarian” label (7%) for German food and beverage products.

The generally increasing importance of vegan and vegetarian nutrition is also evident from the fact that three researchers were awarded the German Future Prize in 2014 because they produce plant-based food ingredients from lupine. The lupine protein is used as the basis for vegan products such as Yogurt and cream cheese alternatives, desserts, drinks and ice cream used.

The demand for vegan food is therefore a very attractive and fast-growing market for food manufacturers. In addition, vegan-eating consumers place great value on natural food production and therefore prefer organic food.

In the area of vegan cheese alternatives, however, the offer is manageable overall and sometimes not convincing in terms of sensor technology, declaration, nutritional value, organic quality and functionality.

In general, consumers mention the consistency and mouthfeel of the products currently on the market as not very convincing. The consistency of the vegan cheese alternatives is less elastic and more brittle compared to natural cheese. Most consumers rate the mouthfeel as not juicy and not creamy enough. It can therefore be assumed that an improvement in the sensory properties would lead to a higher level of consumer acceptance.

The uses of vegan cheese alternatives correspond to those of cheese: They are used as bread topping and for gratinating e.g. B. used in casseroles and pizzas. However, the gratin properties of the vegan cheese alternatives on the market are inadequate, since they hardly melt and therefore do not run off when gratinated. A vegan cheese alternative with cheese-like melting and scalloping properties would therefore be an enrichment for the vegan-eating consumer.

Consumers also criticize the high number of additives used such as. B. modified starches, carrageenan, acidulants and similar substances. Some of the additives used such. B. Carrageenan are suspected to be harmful to health. Certain carrageenans are thought to cause ulcers in the gastrointestinal tract or to promote the growth of existing ulcers. Limiting the number of additives and using additives without health risks would also largely satisfy critical consumers.

Furthermore, many of the vegan cheese alternatives are based on food starches, vegetable fat and binders. Protein-rich foods are not used at all or only in small quantities, so the protein content of the vegan cheese alternatives is very low. However, a higher protein content is desirable insofar as it could achieve a more balanced and healthier diet.

From a technological point of view, existing vegan products are a derivative of the cheese analogs. Cheese analogues are cheese substitute products in which milk fat and milk casein have been increasingly replaced by vegetable fat and starch for cost reasons. Ultimately, this process resulted in a vegan product made mostly of starch and vegetable fat and without proteins. A typical analog cheese recipe as it is offered on the market is listed below as an example: 48% water, 26% vegetable fat, 26% modified and native starch.

In order to enhance the vegan cheese alternatives nutritionally and sensory improve, in particular products with a low plant protein content, mostly below 2%, have been brought onto the market in recent years. The vegetable protein is brought into the vegan cheese alternatives, among other things, through almond-containing foods or almond flour. According to the current state of knowledge, higher protein concentrations are difficult to achieve, especially with plant proteins in combination with starch, since this does not result in a cheese-like consistency. This has been confirmed in many attempts. The test products were not cutable, produced a rough mouthfeel and had a matt, cheese-untypical appearance. Also with other vegetable protein sources, such as. B sunflower or rapeseed protein, a higher protein content cannot be achieved. In addition, due to their brownish color, these protein sources are generally unsuitable.

The manufacturing process for the vegan cheese alternatives on the market is the same as for analog cheeses. These are made by mixing and heating the ingredients. This is usually done on heating systems that are common in the processed cheese industry (screw cooker from Karl Schnell or a melting cutter AGM from GLASS). The heated mass is then filled into plastic bags, which are placed in rectangular metal molds (e.g. in the Euroblock format 500 × 300 × 100) for cooling. After cooling, depending on the starch used, further storage for post-curing can take place; this can take several days to weeks. After the plastic bags have been removed, the finished blocks are cut into bars and then cut into slices on industrial slicers (e.g. Weber).

In addition to the slices, grated meat, often referred to as "pizza melt", is also offered. This "pizza enamel" is used for gratinating and is produced using a similar process to the slices described above. Instead of slicing, the bars are grated, mixed with an anticaking agent (e.g. cellulose) and filled into bags gassed with nitrogen and / or carbon dioxide.

In general, the vegan diet is lower in protein compared to the diet including animal products and requires vegan consumers to eat consciously in order to cover their daily protein needs. With a vegan lifestyle, the foods in question generally have a lower energy density and can lead to an undersupply of protein.

The low protein content of the vegan cheese alternatives on the market therefore does not meet the requirements for a protein-rich vegan diet. A vegan cheese alternative with a significantly higher protein content would support the pursuit of more protein in the vegan diet.

Because of the above-mentioned disadvantages of known vegan cheese products, there is therefore still a need for improved foods which are suitable for the vegan diet, and in particular vegan cheese formulations which have good sensory properties with regard to consistency and mouthfeel, achieve good baking properties with a cheese-like melt. Such a food product, in particular a vegan cheese alternative, should also contain little additives or no additives with health risks and should have a high protein content.

Summary of the invention

• - Erhitzen einer ersten Mischung umfassend Wasser, pflanzliches Fett, pflanzliches Protein und Verdickungsmittel zum Herstellen einer Fettemulsion;
• - Zugabe eines Gelierungsmittels zur Fettemulsion zum Herstellen einer zweiten Mischung;
• - Abkühlen der zweiten Mischung zum Herstellen des Lebensmittelprodukts.

According to one aspect of the present invention, this object is at least partially achieved by a method for producing a food product, preferably a vegan food product, the method comprising the following steps:

• Heating a first mixture comprising water, vegetable fat, vegetable protein and thickener to produce a fat emulsion;
• Adding a gelling agent to the fat emulsion to produce a second mixture;
• Cooling the second mixture to produce the food product.

The method according to the invention is characterized in that the steps of fat emulsification and gelation take place at different times. This enables a firm, elastic and slicable product matrix to be produced. In contrast, a mixing of all recipe components, i.e. also of the gelling agent, before or during the heating step, cause the fat to separate during heating and not be able to be re-integrated into the product matrix. A complete and stable emulsification of the fat would not be possible. Only if the vegetable fat was reduced to less than 10% would a heating step as described above be possible without fat separation. However, reducing the vegetable fat would not result in a desired firm, elastic and slicable consistency, but would result in an almost spreadable mass.

Because of this, the step of fat emulsification is carried out before the step of adding the gelling agent. A premix of water, fat, protein and thickener is used manufactured. A stable emulsion is produced from the premix, for example with vigorous stirring, with heating, into which the gel former is then introduced and mixed uniformly. The separation of the sub-processes of fat emulsification and gelling agent addition creates a viscous and homogeneous mass when hot, which has a firm, elastic and slicable consistency after cooling.

The vegetable fat can be a vegetable fat with a neutral taste and melting point at approx. 35 ° C to 40 ° C, especially coconut fat. The use of coconut fat has the particular advantage that, in addition to its technological suitability, coconut fat also stands for sustainable production.

The vegetable fat can be present in the first and / or second mixture in a proportion of 5 to 40%, preferably 15 to 35%, further preferably 20 to 30%. This enables a cheese-like consistency to be achieved.

The vegetable protein can be selected from soy protein, lupine protein, rapeseed protein, pea protein, rice protein, almond protein, or a mixture thereof, preferably soy protein, lupine protein and / or almond protein.

It has been shown that protein sources that have a high protein content in the dry matter and at the same time have a low ball load content are particularly suitable, such as. B. soy, lupine, rapeseed, pea and rice protein with a protein content greater than 80% or almond protein with a protein content of about 50%. In terms of taste, soy and lupine protein are preferred. With regard to the color, a white, beige or yellow basic color is sought. This is achieved with lupine, soy and almond protein. A smooth mouthfeel with a cheese-like consistency is z. B. achieved when using lupine protein.

The vegetable protein can be present in the first and / or second mixture in a proportion of 1 to 20%, preferably 2 to 10%, further preferably 4 to 6%.

The thickener can be selected from guar gum, konjac, locust bean gum, methyl cellulose, or a mixture thereof.

The thickener can be present in the first and / or second mixture in a proportion of 0.1 to 5%, preferably 0.2 to 2%, more preferably 0.3 to 1%.

The gelling agent can be selected from agar, carrageenan, gellan, methyl cellulose, alginate. These gelling agents have proven to be particularly advantageous when carrying out the process according to the invention. The gelling agents can lead to gelling of the second mass while still heated, or can only bind when the second mixture cools.

The gelling agent may be present in the second mixture in a proportion of 0.5 to 5%, preferably 1 to 4%, more preferably 1.5 to 2.5%.

The heating step can be carried out with stirring so that a uniform fat emulsion is produced, preferably at 100-8,000 rpm.

The first mixture can be heated to a temperature in the range from 60 ° C. to 160 ° C., preferably 80 ° C. to 99 ° C., further preferably 90 ° C. to 97 ° C. A uniform fat emulsion can be achieved at these elevated temperatures.

• - Homogenisieren der zweiten Mischung, vorzugsweise bei einer Temperatur im Bereich von 60°C bis zu 160°C, vorzugsweise 80°C bis 99°C, weiterhin vorzugsweise 90°C bis 97°C.

The method can further comprise the step:

• - Homogenizing the second mixture, preferably at a temperature in the range from 60 ° C to 160 ° C, preferably 80 ° C to 99 ° C, further preferably 90 ° C to 97 ° C.

The homogenization step ensures that the food product produced has a homogeneous consistency. The homogenization can be carried out in particular by vigorous stirring, preferably at 5,000-12,000 rpm.

The homogenization can be carried out over a period of 1 to 30 minutes, preferably 2 to 15 minutes.

The first mixture and / or the second mixture can furthermore contain one or more flavorings.

The cooling can be carried out in a period of up to 48 hours, preferably up to 24 hours. Cooling refers to cooling to ambient temperature, for example room temperature. In the case of filling in plastic casings with a diameter of 6 cm, the hot sausages need approx. 24 h to cool down to ambient temperature. After cooling, the plastic casings can be removed so that the sausages are cut into slices with a thickness of approx. 2-3 mm, for example on an industrial cutting apparatus.

The second mixture can be poured into portions before cooling. For example, the second mixture can be filled into plastic casings, as individually packaged cheese slices (IWS) or SOS (slice-on-slice) slices.

The food product can be a vegan, cheese-like or sausage-like food product or bread topping.

Furthermore, the present invention relates to a food product, preferably a vegan food product, produced by the method described above.

The present invention also relates to the use of the food product as a vegan cheese-like food product, vegan bread topping, or vegan sausage-like food product.

list of figures

• 1 zeigt eine schematische Darstellung des Verfahrens gemäß einem Ausführungsbeispiel der Erfindung.

Currently preferred embodiments of the present invention are described in the following detailed description with reference to the following figure:

• 1 shows a schematic representation of the method according to an embodiment of the invention.

Detailed description of various embodiments

Currently preferred embodiments of the invention are described below. However, it is emphasized that the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

1 shows a schematic representation of the method according to an embodiment of the present invention. In a first step, water, vegetable fat, vegetable protein and thickener can be provided as a mixture. A stable fat emulsion can be produced by heating this mixture, preferably with vigorous stirring. After the fat emulsion has formed, a gelling agent is added, preferably while it is still hot. Again, with vigorous stirring, a homogeneous mass is produced from the mixture that has now formed. Depending on which gelling agent is used, the homogeneous mass gels already in the hot state or only after cooling, the latter for example in the case of agar as the gelling agent. The homogeneous mass can be filled or packed into portion-appropriate packaging sizes during cooling or later.

example

• 64,5 % Wasser
• 25,8 % Pflanzenfett
• 2,1 % Karrageen
• 1,5 % Salz
• 0,5 % Johannisbrotkernmehl
• 5,2 % Lupinenprotein (Lupino AG)
• 0,4 % veganes Aroma (Silesia)

An exemplary formulation according to the present invention was made comprising:

• 64.5% water
• 25.8% vegetable fat
• 2.1% carrageenan
• 1.5% salt
• 0.5% locust bean gum
• 5.2% lupine protein (Lupino AG)
• 0.4% vegan flavor (Silesia)

In a first step, water, protein, vegetable fat and thickening agent (locust bean gum) were placed in a suitable container (e.g. stirrer with heating function). The ingredients were stirred for 1 minute and then heated to 95 ° C, which took about 10 minutes. The heating step was carried out at about 2,000-9,000 rpm. After reaching a temperature of 95 ° C, the gelling agent (carrageenan) and the aromas were added. The entire mass was then homogenized for 2 min with vigorous stirring (8,000-12,000 rpm). The high level of mechanical processing during homogenization is particularly necessary here in order to produce a smooth and slightly creamy mouthfeel.

After homogenization, the mass was filled into suitable portions and cooled. The product obtained by the process had a cheese-like consistency.

Claims (18)

A method of making a food product, preferably a vegan food product, comprising the steps of: Heating a first mixture comprising water, vegetable fat, vegetable protein and thickener to produce a fat emulsion; Adding a gelling agent to the fat emulsion to produce a second mixture; Cooling the second mixture to produce the food product. Procedure according to Claim 1 wherein the vegetable fat is present in the second mixture in a proportion of 5 to 40%, preferably 15 to 35%, more preferably 20 to 30%. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the vegetable protein is selected from soy protein, lupine protein, rapeseed protein, pea protein, rice protein, almond protein, or a mixture thereof, preferably soy protein, lupine protein and / or almond protein. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the vegetable protein is present in a proportion of 1 to 20%, preferably 2 to 10%, further preferably 4 to 6% in the first and / or second mixture. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the thickening agent is selected from guar gum, Konjac, locust bean gum, methyl cellulose, or a mixture thereof. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the thickener is present in a proportion of 0.1 to 5%, preferably 0.2 to 2%, more preferably 0.3 to 1% in the first and / or second mixture. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the gelling agent is selected from agar, carrageenan, gellan, methyl cellulose, alginate. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the gelling agent is present in a proportion of 0.5 to 5%, preferably 1 to 4%, more preferably 1.5 to 2.5% in the second mixture. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the heating step is carried out with stirring, so that a uniform fat emulsion is produced. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the first mixture to a temperature in the range of 60 ° C to 160 ° C, preferably 80 ° C to 99 ° C, further preferably 90 ° C to 97 ° C is heated. Method according to one of the preceding claims, further comprising the step: - Homogenizing the second mixture, preferably at a temperature in the range from 60 ° C to 160 ° C, preferably 80 ° C to 99 ° C, further preferably 90 ° C to 97 ° C. Method according to the preceding claim, wherein the homogenization is carried out over a period of 1 to 30 minutes, preferably 2 to 15 minutes. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the first mixture and / or the second mixture further contains one or more flavorings. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the cooling is carried out in a period of up to 48 hours, preferably up to 24 hours. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the second mixture is filled into portions before cooling. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the food product is a vegan, cheese-like or sausage-like food product or bread topping. Food product, preferably vegan food product, manufactured according to one of the Claims 1 to 16 , Use of the food product after Claim 17 as a vegan cheese-like food product, vegan bread topping, or vegan sausage-like food product.

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