Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
  • A23L—FOODS, FOODSTUFFS, OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES A21D OR A23B-A23J; THEIR PREPARATION OR TREATMENT, e.g. COOKING, MODIFICATION OF NUTRITIVE QUALITIES, PHYSICAL TREATMENT; PRESERVATION OF FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS, IN GENERAL
  • A23L2/00—Non-alcoholic beverages; Dry compositions or concentrates therefor; Their preparation
  • A23L2/385—Concentrates of non-alcoholic beverages
  • A23L2/39—Dry compositions

Definitions

• This invention relates to a dry carbonated beverage mix for dietetic carbonated beverages. More particularly, it relates to naturally sweetened dry beverage mixes which are free of artifical sweeteners.
• potable beverages particularly carbonated beverages
• beverages prepared there from may be characterized by caloric content as dietetic or non-dietetic.
• the dietetic carbonated beverages prepared from such mixes have heretofore been made with artificial sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners appeared to be necessary in order to keep the calories down but provide effective sweetness.
• the non-dietetic carbonated beverages contain a high caloric content considered unattractive to the weight-conscious and forbidden or ill-advised for certain others.
• a low-calorie carbonated beverage mix is the composition of Timothy J. Kennedy and Philip J. Shires (U.S. Patent Application 570,332, filed April 21, 1975), Kennedy et al. disclose a dry low-calorie carbonated beverage mix comprising from 7-30% of a crystalline sugar carrier.
• the Kennedy et al. low-calorie dry mix is primarily sweetened with a non-sugar dipeptide sweetening agent, e.g., aspartame.
• Fructose' is disclosed, among a number of suitable sugars, as a suitable sweetener in a dry-mix system in comb.ina- tion with molecular sieves in U.S. Patent 3,930,053 to C. H. Japikse, G. Singh and T. J. Kennedy, December 30, 1975. 'Japikse et al. do not, however, mention or discuss dietetic beverages or that a suitably sweetened, low-calorie beverage could be made from an all-fructose-sweetened dry mix.
• the rate of carbonation of the beverage made therewith be rapid.
• Japikse et al do not mention any effect which fructose may have, for better or worse, on the rate of carbonation of the beverage made with a . dry beverage mix according to their invention and a CO 2 -loaded molecular sieve carbonation device.
• fructose is the sweetest natural sugar
• a liquid fructose-sweetened dietetic carbonated beverage is hampered by insufficient sweetness at dietetic levels, for the sweetest form of fructose is unstable in liquid systems and diminishes with the passage of time.
• fructose can provide effective sweetness for a dietetic carbonated beverage via the dry carbonated beverage mix and method of the present invention, in contrast to the diminished or fleeting fructose sweetness developed in liquid systems, particularly liquid. carbonated soft drinks. It is a primary object of the present invention to provide an alternative to artificially sweetened dietetic carbonated beverages.
• an object of the present invention to provide a fructose-sweetened, dry beverage mix in combination with a suitable carbonation device for the provision of a sweet dietetic carbonated beverage.
• the present invention is based on the discovery that a surprisingly sweet, low-calorie, dietetic, rapidly carbonating carbonated beverage is provided by a method of adding a beverage-making liquid to an instant, dry, low-calorie, dietetic, fructose-sweetened carbonated beverage mix, at the point of consumption.
• the dry instant mix of the present invention comprises an effective amount of an essentially pure crystalline fructose sweetener, a flavorant and an acidulant, in combination with an instant carbonation device.
• the carbonation device is effective to carbonate the beverage at the point of consumption when said instant mix is brought into contact with a beverage-making liquid.
• a C0 2 -loaded molecular sieve disc affixed in a serving container is a preferred instant carbonation device.
• a beverage made in accordance with the present invention has only about 6 calories per fluid ounce of serving, but surprisingly has an effective level of sweetness for consumer 'enjoyment during average serving periods.
• the beverage of the present invention is acceptably sweet, but contains only about one-half the sugar weight and caloric content of ncn-dietetic beverages.
• the dry, low-calorie, dietetic, rapidly carbonating carbonated beverage mix of the present invention is made from (1) an essentially pure crystalline fructose sweetener, (2) a flavorant, (3) an acidulant and (4) an instant carbonation device effective to carbonate a beverage when an effective amount of a beverage-making liquid is brought into contact with the dry mix.
• the dry mix and the beverage made therefrom are free of artificial sweeteners.
• the dry mix is made by dry mixing an effective t amount of essentially pure crystalline fructose with other dried beverage ingredients.
• essentially pure crystalline fructose as used herein includes fructose powders, granules, and agglomerated powders.
• the fructose sweetener is dry-mixed with dried flavor crystals comprising the flavorant, acidulant and'a crystalline sugar carrier.
• Such flavor crystals are preferably made by the method comprising forming a uniform slurry (or a thick liquid) of a liquid flavorant, an acidulant, and a minor but effective amount of a crystalline sugar carrier.
• Sucrose is a preferred carrier, but at the concentration levels involved contributes no perceptible sweetness.
• the uniform slurry is then dehydrated in a suitable manner, e.g., vacuum-dried to provide the substantially dry flavor crystals. Admixing an effective amount of the dry crystalline fructose sweetener with the flavor crystals gives a preferred, stable, dry beverage mix.
• a preferred embodiment of the dry beverage mix comprises a dry mix of essentially pure dry crystalline fructose and dry flavor crystals in which the flavor crystals constitute from about 4% to about 12% by weight of the dry beverage mix.
• the crystalline sugar carrier of the flavor crystals is sucrose which constitutes from about 20% to 40% by weight of said dry flavor crystals.
• the fructose sweetener constitutes from about 88% to about 96% by weight of the dry beverage mix.
• Another way to make the dry beverage mix of the present invention is to make a slurry of all the dry beverage mix ingredients including an effective amount of essentially pure crystalline fructose sweetener and co-drying the same to provide a substantially dry uniform beverage mix.
• Such a mix is a substantially uniform ccmbi- nation of said fructose sweetener, flavorant and acidulant.
• other methods of combining and drying the ingredients will be obvious to those skilled in the art.
• a C0 2 -loaded molecular sieve disc is affixed at the bottom of a serving container to provide instant carbonation.
• suitable carbonation devices useful in the present invention are disclosed by Alexander Leon - Liepa and Cornelis Hendrikus Japikse in U. S. Patent No. 4,007,134, February 8, 1977, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, particularly the drawings.
• a preferred instant carbonation device following the teachings of Liepa and Japikse is a single molded block of C0 2 -loaded molecular sieve material having a thickness of from about 0.001 inch to about 3 inches. Both the block and dry beverage mix are enclosed or put into a container, e.g., a serving cup. When water is introduced, preferably over ice, into the container making contact with the mix and block, the CO 2 is discharged from the block and its discharge serves to agitate and promote the dissolution of the dry mix and provide beverage carbonation.
• the fructose sweetened beverage mixes herein are found to carbonate more rapidly than otherwise similar beverages which are sweetened with sucrose when each is carbonated with a CO 2 -loaded molecular sieve carbonation device as discussed herein. Furthermore, it is found that the rate. of carbonation of the beverage made with the essentially pure crystalline fructose sweetened beverage mix herein does not depend on whether the carbonation device is placed above or below the dry mix particles in the serving container before the addition of the beverage making liquid and the preferably added ice. This facilitates the use of carbonation devices which are not affixed to the serving container, since the consumer will not find the effectiveness of the carbonation device affected by whether the-device or dry beverage mix particles are first placed in the serving container.
• the present invention provides a method of maximizing the sweetness level of fructose in a fructose-sweetened, low calorie, dietetic, rapidly carbonating carbonated beverage at the point of consumption.
• a beverage-making liquid By adding a beverage-making liquid to the instant dry, low calorie, dietetic, rapidly carbonating carbonated beverage mix a surprisingly high level of fructose sweetness is provided.
• the term "dietetic" beverage as used herein means a beverage which has 6 or less calories per fluid ounce of serving. Of course, the fructose sweetener accounts for substantially all of the calories in the. beverage.
• a molded block in the form of a disc having a plurality of elongated channels extending from one surface to an opposite surface is held in place at the bottom of a serving cup.
• the disc is a C0 2 -loaded molecular sieve material having an amount of carbon dioxide effective to'carbonate the beverage when brought in contact with the liquid.
• Chilled water or cool tap water and ice are preferred beverage-making liquids.
• Carbonated water can also be used as both the carbonation device and the beverage-making liquid.
• ice and water are added to the serving cup containing the dry carbonated beverage mix to provide a specified total volume.
• An anti-foaming agent can be included in the dry beverage mix.
• a rapidly dissolvable dry antifoam additive for dry beverage compositions is disclosed in U.S. Patent 3,983,251 to Gyanendra Singh, September 28, 1976, assigned to The Procter & Gamble Company..
• the antifoamant can be an integral part of the flavor crystals of the dry beverage mix.
• Example II Several sample servings of a dry, low-calorie, dietetic carbonated beverage mix were prepared by dry admixing 93.3 parts of substantially dry and essentially pure crystalline fructose with 6.7 parts of the dry flavor crystals of Example I. This is about 15.9 g of fructose and about 1.15 g of flavor crystals for a total weight of 17.05 g of dry beverage mix per 10.6 fluid ounce drink, including 105 g of cubed ice (3.55 fluid ounce).
• the dry mix was placed in a serving cup equipped with a CO 2 -loaded, molecular sieve disc like the one illustrated in Fig. 3 of U.S. Patent 4,007,134, supra. At the point-of consumption, the ice is placed in the cup and cool tap water added. The beverage is rapidly carbonated.
• the beverage under column A was freshly prepared from the dry mix by adding about 105 g of cubed ice and 200 ml of cool tap water thereto. The beverage is rapidly carbonated.
• the beverages each having a caloric content of about 6.0 per fluid ounce of serving, were allowed to stand for about 4 minutes before tasting. After about 4 minutes, the level ef carbonation in both beverages was about 1.5 to about 1.6 volumes of CO 2 per volume of liquid.
• the sweetness level of the beverage under column A was found by all panelists to be greater than that of the Carterage under column B.
• a 2000 g batch of a dry low-calorie dietetic carbonated cola beverage mix was prepared having the following formulation:
• the dry mix was prepared by weighing and mixing the dry ingredients together first and then combining the admixture with the liquid cola flavor base and acidulant. This admixture resulted in a uniform liquid slurry. The slurry was then mixed with the fructose in a Hobart blender until a uniform wet flavor-coated fructose mass resulted. This wet mass was transferred to trays and vacuum-dried at a drying shelf temperature between room temperature and 100°F. The dried product was passed through a U.S. #6 screen and retained on a U.S. #18 Standard screen to provide a combination of the fructose sweetener coated with said flavorant and acidulant.
• the dry beverage mix was packed into serving cups having a CO 2 -loaded carbonation disc as described in U.S. Patent 4,007,134, Fig. 3, supra, at a level of 17.5 g; about 105 g of ice was added to make a 11.3 fluid ounce serving.
• the C0 2 discharged to agitate and promote the dissolution of the dry mix and provide beverage carbonation.
• the beverage was rapidly carbonated.
• the beverage was allowed to stand for about 5 minutes; a panel of expert tasters tasted the fructose-sweetened dietetic carbonated beverage and found it acceptably sweet and without any unpleasant aftertaste.

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• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Nutrition Science (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Food Science & Technology (AREA)
• Polymers & Plastics (AREA)
• Non-Alcoholic Beverages (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

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Family Applications (1)

Country Status (15)

Cited By (7)

Families Citing this family (4)

Citations (3)

• 1978
  • 1978-05-29 CA CA304,263A patent/CA1103982A/en not_active Expired
  • 1978-05-29 PH PH21206A patent/PH13768A/en unknown
  • 1978-05-30 AU AU36611/78A patent/AU3661178A/en active Pending
  • 1978-06-01 EP EP78200015A patent/EP0000077A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 1978-06-01 BE BEBTR3A patent/BE3T1/xx active
  • 1978-06-01 GB GB7915035A patent/GB2040665B/en not_active Expired
  • 1978-06-01 NL NL7815002A patent/NL7815002A/xx unknown
  • 1978-06-01 JP JP6498278A patent/JPS5441367A/ja active Pending
  • 1978-06-01 DE DE19782857000 patent/DE2857000A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 1978-06-02 DK DK249278A patent/DK249278A/da not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1978-06-02 ES ES470449A patent/ES470449A1/es not_active Expired
  • 1978-06-02 AT AT0402378A patent/ATA402378A/de not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1978-06-02 IT IT7824174A patent/IT7824174A0/it unknown
• 1979
  • 1979-03-15 FR FR7906821A patent/FR2427066A1/fr active Pending
  • 1979-06-12 SE SE7905165A patent/SE7905165A0/sv unknown

Patent Citations (3)

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