EP2999347A1

EP2999347A1 - Cream product produced by using natural products such as milk, clotted cream, molasses and honey and the production method thereof

Info

Publication number: EP2999347A1
Application number: EP14736055.6A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Ahmet Firuzhan KANATLI
Original assignee: Eti Gida San Tic AS
Current assignee: Eti Gida San Tic AS
Priority date: 2013-05-02
Filing date: 2014-05-02
Publication date: 2016-03-30
Also published as: WO2014178807A1; EA201592100A1; EA031623B1

Abstract

The present invention is related to a cream product with milk, honey, clotted cream, butter., and molasses, which enables the products such as milk, honey, clotted cream and molasses to be offered to the consumers as end products and maintains the pasteurized milk and butterfat with same quality and composition for longer period by its nature, and to the production method thereof.

Description

DESCRIPTION

CREAM PRODUCT PRODUCED BY USING NATURAL PRODUCTS SUCH AS MILK, CLOTTED CREAM, MOLASSES AND HONEY AND THE PRODUCTION METHOD

THEREOF

Related Technical Field

The present invention enables the products such as milk, honey, clotted cream, butter, and molasses to be offered to the customers with industrially reasonable shelf lives. The present invention is related to a cream product with milk, clotted cream, molasses, or honey, which maintains the pasteurized milk and butterfat with same quality and composition for longer period by its nature, and to the production method thereof.

State of Art:

In the state of art, the products such as milk, clotted cream, molasses, and honey are offered to the consumer separately. Honey and molasses can. have longer shelf lives thanks to lower water activities thereof. However, the shelf life_. of pasteurized milk and butterfat is extremely limited. The above mentioned reasons prevented the industrial sales of said product mixtures and thus said and similar mixtures have been traditionally prepared in the houses and consumed afterwards.

The fresh milk has a limited shelf life unless the necessary measures are taken. The harmful microorganisms may reach the levels dangerous for the human health in the milk in a quite shorter period due to its composition that is rich in terms of nutrients. Even if pasteurization is performed in order to protect the milk, the shelf life of the milk is no longer than 3-4 days providing that it is preserved at 4 °C. Similar problems decrease the storage times of cream and similar products, which contain milk. Therefore, either the shelf lives of cream ^' and similar milk containing products are extended by adding several additives or they are consumed as end products with quite shorter shelf lives.

In the patent application numbered EP0818149, a food product comprising 20-45% fat by weight, 20-38% water by weight and consisting of fat, milk protein, sugars and water in the form of oil-in-water emulsion, and having a Ph of 3.5-6 is disclosed.

The product. disclosed in the patent is constituted by whey, cheese, sour cream, yoghurt and the mixtures thereof. Fresh milk is not used during the preparation of the product and dairy products are benefited in order to obtain the product.

Ά cream preparation method and a cream product are disclosed in the patent application numbered W09911147. Said cream contains a milk derivative, sugars in the rate of 8-30%, yeast dairy product in the rate of 10-60%, sour cream or butterfat in the rate of 0-25% containing fatty agent in the rate of 25-45%, tissue forming agent in the rate of 0-35%, aromatized product in the rate of 0-20% and salt in the rate of 0-0.5%.

Said mixture is prepared by means of mixing and is treated thermally, the temperature of the mixture is raised up to 15-45 °C and the melted fatty agent is added into the mixture by means of mixing in order to obtain homogeneous cream. The cream obtained by this means can be used by being placed on at least, one biscuit, preferably between two biscuit layers or in the production of a food composition.

The above mentioned product contains processed dairy products such as milk powder, cheese and yoghurt. As known, the dairy products are subjected to intensive thermal treatment during the production periods thereof. During said thermal treatment, milk proteins in the fresh milk are denatured and the biological benefit that the consumers gain from the milk decreases.

On the other hand, the melted sugar syrup can contain industrial sugars such as glucose syrup and sugar therein. Using the industrial sugars in the product without using natural products will decrease the benefit of the product.

A composition forming agent such as maltodextrin is required to be used in order to fully form the product composition according to the patent application numbered W09911147.. Forming an end product in the form of more consistent cream is not possible without using composition forming agents and additives such as milk powder. Moreover, using tissue forming agents in the rate of 35% in the composition decreases the biological benefit of the end product.

Salt in the rate of 0-0.5% by weight is added into the abovementioned product in order to extend the shelf life of the product. It is not possible to obtain an end product with balanced shelf life without using salt and similar preservative additives.

Products cannot be obtained without using additives,_, filling materials and industrial sugars by applying the production method disclosed in the patent application numbered W09911147.

Within patent application numbered EP1253820, a candy product which contains 6-20% milk protein by weight, has a dried milk mass weight of

16-55% when compared to total weight of the end product, and in which the denaturation grade of the milk proteins is 20%, and a production method applied for producing said product are disclosed . The product disclosed in the patent application disclosed in the patent application numbered EP1253820 is similar to the product disclosed in the patent numbered W09911147 in many aspects; however, the denaturation rates of milk protein are reduced thanks to the patent numbered EP1253820. Even though the protein denaturation rates are decreased, it is not possible to form the composition of end product without using several additives. Achieving a balanced phase in the end product cannot be possible due to the discrete production -process. The stabilizer polysaccharides or emulsxfiers ensuring fat stability are required to be added into the composition during the production in order to create the desired stabilized product composition.

On the other hand, mineral salt in the rate of 1.5-3% is used in the product mixtures presented as example in the patent description numbered EP1253820. It is seen that the shelf life of the end product cannot be balanced without using salt and similar preservative agent. Palm oil in a certain amount is added into the composition in the product samples disclosed in the patent numbered EP1253820. The end product is tried to be made more balanced by using palm oil and similar fats. Producing end product with desired composition is not possible with the production method disclosed in the patent without using palm oil and similar fats.

An end product made of 100% natural ingredients, not comprising preservative agents and additives and having longer shelf life and higher product stability cannot be produced by using the production methods mentioned above and known within the state of art.

Similarly, the additional agents that do not create a balanced phase with the product (fruit and vegetable fibers, fruit-dried nut particles, cereal protein fibers, etc.) cannot be added into the composition without spoiling the stability of the composition, as the stability of the end product is not high.

The stability of the product samples described within the state of art is ensured by means of additives, preservative agents and emulsifiers (i.e. additional agents added externally). In such case, the end product obtained is excessively affected from the temperature fluctuations. As the composition of the . end product consists of the mixtures of several agents, the unbalance of one of the agents forming the composition at that temperature level negatively affects the stability of the composition. When it is considered that the composition of the end product consists of many different agents, the temperature levels for storing the product are extremely limited.

Objects of the Invention:

The object of the present invention is to disclose a preservative-free industrial application and product, wherein the products that are commonly consumed traditionally such as milk, honey, clotted cream, butter and molasses , are present all together and offered to the consumer as end product.

Another object of the present invention is to gather the traditional products such as milk, honey, clotted cream, butter and molasses and transform thereof into products and semi-finished products with longer shelf lives (that can be topped, deposited and injected), which can be processed via high stability at wide viscosity, density and temperature ranges by making use of appropriate components and special production methods.

Another object of the present invention is to combine the semi-finished products obtained with different products (cake, bread, biscuit, cereal bar, chocolate, etc.) thanks to the physical (stable crystal structure) , chemical (balanced nutrients consisting of protein, fat, carbohydrate, vitamin and minerals) and microbiological (preventing the formation of fungus-yeast-bacteria) features thereof, and to obtain different products with longer shelf lives in appropriate storage conditions ( (-18)-( +10 °C) ) .

Another object of the present invention is to^ create products (produced by using 100% fresh milk or condensed milk and butterfat obtained from 100% fresh milk) , which consist of fewer and completely natural ingredients, by eliminating the use of additives and preservatives. Another object of the present invention is to disclose a product that is completely made of fresh milk and does not contain emulsifier, preservative, additional sugar and milk-based fats.

Another object of the present invention is to disclose a stable product composition that will form a balanced phase thanks to the nutritious and functional ingredients such as fruit-vegetable fibers, cereal proteins, cereal fibers, fruit-dried nut particles, yoghurt and cheese. Another object of the present invention is to disclose a product that is not affected from the temperature changes and can be used at wide temperature ranges.

Another object of the present invention is to disclose an end product that can be processed at wide viscosity ranges.

Another object of the present invention is to disclose a production method that minimizes the product wastes, can balance the nutrients of the end product, and can prevent the faults such as contamination and product degeneration based on transport and installation equipment. Another object of the present invention is to disclose a production method that can enable lower process temperatures and minimum processing.

Description of the Invention :

The present invention is a food product that consists of completely natural and fewer raw material ingredients and does not contain additives such as preservatives. Said product consists of 25-45% fresh milk, 10-20% clotted cream, 10-45% natural sweetener such as honey or molasses and aromas, 15-40% milk fat by mass and functional nutritional ingredients such as milk vitamins, milk minerals, milk proteins , fibers, yoghurt and cheese, additionally.

Several products with different sweetness level and tastes can be obtained by changing the types and rates of the ingredients included in the abovementioned mixture.

The milk based products and semi-finished products according to the present invention can be produced with longer shelf life in industrial scale and can be transformed into end products in different forms thanks to high processability features thereof. If desired, the milk-based product obtained can be marketed as end product or be topped on another carrier surface such as cake, bread, biscuit, cereal bar and chocolate by using methods like depositing and injecting. Similarly, the density and viscosity value of the product mixture according to the present invention is increased and assumed as carrier surface and then, a product such as chocolate and cream, the density and viscosity of which is lower can be coated thereon .

The whole fat used in the composition is milk-based clotted cream, milk fat or butter. Additional external fats are not required to be used in order to create the desired emulsifier composition. The desired emulsifier composition can be created without external fat addition by using the special production method according to the present invention.

The water activity of the end product form obtained by using the abovementioned ingredients is fixed in the range of 0.8-0.9. Therefore, the amount of free water within the composition is reduced and the microbial decompositions are especially prevented.

The products in a wide density range can be obtained by using the said mixture rates. The density value of the end product can be regulated between 0.2 and 1.2 g./cm³. Thus, the product to be obtained can be used as semi-finished product for many different processes.

Similarly, the viscosity values of the end product can be regulated at the range of 1.000-20.000 cp . The processability functions of the product are increased especially when the product produced is desired to be used as semi-finished product.

Similarly, the temperature of the end product can be regulated at the range of 5-20 °C. Therefore, application can be performed at a wide area.

The pH of the end product produced can be fixed at the range of 5.5-7.0 without requiring an intervention. As the composition consists of few stable ingredients, the acidity value of the end product can be controlled.

The sample product mixture for the abovementioned product formulation with general properties is presented below. The sample formulation formed is for the compound amounts required for producing 100 Kg end product. Compound Amount

Pasteurized skimmed milk 4 0 Kg

Clotted cream 2 0 Kg

Honey, molasses and/or natural 2 5 Kg

sweetener

Butter 15 Kg

Total 100 Kg

The natural ingredients contained in the end product according to the present invention are processed by means of specific three-stage production method without requiring any additional agents. A balanced product form and end product with longer shelf life can be obtained without adding additives that form composition, prevent decomposition or enhance emulsion, into the formulation thanks to said production method.

The details of the production method of the food product according to the present invention are as follows;

Firstly, the raw milk to be added into the product is cleaned by means of several methods.

The cleaned milk is subjected to separation process for removing both the impurities in the milk and the milk fat and the milk fat received after the process is reserved for being used in the next stages.

The clotted cream, natural sweeteners, fibers and other ingredients such as yoghurt and cheese, and the milk fat separated from the milk after separation process are dosed in the combined process machine with the values appropriate for the formulation of the end product. Said combined process machine is a machine enabling the pasteurization, condensation and homogenization processes to be performed within the same equipment.

The combination obtained is mixed in a multi-functional process machine at 30°C until a homogeneous mixture is achieved. The mixture, the homogeni zation process of which is completed, is pasteurized in the same machine upon increasing the temperature thereof without being transferred into another process machine.

The temperature of the mixture following the pasteurization is increased up to 63 - 85 °C that is the average pasteurization temperature. In case that the mixture is transferred to another machine for condensation process after said process, the mixture is required to be heated again due to heat losses, the contamination risk due to the installation equipment (pipe, pump, etc.) and the spoilage risk in the physical structure of the product due to the transfer equipment (pump etc. ) occur and obtaining a stable product becomes difficult. Therefore, the mixture is condensed within the same process machine without being transferred to another process machine after the pasteurization. The mixture is evaporated under 0.6- 0.8 bar vacuum at 60-80 °C until the desired dry product values are achieved and byproduct is formed.

The byproduct losses experienced during transportation are minimized and the risks of contamination and change in the quality of the product due to pumps and installation equipment are eliminated by performing the evaporation, pasteurization and homogenization processes within one single machine.

The byproduct subjected to evaporation, pasteurization and homogenization processes is kept in the intermediate process machine in order for the temperature to be adjusted to the temperature of the next process.

Pasteurization and evaporation processes require high temperature. However, lower temperatures are needed for crystallization-aeration process to be performed in the next stages. Thus, the temperature of the mixture is decreased after the evaporation process. The temperature is decreased as rapid as possible in the methods used for producing similar products in the state of art. The stability of the composition is spoiled by decreasing the temperature of the mixture in a rapid and imbalanced manner. In order to ensure the stability of the composition when said methods are used, the composition is made more stable by adding chemical agents into the mixture.

However, the mixture is rested after the evaporation, pasteurization and homogenization processes and the temperature of the mixture is decreased gradually within the production method according to the present invention. Said condition enables the mixture according to the present invention to create a more balanced phase, the agents that do not dissolve within each other under normal conditions are supplied in a controlled manner and the products, the balanced mixtures of which cannot be created under normal conditions can be mixed. Therefore, composition forming agents are not required to be used for creating the composition.

The byproduct is subjected to crystallization-aeration processes after the temperature adjusting and resting processes. The crystallization and aeration processes are performed gradually by using a multi-passage process machine.

The product temperature is fixed between 20 °C and 30 °C (±0.5 °C) in the first stage. Therefore the stability of the end product is ensured (without composition forming agents) .

Then, several gases (air, nitrogen, C02, etc.) are added into the mixture for decreasing the density thereof up to 0.2 - 1.2 g/cm3 and the fat is enabled to have the desired crystal structure by further cooling the mixture. The product can have the desired colloidal structure by controlling the temperature and the density of the mixture. The mixture can either be aerated or different gases such as ¾ and C02 can be used in order to adjust the density of the mixture during aeration.

However, in the last stage, the temperature of the product is adjusted so as not to cause any change in the composition of the product and thus, the end product can be processed.

The crystallization-aeration process performed in three stages above can be performed in the three-passage

crystallization-aeration process machine that can enable each stage of the process to be performed in a separate passage.

The multi-passage process machine may have either three passages or more than three passages in accordance with the features of the process to be performed. Thanks to the different processes to be performed, different compounds can be added into the mixture by using different medium conditions in different stages so as to create a more balanced phase.

The mixture consisting of the present ingredients is eliminated from being processed twice due to several ingredients added in the intermediate passages thanks to the use of combined unit. Thus, the nutritional values and stability of the end product are damaged in a minimum level.

During crystallization and aeration process, the critical parameters such as temperature and pressure in different passages can be adjusted to different values in wide ranges as the product is processed in different passages under different desired medium conditions. In the crystallization and density adjusting stages during said multi-passage process, the gases (air, N2, C02), aromas and other pumpable ingredients may be added into the mixture. Different ingredients (gases, aromas and other pumpable ingredients) may be added and the product may be provided with different features after or at the end of each passage thanks to the use of crystallization-aeration process machine.

For example, while the compounds such as gases that dissolve more at lower temperature, can be added into the mixture at low temperature in a separate passage, the liquid ingredients that can dissolve at high temperature can be dosed into the mixture at high temperature in a separate passage. Said processing flexibility enables the mixture to create a more balanced phase.

The pumpable compounds that are not desired to be processed after each passage can be included in the passages at different temperatures and thus, the compounds that are sensitive to the temperature are transferred into the composition without being damaged.

The temperature of the emulsion being included in the system is fixed in the first passage by means of the temperature change feature of the multi-passage system and thus, the changes that may negatively affect the stability of the end product can be eliminated.

The critical parameters (temperature, pressure and circulation) which cannot be provided by other single-passage technologies can be regulated in the passages before the final passage. Therefore, the emulsion can be aerated and the fat therein is provided - with the desired crystal structure (balanced crystal structure, homogeneity and small particles) . Thus, the product is enabled to have the desired colloidal structure.

After the emulsion is aerated, the air cells can be distributed among fat globules with small diameters in a homogeneous manner and thus, a system with a wide surface area is obtained. In addition, fat globules can be degraded to very small sizes thanks to the three-stage production method. Thus, the surface areas of the fat crystals are maximized and a distribution that is not affected from the heat easily is achieved.

The fat globules included in the colloidal structure are degraded to a size (nano size) that they cannot aggregate. Therefore, the number and the surface areas of fat globules in the same unit area increase logarithmically. The surface of fat globules subjected to heat applied in the same unit area is resistant to the heat more than the surface obtained by means of known technology and methods. Thus, the product is made resistant against the heat changes more than the other products and becomes more stable.

As the compounds in the product are degraded to colloidal size (lnm- lum) , re-combinations arising from the changes in the medium conditions are prevented. Thus, the product stability is increased .

However, in the final passage, the temperature of the product is adjusted without spoiling the structure of the crystals provided in the colloidal structure obtained in the former passage. Therefore, the product the structure of which is changed so as not be processed in the former passages, is made processable.

Claims

A food product consisting of completely natural and fewer raw material ingredients and not containing additional ingredients such as additives and preservatives, characterized in that it contains 25-45% fresh milk, 10-20% clotted cream, 10-45% natural sweetener such as honey, palm essence or molasses and aromas, 15-40% milk fat by mass and one of several of the functional nutritional ingredients such as milk vitamins, milk minerals, milk proteins, fibers, yoghurt and cheese, additionally in different mixtures without containing additional agents that form composition, prevent decomposition and enhance the emulsion.

Food product according to Claim 1, characterized in that it can be coated on another carrier surface such as cake, bread, biscuit, cereal bar and chocolate by using methods like depositing and injecting.

Food product according to Claim 1, characterized in that the density and viscosity value thereof is increased, it is assumed as carrier surface and then, a product such as chocolate and cream, the density and viscosity of which is lower can be coated thereo .

Food product according to Claim 1, characterized in that all of the fat compounds in the fat therein are milk-based fats such as clotted cream, milk fat or butter.

Food product according to Claim 1, characterized in that the water activity thereof is in the range of 0.8-0.9.

Food product according to Claim 1, characterized in that the density value thereof is in the range of 0.2 and 1.2 g./cm^3- Food product according to Claim 1, characterized in that the viscosity thereof is in the range of 1.000-20.000 cp ( centipoise) . Food product according to Claim 1, characterized in that the pH value thereof is in the range of 5.5-7.0 without requiring and acidity adjustment externally.

Food product according to Claim 1, characterized in that it consists of 40% pasteurized skimmed milk, 20% clotted cream, 25% honey, molasses, palm essence and/or natural sweetener and 15% butter, by weight.

. Production method for producing the food product described in the preceding Claims, characterized in that it comprises the following process steps;

cleaning the raw milk to be added into the product by means of several methods,

subjecting the cleaned milk to separation process for removing both the impurities in the milk and the milk fat and reserving the milk fat after the process for being used in the next stages,

dosing the clotted cream, natural sweeteners, fibers and other ingredients such as yoghurt and cheese required for the mixture to be obtained, and the milk fat separated from the milk after separation process in the combined process machine, which enables the pasteurization, condensation and homogenization processes to be performed within the same equipment, with the values appropriate for the formulation of the end product,

mixing the composition obtained until a homogeneous mixture is achieved at 30°C,

pasteurizing the mixture, the homogenization process of which is completed, in the same machine upon increasing the temperature thereof without being transferred into another process machine,

condensing the mixture under 0.6 - 0.8 bar vacuum at 60-80 °C until the desired dry product values are achieved and adjusting the temperature of the byproduct subjected to evaporation, pasteurization and homogenization processes to the temperature of the next process, in the same process machine without transferring to another process machine, resting the byproduct, the temperature of which is adjusted, in an intermediate process equipment for being stored,

transferring the byproduct into a multi-passage process machine that functions gradually in order to perform crystallization-aeration processes after temperature adjusting and resting processes,

fixing the product temperature is between 20. °C and 30 °C (±0.5 °C ) in the first stage in accordance with the characteristics of the end product,

decreasing the density of the mixture up to 0.2 -1.2 g/cm3 by adding gas therein until the desired crystal structure of the fats is obtained, cooling the fat until the desired crystal structure is achieved and adjusting the temperature in the final stage so as not to cause any change in the composition of the product.

1. Gas mixture according to Claim 10, characterized in that it comprises one or several of the gases such as air, N₂ and C02 in the form of different mixtures.

2. Multi-passage process machine according to Claim 10, characterized in that it comprises three passages.

3. Multi-passage process machine according to Claim 10, characterized in that it comprises passages, the numbers of which change in accordance with the number of the ingredients to be added into the mixture or the features of the processes to be performed during the production.

4. Crystallization and aeration processes according to Claim 10 , characterized in that gases, aromas and other pumpable ingredients can be added into the mixture in the crystallization and density adjusting stages by changing the critical parameters such as temperature and pressure in the different passages.

15. Crystallization and aeration processes according to Claim

10, characterized in that the pumpable compounds that are not desired to be processed after each passage are included in the passages at different temperatures.

16. Crystallization and aeration processes according to Claim

10, characterized in that the temperature of the emulsion included in the system is fixed in the first passage.