EP4362713A1 - Pearl sugar and method for the production thereof - Google Patents

Pearl sugar and method for the production thereof

Info

Publication number
EP4362713A1
EP4362713A1 EP22741385.3A EP22741385A EP4362713A1 EP 4362713 A1 EP4362713 A1 EP 4362713A1 EP 22741385 A EP22741385 A EP 22741385A EP 4362713 A1 EP4362713 A1 EP 4362713A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
sugar
pearl
water
pearl sugar
additives
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP22741385.3A
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
Inventor
Flor HERMANS
Inès WYNANTS
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
I & F bvba
Original Assignee
I & F bvba
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by I & F bvba filed Critical I & F bvba
Publication of EP4362713A1 publication Critical patent/EP4362713A1/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C13—SUGAR INDUSTRY
    • C13B—PRODUCTION OF SUCROSE; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR
    • C13B50/00—Sugar products, e.g. powdered, lump or liquid sugar; Working-up of sugar
    • C13B50/002—Addition of chemicals or other foodstuffs
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
    • A23G—COCOA; COCOA PRODUCTS, e.g. CHOCOLATE; SUBSTITUTES FOR COCOA OR COCOA PRODUCTS; CONFECTIONERY; CHEWING GUM; ICE-CREAM; PREPARATION THEREOF
    • A23G3/00—Sweetmeats; Confectionery; Marzipan; Coated or filled products
    • A23G3/0002—Processes of manufacture not relating to composition and compounding ingredients
    • A23G3/0095—Coating by tumbling with a liquid or powder, spraying device-associated, drum, rotating pan
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
    • A23P—SHAPING OR WORKING OF FOODSTUFFS, NOT FULLY COVERED BY A SINGLE OTHER SUBCLASS
    • A23P20/00—Coating of foodstuffs; Coatings therefor; Making laminated, multi-layered, stuffed or hollow foodstuffs
    • A23P20/10—Coating with edible coatings, e.g. with oils or fats
    • A23P20/15—Apparatus or processes for coating with liquid or semi-liquid products
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C13—SUGAR INDUSTRY
    • C13B—PRODUCTION OF SUCROSE; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR
    • C13B50/00—Sugar products, e.g. powdered, lump or liquid sugar; Working-up of sugar
    • C13B50/004—Agglomerated sugar products; Agglomeration
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
    • A23L—FOODS, FOODSTUFFS OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; PREPARATION OR TREATMENT THEREOF
    • A23L29/00—Foods or foodstuffs containing additives; Preparation or treatment thereof
    • A23L29/30—Foods or foodstuffs containing additives; Preparation or treatment thereof containing carbohydrate syrups; containing sugars; containing sugar alcohols, e.g. xylitol; containing starch hydrolysates, e.g. dextrin

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to pearl sugar and a method for the production thereof.
  • Pearl sugar that can be used for making sugar waffles and/or sugar bread and/or the like is already known. Such pearl sugar is typically produced in large quantities in a production line.
  • a disadvantage of this is that it is relatively difficult to process pearl sugar, certain on relatively small scale.
  • fats such as palm oil or rapeseed oil or the like are typically used in which the colourings and/or flavourings can be dissolved.
  • a disadvantage of this is that such fats, in particular the fats that are hard at room temperature, give an artificial feel and/or flavour to the consumer.
  • Another disadvantage is that palm oil has a large carbon footprint and that other fats, such as rapeseed oil, are relatively expensive.
  • a method is known from EP 2100519 A1 for the preparation of a sugar particle, comprising the steps of: a) providing sugar particles consisting essentially of a nutritive sweetener; b) preparing a liquid coating composition having water as continuous phase and containing at least one high-intensity sweetener; c) spraying the coating composition on the sugar particles; d) drying the sugar particles to a desired rest amount of water.
  • US 2014/0011892 A1 discloses a pearl sugar particle containing granulated sugar and at least one additive, wherein the at least one additive is distributed homogeneously throughout the pearl sugar particle.
  • Such pearl sugar from US 2014/0011892 A1 must be produced in large quantities in a production line, whereby for each additive a separate production line needs to be set up. Or the production line between two different productions needs to be stopped and completely cleaned first.
  • Another disadvantage is that there is a huge risk for certain allergies such as food allergies, including nut allergies. Even after a thorough cleaning of the production line this cannot be guaranteed.
  • the purpose of the present invention is to provide a solution to one of the aforementioned and other disadvantages .
  • the invention relates to a method for producing and/or processing coloured pearl sugar and/or pearl sugar with one or more flavour additives, hereinafter referred to as enriched pearl sugar, characterised in that the method comprises the following steps, to be applied in the following, or another, order:
  • sugar water providing water that is saturated with sugar, or at least saturated at the applied operating temperature, hereinafter referred to as sugar water;
  • drying the half- finished pearl sugar whereby drying can be realised by heating the half-finished pearl sugar and/or bringing it in contact with a dry air flow and/or by spreading the half-finished pearl sugar on a warm surface; to obtain enriched pearl sugar after drying the half- finished pearl sugar.
  • enriched pearl sugar can be obtained with one or more colours and/or one or more flavour additives and/or one or more aromas.
  • Another advantage is that it is possible to produce different types of enriched pearl sugar with various colours and/or flavour additives and/or aromas on a relatively small scale. Consequently it is not necessary that for every one or more colours and/or one or more flavour additives and/or one or more aromas and/or a combination thereof, a separate production line is set up.
  • a possibly running production line for making pearl sugar can continue to operate and does not have to be interrupted for the production of enriched pearl sugar with one or more colourings and/or one or more flavour additives and/or one or more aromas and/or a combination thereof, after which the production line would have to be cleaned before another type of enriched pearl sugar could be produced or before the known pearl sugar could be produced.
  • flavour additive were to contain nuts or the like, extra measures need to be taken before one and the same production line can be used for producing the known pearl sugar or another type of enriched pearl sugar.
  • the invention also relates to enriched pearl sugar, which at least peripherally is provided with one or more additives which are embedded in sugar such that the enriched pearl sugar is coloured and/or is provided with one or more flavour additives and/or aromas of choice.
  • enriched pearl sugar can be obtained with one or more colours and/or one or more flavour additives and/or one or more aromas.
  • such enriched pearl sugar is exempt from fats and/or oils and/or the like.
  • Another advantage is that the fat-free enriched pearl sugar can be claimed relatively simply with the necessary authorities .
  • figure 1 schematically shows a method according to the invention
  • figure 2 shows a pearl sugar obtained from figure 1
  • figure 3 shows a cross-section according to line III- III in figure 2.
  • figures 4 and 5 show alternatives of figure 3.
  • Figure 1 schematically shows a method for producing enriched pearl sugar 11, more specifically pearl sugar 11 with one or more flavours and/or one or more aromas and/or one or more colours.
  • pearl sugar 1 is provided, which is intended to be processed and the finished product of which is called enriched pearl sugar 11.
  • water 10 is also provided which is at least saturated with sugar 4 at the operating temperature that is applied, said water 3 hereinafter being referred to as sugar water 3.
  • lOOg of sugar water 3 contains at least 66g of sugar at 20°C.
  • the sugar water 3 can be saturated or oversaturated with sugar.
  • saturated sugar water 3 is understood to mean a saturated solution.
  • the maximum quantity of a substance in this case sugar is dissolved at a certain temperature (here the operating temperature) .
  • the concentration of substance is greater than the saturation concentration of said substance under the same circumstances.
  • the sugar excess will thus not dissolve in the water at a certain operating temperature.
  • solubility of a substance in a solvent depends on the temperature of the solvent. In the case of sugar, the solubility increases as the temperature of the water increases.
  • Figure 6 shows the solubility curve of sugar (sucrose) in water, with the temperature (°C) in the horizontal axis and the quantity of sugar (sucrose) in grammes (g) which is soluble in lOOg of water in the vertical axis.
  • the so-called saturation curve is slightly higher than the solubility curve.
  • the saturation curve is not shown separately here.
  • the zone between both curves is called the metastable zone.
  • the zone above the saturation curve is called the oversaturated zone.
  • the zone under the solubility curve is called the unsaturated zone.
  • One or more additives 5 can be added to the aforementioned sugar water 3 and be mixed therein.
  • the saturation of the sugar water 3 is mainly and typically entirely determined by the concentration of sugar 4, the concentration of water and the temperature of the sugar water 3.
  • the concentration of the additives 5, such as artificial colourings and flavourings, is very small and consequently has a very limited or even negligible impact on the saturation of the sugar water 3.
  • Such additives 5 can contain, for example, colourings and/or flavour additive and/or syrups and/or aromas and/or the like.
  • Flavour additive is understood to mean, for example, a concentrate and/or flavourings and/or nutritive additives and/or the like.
  • the aforementioned sugar water 3 is mixed with the pearl sugar 1 in a mixer 6 to form half-finished pearl sugar 2.
  • Said sugar water can already be provided with one or more additives 5 prior to mixing with the pearl sugar 1.
  • Half-finished pearl sugar 2 is understood to mean that the pearl sugar 1 is mixed with sugar water 3 and one or more additives 5.
  • Mixing the sugar water 3 and the pearl sugar 1 is understood to mean here that the pearl sugar 1 is soaked and/or immersed in the sugar water 3. In other words, when mixing, the surface of the pearl sugar 1 is completely surrounded by sugar water 3.
  • the pearl sugar 1 is added in an excess of sugar water 3 and mixed therewith.
  • the pearl sugar 1 and/or the sugar water 3 may be heated.
  • Heating the sugar water 3 and/or the pearl sugar 1 is done gradually such that the sugar water 3 in the mixer 6 and/or the sugar water 3 on the surface of the pearl sugar 1 in the mixer 6 remains at least saturated at rising temperatures, for example by evaporating at least partly the liquid fraction of the sugar water 3 in the mixer 6 and/or the sugar water 3 on the surface of the pearl sugar 1 in the mixer 6.
  • the half-finished pearl sugar 2 is provided with a coating 7 of the aforementioned sugar water 3 and additives 5 and/or that the half-finished pearl sugar 2 is partly or wholly impregnated with the sugar water 3 and additives 5.
  • the half-finished pearl sugar 2 needs to be dried such that the liquid and/or aqueous fraction of the added sugar water 3 can be extracted from the half-finished pearl sugar 2, whereby the surface of the half-finished pearl sugar 2 is hard again after drying and this to prevent that the half- finished pearl sugar 2 and/or the enriched pearl sugar 11 unintentionally falls apart and/or crumbles.
  • Drying the half-finished pearl sugar 2 can be realised by heating, and/or by bringing it in contact with a dry air flow 8, and/or by spreading on a warm surface 9 such that the liquid and/or aqueous fraction of the added sugar water 3 can evaporate.
  • Drying the half-finished pearl sugar 2 needs to be done gradually without extreme temperature differences.
  • the mixer 6 is provided with sufficient sugar water 3 to obtain a homogeneous distribution of the sugar water 3 over the surface of the enriched pearl sugar 11.
  • the mass fraction of the sugar water 3 in the mixer 6 can take up 10% to 15% of the mixture of sugar water 3 and pearl sugar 1 in the mixer 6 such that there is a homogeneous distribution of the sugar water 3 on the surface of the half-finished pearl sugar 2 and/or enriched pearl sugar 11.
  • the mass fraction of the sugar water 3 in the mixer is 5% to 10% of the mixture of sugar water 3 and pearl sugar 1. In said variant too there is a homogeneous distribution of the sugar water 3 on the surface of the half-finished pearl sugar 2 and/or enriched pearl sugar 11.
  • the half-finished pearl sugar 2 can be separated from any superfluous sugar water 3 and additives 5, for example by pouring off the superfluous sugar water 3 and the additives 5.
  • the half-finished pearl sugar 2 is dried such that the surface of the half-finished pearl sugar 2 is hard and dry again, preferably approximately as hard as the original pearl sugar 1.
  • the half-finished pearl sugar 2 can be heated, for example between 60 and 110°C, more preferably between 65 and 90°C and most preferably between 70 and 80°C.
  • the half-finished pearl sugar 2 can also be heated to just under the melting temperature of sugar 4, which is around 186°C, and that said temperature and all underlying temperatures are within the scope of the invention . However, this is not necessary, because the half-finished pearl sugar 2 can also be dried without heating it. By increasing the temperature of the half-finished pearl sugar 2, the half-finished pearl sugar 2 can dry more quickly.
  • the maximum temperature to which the half- finished pearl sugar 2 may be heated is chosen such that the properties of the pearl sugar 1 and/or the added sugar water 3 and/or one or more additives are not affected.
  • flavour additives exist, such as vanilla extract, that are relatively sensitive to higher temperatures.
  • temperature Upon heating the half-finished pearl sugar 2 with vanilla extract the temperature must remain low enough such that the half-finished pearl sugar 2 with vanilla extract retains its original flavour and/or colour.
  • heating the half-finished pearl sugar 2 does not affect the shelf life of the enriched pearl sugar 11 or the added additives.
  • sugar 4 can be added to the mixer 6 such that sugar water 3 still remains of becomes saturated with sugar 4 when mixing with the pearl sugar 1.
  • the half-finished pearl sugar 2 needs to be dried gradually and in such a way that the sugar water with or without additive 5 remains saturated, in particular at higher temperatures, to prevent the half-finished and/or the enriched pearl sugar 2, 11 from wholly or partly dissolving and/or falling apart.
  • the sugar water 3 with or without additive 5 and before it is mixed with the pearl sugar 1, for example between 60 and 110°C, more preferably between 65 and 90°C and most preferably between 70 and 80°C.
  • sugar water 3 must contain a higher percentage of sugar 4 such that the sugar water 3 is saturated with sugar 4 at the higher operating temperature.
  • a conditioned airflow 8 is understood to mean an airflow 8, the temperature and the humidity of which can be set and/or adjusted as required to obtain the most optimal drying of the processed pearl sugar 2.
  • the half- finished pearl sugar 2 on a surface 9 such that the half- finished pearl sugar 2 can dry.
  • a surface 9 is warm, for example a heated table.
  • the aqueous fraction 10 of the sugar water 3 that was added can evaporate such that the half-finished pearl sugar 2 can harden whereby enriched pearl sugar 11 is obtained.
  • the sugar water 3 preferably contains approximately 66% sugar 4 and 33% water 10 and 1% one or more additives 5 at a temperature of 20°C.
  • the ratios of the sugar 4 and the water 10 and the one or more additives can be adjusted at one's choice.
  • the mixer 6 in which the sugar water 3 and the additives 5 and the pearl sugar 1 is mixed is rotatable around an X-X f axis, such that the sugar water 3 and the additives 5 in the mixer 6 can be distributed over the pearl sugar 1 to obtain homogeneously enriched pearl sugar 11.
  • the mixer 6 is rotatable in the direction parallel to the aforementioned X-X' axis.
  • the mixer 6 contains a mixer which can mix content in the mixer 6 to obtain preferably homogeneously enriched pearl sugar 11.
  • the present invention also relates to enriched pearl sugar 11 which is or can be processed to give it a colour and/or a flavour and/or an aroma.
  • the enriched pearl sugar 11, as shown in figure 2, is pearl sugar 1 provided to this end which is processed with sugar water 3 and one or more additives 5 such that the enriched pearl sugar 11 is coloured and/or provided with a flavour of choice and/or an aroma.
  • such enriched pearl sugar 11 is fat-free.
  • Fat-free is understood to mean that when processing the pearl sugar 1 no fats and/or oils and/or the like are used, such that the enriched pearl sugar 11 is free of an artificial mouth feel.
  • the enriched pearl sugar 11 can be provided with a coating 7 around the unprocessed pearl sugar 1 as shown in figure 3.
  • the enriched pearl sugar 11 is partly or wholly impregnated with the sugar water 3 and one or more additives 5, as shown in figures 4 and 5.
  • the enriched pearl sugar 11 can be provided, at least peripherally, with one or more additives 5 which are embedded in sugar such that the enriched pearl sugar 11 is coloured and/or is provided with one or more flavour additives and/or aromas of choice and whereby the additives 5 are heterogeneously distributed throughout the enriched pearl sugar 11.
  • Such enriched pearl sugar 11 may, for example, only contain an additive 5 on the surface. However, it is also possible that the enriched pearl sugar 11 is provided with a gradient of the additive 5 from the surface to the core. For example, the surface may thus contain a higher concentration of additives 5 than the core of the enriched pearl sugar 11.
  • the additive 5 is a colouring
  • said gradual transition can be observed with the eye.
  • the colour can decrease/increase from the surface to the core of enriched pearl sugar 11.
  • the core of the enriched pearl sugar 11 is free from additives 5.
  • the enriched pearl sugar 11, obtained from the method according to the invention is completely impregnated with additive 5.
  • the core of the enriched pearl sugar 11 also contains additive 5.
  • the additive 5 can be distributed both heterogeneously homogeneously throughout the enriched pearl sugar 11.
  • sugar water 3 is not limited to only water 10 and sugar 4.
  • the sugar 4 is dissolved in another liquid, such as milk or yoghourt or syrup or the like.
  • maple tree syrup better known as maple syrup, said syrup containing 33% water 10 and 67% sugar and thus being very suitable as sugar water 3 for producing enriched pearl sugar 11.
  • the sugar water 3 and/or the syrup contains a relatively high viscosity such that the sugar water 3 cannot, for example, be homogeneously distributed over the surface of the enriched pearl sugar 11 and/or the half-enriched pearl sugar 2 or over the surface of the unprocessed pearl sugar 1, saturated or unsaturated sugar water 3 with a lower viscosity can be added. Further, it is also possible that other nutrients can be mixed in the sugar water 3, such as salt and/or spices and/or the like.
  • the sugar water 3 is formed here by the liquid sugar, the raspberry aroma and the colouring.
  • said quantities can go up to 50g per flavouring and per colouring .
  • Maple syrup consists of the juice of the maple tree which is extracted. Said juice mainly contains water and in a part natural sugar, colour and aromatics.
  • the percentage of water and sugar of said juice is brought to a desired percentage, for example 33% water and 67% sugar.
  • a desired percentage for example 33% water and 67% sugar.
  • the juice can be boiled and/or the water can be partly evaporated from the juice until the desired ratios of water and sugar are obtained.
  • the juice can be used as sugar water 3 for producing processed pearl sugar 11.
  • the quantity of colourings and flavourings in the sugar water 3 are adjustable according to the customer's wishes/requirements and/or the end product.
  • the concentration of colourings and flavourings can be very simply increased or decreased in the sugar water 3 according to the customer's wishes.

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  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Food Science & Technology (AREA)
  • Biochemistry (AREA)
  • Organic Chemistry (AREA)
  • Polymers & Plastics (AREA)
  • Oil, Petroleum & Natural Gas (AREA)
  • Confectionery (AREA)

Abstract

Method for producing and/or processing coloured pearl sugar and/or pearl sugar with one or more flavour additives, whereby the method contains the following steps : - providing pearl sugar; providing water that is saturated with sugar, hereinafter referred to as sugar water; - providing one or more additives in the sugar water; mixing the sugar water with the pearl sugar, after providing one or more additives to the sugar water or not, to thus obtain half- finished pearl sugar; after mixing the pearl sugar with the sugar water and with the one or more additives, drying the half- finished pearl sugar, whereby drying can be realised by heating the half- finished pearl sugar and/ or bringing it in contact with a dry air flow and/or by spreading the half- finished pearl sugar on a warm surface; to obtain enriched pearl sugar after drying the half- finished pearl sugar.

Description

Pearl sugar and method for the production thereof.
The present invention relates to pearl sugar and a method for the production thereof.
Pearl sugar that can be used for making sugar waffles and/or sugar bread and/or the like is already known. Such pearl sugar is typically produced in large quantities in a production line.
A disadvantage of this is that it is relatively difficult to process pearl sugar, certain on relatively small scale.
For processing pearl sugar with a colour and/or flavourings, fats such as palm oil or rapeseed oil or the like are typically used in which the colourings and/or flavourings can be dissolved.
A disadvantage of this is that such fats, in particular the fats that are hard at room temperature, give an artificial feel and/or flavour to the consumer. Another disadvantage is that palm oil has a large carbon footprint and that other fats, such as rapeseed oil, are relatively expensive.
A method is known from EP 2100519 A1 for the preparation of a sugar particle, comprising the steps of: a) providing sugar particles consisting essentially of a nutritive sweetener; b) preparing a liquid coating composition having water as continuous phase and containing at least one high-intensity sweetener; c) spraying the coating composition on the sugar particles; d) drying the sugar particles to a desired rest amount of water.
US 2014/0011892 A1 discloses a pearl sugar particle containing granulated sugar and at least one additive, wherein the at least one additive is distributed homogeneously throughout the pearl sugar particle.
Such pearl sugar from US 2014/0011892 A1 must be produced in large quantities in a production line, whereby for each additive a separate production line needs to be set up. Or the production line between two different productions needs to be stopped and completely cleaned first.
Another disadvantage is that there is a huge risk for certain allergies such as food allergies, including nut allergies. Even after a thorough cleaning of the production line this cannot be guaranteed.
The purpose of the present invention is to provide a solution to one of the aforementioned and other disadvantages .
To this end, the invention relates to a method for producing and/or processing coloured pearl sugar and/or pearl sugar with one or more flavour additives, hereinafter referred to as enriched pearl sugar, characterised in that the method comprises the following steps, to be applied in the following, or another, order:
- providing pearl sugar;
- providing water that is saturated with sugar, or at least saturated at the applied operating temperature, hereinafter referred to as sugar water;
- providing one or more additives in the sugar water;
- mixing the sugar water with the pearl sugar, after providing one or more additives to the sugar water or not, to thus obtain half-finished pearl sugar;
- after mixing the pearl sugar with the sugar water and with the one or more additives, drying the half- finished pearl sugar, whereby drying can be realised by heating the half-finished pearl sugar and/or bringing it in contact with a dry air flow and/or by spreading the half-finished pearl sugar on a warm surface; to obtain enriched pearl sugar after drying the half- finished pearl sugar.
An advantage of this is that enriched pearl sugar can be obtained with one or more colours and/or one or more flavour additives and/or one or more aromas.
Another advantage is that it is possible to produce different types of enriched pearl sugar with various colours and/or flavour additives and/or aromas on a relatively small scale. Consequently it is not necessary that for every one or more colours and/or one or more flavour additives and/or one or more aromas and/or a combination thereof, a separate production line is set up.
Another advantage of this is that a possibly running production line for making pearl sugar can continue to operate and does not have to be interrupted for the production of enriched pearl sugar with one or more colourings and/or one or more flavour additives and/or one or more aromas and/or a combination thereof, after which the production line would have to be cleaned before another type of enriched pearl sugar could be produced or before the known pearl sugar could be produced.
In case a flavour additive were to contain nuts or the like, extra measures need to be taken before one and the same production line can be used for producing the known pearl sugar or another type of enriched pearl sugar.
This involves relatively high costs and a high number of working hours.
In that case, the production line would also be out of use for a relatively long time, whereby no pearl sugar can be produced, which is disastrous for a company in economic terms.
The invention also relates to enriched pearl sugar, which at least peripherally is provided with one or more additives which are embedded in sugar such that the enriched pearl sugar is coloured and/or is provided with one or more flavour additives and/or aromas of choice.
An advantage of this is that enriched pearl sugar can be obtained with one or more colours and/or one or more flavour additives and/or one or more aromas.
Preferably, such enriched pearl sugar is exempt from fats and/or oils and/or the like.
An advantage of this is that the enriched pearl sugar is free of an artificial mouth feel.
Another advantage is that the fat-free enriched pearl sugar can be claimed relatively simply with the necessary authorities .
With the intention of better showing the characteristics of the invention, a few preferred applications of pearl sugar and a method for the production thereof according to the invention are described hereinafter by way of an example, without any limiting nature, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: figure 1 schematically shows a method according to the invention; figure 2 shows a pearl sugar obtained from figure 1; figure 3 shows a cross-section according to line III- III in figure 2. figures 4 and 5 show alternatives of figure 3. Figure 1 schematically shows a method for producing enriched pearl sugar 11, more specifically pearl sugar 11 with one or more flavours and/or one or more aromas and/or one or more colours.
To this end, pearl sugar 1 is provided, which is intended to be processed and the finished product of which is called enriched pearl sugar 11.
In addition, water 10 is also provided which is at least saturated with sugar 4 at the operating temperature that is applied, said water 3 hereinafter being referred to as sugar water 3.
To this end, lOOg of sugar water 3 contains at least 66g of sugar at 20°C.
In other words, the sugar water 3 can be saturated or oversaturated with sugar.
It is clear that saturated sugar water 3 is understood to mean a saturated solution. In such saturated solution, the maximum quantity of a substance (in this case sugar) is dissolved at a certain temperature (here the operating temperature) .
It is generally known that when a liquid (in this case water) is saturated with a certain substance (here sugar), it is not possible to dissolve even more of the same substance in the solvent under the same circumstances. The concentration of dissolved substance is at its maximum then. In an oversaturated solution the surplus, or excess of a substance, will form an emulsion, suspension or precipitation.
In an oversaturated solution, the concentration of substance is greater than the saturation concentration of said substance under the same circumstances. In the case of oversaturated sugar water, the sugar excess will thus not dissolve in the water at a certain operating temperature.
It is generally known that the solubility of a substance in a solvent depends on the temperature of the solvent. In the case of sugar, the solubility increases as the temperature of the water increases.
Figure 6 shows the solubility curve of sugar (sucrose) in water, with the temperature (°C) in the horizontal axis and the quantity of sugar (sucrose) in grammes (g) which is soluble in lOOg of water in the vertical axis.
It is known, and it is said here merely for the sake of completeness, that the so-called saturation curve is slightly higher than the solubility curve. For the sake of clarity the saturation curve is not shown separately here. The zone between both curves is called the metastable zone. The zone above the saturation curve is called the oversaturated zone. The zone under the solubility curve is called the unsaturated zone. Generally, an abstraction of the distinction is made here between the solution curve and the saturation curve and the metastable zone is therefore not treated here. One or more additives 5 can be added to the aforementioned sugar water 3 and be mixed therein. The saturation of the sugar water 3 is mainly and typically entirely determined by the concentration of sugar 4, the concentration of water and the temperature of the sugar water 3. Typically, the concentration of the additives 5, such as artificial colourings and flavourings, is very small and consequently has a very limited or even negligible impact on the saturation of the sugar water 3. Such additives 5 can contain, for example, colourings and/or flavour additive and/or syrups and/or aromas and/or the like.
Flavour additive is understood to mean, for example, a concentrate and/or flavourings and/or nutritive additives and/or the like.
The aforementioned sugar water 3 is mixed with the pearl sugar 1 in a mixer 6 to form half-finished pearl sugar 2.
Said sugar water can already be provided with one or more additives 5 prior to mixing with the pearl sugar 1.
However, it is also possible that the aforementioned additives 5 are added upon mixing the sugar water 3 with the pearl sugar 1. Half-finished pearl sugar 2 is understood to mean that the pearl sugar 1 is mixed with sugar water 3 and one or more additives 5.
Mixing the sugar water 3 and the pearl sugar 1 is understood to mean here that the pearl sugar 1 is soaked and/or immersed in the sugar water 3. In other words, when mixing, the surface of the pearl sugar 1 is completely surrounded by sugar water 3.
Preferably, the pearl sugar 1 is added in an excess of sugar water 3 and mixed therewith. When mixing the sugar water 3 with the pearl sugar 1 the pearl sugar 1 and/or the sugar water 3 may be heated.
Heating the sugar water 3 and/or the pearl sugar 1 is done gradually such that the sugar water 3 in the mixer 6 and/or the sugar water 3 on the surface of the pearl sugar 1 in the mixer 6 remains at least saturated at rising temperatures, for example by evaporating at least partly the liquid fraction of the sugar water 3 in the mixer 6 and/or the sugar water 3 on the surface of the pearl sugar 1 in the mixer 6.
It is possible that the half-finished pearl sugar 2 is provided with a coating 7 of the aforementioned sugar water 3 and additives 5 and/or that the half-finished pearl sugar 2 is partly or wholly impregnated with the sugar water 3 and additives 5. The half-finished pearl sugar 2 needs to be dried such that the liquid and/or aqueous fraction of the added sugar water 3 can be extracted from the half-finished pearl sugar 2, whereby the surface of the half-finished pearl sugar 2 is hard again after drying and this to prevent that the half- finished pearl sugar 2 and/or the enriched pearl sugar 11 unintentionally falls apart and/or crumbles. Drying the half-finished pearl sugar 2 can be realised by heating, and/or by bringing it in contact with a dry air flow 8, and/or by spreading on a warm surface 9 such that the liquid and/or aqueous fraction of the added sugar water 3 can evaporate.
Drying the half-finished pearl sugar 2 needs to be done gradually without extreme temperature differences.
In a preferred embodiment, the mixer 6 is provided with sufficient sugar water 3 to obtain a homogeneous distribution of the sugar water 3 over the surface of the enriched pearl sugar 11.
The mass fraction of the sugar water 3 in the mixer 6 can take up 10% to 15% of the mixture of sugar water 3 and pearl sugar 1 in the mixer 6 such that there is a homogeneous distribution of the sugar water 3 on the surface of the half-finished pearl sugar 2 and/or enriched pearl sugar 11. However, in a preferred variant, the mass fraction of the sugar water 3 in the mixer is 5% to 10% of the mixture of sugar water 3 and pearl sugar 1. In said variant too there is a homogeneous distribution of the sugar water 3 on the surface of the half-finished pearl sugar 2 and/or enriched pearl sugar 11.
After mixing the pearl sugar 1 with the sugar water 3 and the additives 5, the half-finished pearl sugar 2 can be separated from any superfluous sugar water 3 and additives 5, for example by pouring off the superfluous sugar water 3 and the additives 5.
However, it is also possible to remove the half-finished pearl sugar 2 from the sugar water 3 and the additives 5, for example by means of sieves or nets or the like, whereby an excess of sugar water 3 and the additives 5 remains in the mixer 6.
The half-finished pearl sugar 2 is dried such that the surface of the half-finished pearl sugar 2 is hard and dry again, preferably approximately as hard as the original pearl sugar 1.
Upon drying the half-finished pearl sugar 2, the half- finished pearl sugar 2 can be heated, for example between 60 and 110°C, more preferably between 65 and 90°C and most preferably between 70 and 80°C.
It is understood that the half-finished pearl sugar 2 can also be heated to just under the melting temperature of sugar 4, which is around 186°C, and that said temperature and all underlying temperatures are within the scope of the invention . However, this is not necessary, because the half-finished pearl sugar 2 can also be dried without heating it. By increasing the temperature of the half-finished pearl sugar 2, the half-finished pearl sugar 2 can dry more quickly.
Preferably, the maximum temperature to which the half- finished pearl sugar 2 may be heated, is chosen such that the properties of the pearl sugar 1 and/or the added sugar water 3 and/or one or more additives are not affected.
For example, different flavour additives exist, such as vanilla extract, that are relatively sensitive to higher temperatures. Upon heating the half-finished pearl sugar 2 with vanilla extract the temperature must remain low enough such that the half-finished pearl sugar 2 with vanilla extract retains its original flavour and/or colour.
It is also important here that heating the half-finished pearl sugar 2 does not affect the shelf life of the enriched pearl sugar 11 or the added additives. In case the sugar water 3 becomes or would become unsaturated when heating and/or mixing with the pearl sugar 1, sugar 4 can be added to the mixer 6 such that sugar water 3 still remains of becomes saturated with sugar 4 when mixing with the pearl sugar 1. The half-finished pearl sugar 2 needs to be dried gradually and in such a way that the sugar water with or without additive 5 remains saturated, in particular at higher temperatures, to prevent the half-finished and/or the enriched pearl sugar 2, 11 from wholly or partly dissolving and/or falling apart.
However, it is also possible to heat the sugar water 3 with or without additive 5 and before it is mixed with the pearl sugar 1, for example between 60 and 110°C, more preferably between 65 and 90°C and most preferably between 70 and 80°C.
It is necessary to take into account here that at higher temperatures the sugar water 3 must contain a higher percentage of sugar 4 such that the sugar water 3 is saturated with sugar 4 at the higher operating temperature.
It is also possible to apply a dry and/or conditioned airflow 8 for drying the half-finished pearl sugar 2.
A conditioned airflow 8 is understood to mean an airflow 8, the temperature and the humidity of which can be set and/or adjusted as required to obtain the most optimal drying of the processed pearl sugar 2.
In addition, it is also possible to spread the half- finished pearl sugar 2 on a surface 9 such that the half- finished pearl sugar 2 can dry. Preferably, such surface 9 is warm, for example a heated table.
However, it is not necessary to choose only one method for drying the half-finished pearl sugar 2, in that at one's choice or requirement, a combination of different methods for drying the half-finished pearl sugar 2 can be chosen.
Upon drying the half-finished pearl sugar 2, the aqueous fraction 10 of the sugar water 3 that was added can evaporate such that the half-finished pearl sugar 2 can harden whereby enriched pearl sugar 11 is obtained.
In a preferred embodiment, the sugar water 3 preferably contains approximately 66% sugar 4 and 33% water 10 and 1% one or more additives 5 at a temperature of 20°C.
The ratios of the sugar 4 and the water 10 and the one or more additives can be adjusted at one's choice.
However, to this end it is important that the obtained sugar water 3 is saturated with sugar 4, at least when mixing with the pearl sugar 1.
It goes without saying that when a chosen additive is liquid, the percentage of added water is adjusted such that the sugar water 3 is saturated.
Preferably, the mixer 6 in which the sugar water 3 and the additives 5 and the pearl sugar 1 is mixed, is rotatable around an X-Xf axis, such that the sugar water 3 and the additives 5 in the mixer 6 can be distributed over the pearl sugar 1 to obtain homogeneously enriched pearl sugar 11.
In the example shown of figure 1, the mixer 6 is rotatable in the direction parallel to the aforementioned X-X' axis.
It is also possible that the mixer 6 contains a mixer which can mix content in the mixer 6 to obtain preferably homogeneously enriched pearl sugar 11.
The present invention also relates to enriched pearl sugar 11 which is or can be processed to give it a colour and/or a flavour and/or an aroma.
The enriched pearl sugar 11, as shown in figure 2, is pearl sugar 1 provided to this end which is processed with sugar water 3 and one or more additives 5 such that the enriched pearl sugar 11 is coloured and/or provided with a flavour of choice and/or an aroma.
Preferably, such enriched pearl sugar 11 is fat-free.
Fat-free is understood to mean that when processing the pearl sugar 1 no fats and/or oils and/or the like are used, such that the enriched pearl sugar 11 is free of an artificial mouth feel.
The enriched pearl sugar 11 can be provided with a coating 7 around the unprocessed pearl sugar 1 as shown in figure 3. In addition it is also possible that the enriched pearl sugar 11 is partly or wholly impregnated with the sugar water 3 and one or more additives 5, as shown in figures 4 and 5.
Thus, the enriched pearl sugar 11 can be provided, at least peripherally, with one or more additives 5 which are embedded in sugar such that the enriched pearl sugar 11 is coloured and/or is provided with one or more flavour additives and/or aromas of choice and whereby the additives 5 are heterogeneously distributed throughout the enriched pearl sugar 11.
Such enriched pearl sugar 11 may, for example, only contain an additive 5 on the surface. However, it is also possible that the enriched pearl sugar 11 is provided with a gradient of the additive 5 from the surface to the core. For example, the surface may thus contain a higher concentration of additives 5 than the core of the enriched pearl sugar 11.
In the case that the additive 5 is a colouring, said gradual transition can be observed with the eye. Thus, the colour can decrease/increase from the surface to the core of enriched pearl sugar 11.
However, it is also possible that the core of the enriched pearl sugar 11 is free from additives 5.
In addition it is also possible that the enriched pearl sugar 11, obtained from the method according to the invention, is completely impregnated with additive 5. This means that the core of the enriched pearl sugar 11 also contains additive 5. In this case the additive 5 can be distributed both heterogeneously homogeneously throughout the enriched pearl sugar 11.
It is understood that sugar water 3 is not limited to only water 10 and sugar 4.
Thus, it is also possible that the sugar 4 is dissolved in another liquid, such as milk or yoghourt or syrup or the like.
A known example is maple tree syrup, better known as maple syrup, said syrup containing 33% water 10 and 67% sugar and thus being very suitable as sugar water 3 for producing enriched pearl sugar 11.
If a syrup or other liquid is not saturated with sugar 4, extra sugar 4 can be added such that the syrup or liquid eventually is at least saturated with sugar 4.
If the sugar water 3 and/or the syrup contains a relatively high viscosity such that the sugar water 3 cannot, for example, be homogeneously distributed over the surface of the enriched pearl sugar 11 and/or the half-enriched pearl sugar 2 or over the surface of the unprocessed pearl sugar 1, saturated or unsaturated sugar water 3 with a lower viscosity can be added. Further, it is also possible that other nutrients can be mixed in the sugar water 3, such as salt and/or spices and/or the like.
It is always necessary to take into account that the added sugar water 3 is saturated with sugar to such an extent that the pearl sugar 1 does not dissolve in it, not partly or wholly.
A number of practical examples
Pearl sugar with raspberry flavour:
10kg pearl sugar
900g liquid sugar (ratio 33% water 67% sugar)
32g raspberry aroma 34g colouring
The sugar water 3 is formed here by the liquid sugar, the raspberry aroma and the colouring.
In other artificial colourings and flavourings said quantities can go up to 50g per flavouring and per colouring .
Pearl sugar with caramel:
10kg pearl sugar
220g concentrated liquid caramel
320g liquid sugar (ratio 33%; water 67% sugar) Pearl sugar with maple:
Maple syrup consists of the juice of the maple tree which is extracted. Said juice mainly contains water and in a part natural sugar, colour and aromatics.
The percentage of water and sugar of said juice is brought to a desired percentage, for example 33% water and 67% sugar. For this the juice can be boiled and/or the water can be partly evaporated from the juice until the desired ratios of water and sugar are obtained.
The juice can be used as sugar water 3 for producing processed pearl sugar 11. The quantity of colourings and flavourings in the sugar water 3 are adjustable according to the customer's wishes/requirements and/or the end product.
Thus, the concentration of colourings and flavourings can be very simply increased or decreased in the sugar water 3 according to the customer's wishes.
The present invention is by no means limited to the embodiments described as an example and shown in the figures, however, such method and pearl sugar can be realised according to different variants, without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

Claims.
1.- Method for producing and/or processing coloured pearl sugar and/or pearl sugar with one or more flavour additives, hereinafter referred to as enriched pearl sugar, characterised in that the method comprises the following steps, to be applied in the following, or another, order:
- providing pearl sugar (1);
- providing water (10) that is at least saturated with sugar (4), or at least saturated at the applied operating temperature, hereinafter referred to as sugar water (3);
- providing one or more additives (5) in the sugar water (3);
- mixing the sugar water (3) with the pearl sugar (1), after providing one or more additives (5) to the sugar water (3) or not, to thus obtain half-finished pearl sugar (2); after mixing the pearl sugar (1) with the sugar water (3) and with the one or more additives (5), drying the half-finished pearl sugar (2), whereby drying can be realised by heating the half-finished pearl sugar (2) and/or bringing it in contact with a dry air flow (8) and/or by spreading the half-finished pearl sugar (2) on a warm surface (9); to obtain enriched pearl sugar (11) after drying the half- finished pearl sugar (2).
2.- Method according to claim 1, characterised in that after mixing the pearl sugar (1) with the sugar water (3) and with the one or more additives (5) and before drying the thus obtained half-finished pearl sugar (2), the half- finished pearl sugar (2) is separated from any superfluous sugar water (3).
3.- Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the half-finished pearl sugar (2) is dried gradually and more specifically in such a way that the sugar water (3) remains saturated at all temperatures reached during the whole drying process, in particular at higher temperatures, to avoid the pearl sugar (1) and/or the half-finished pearl sugar (2) and/or the enriched pearl sugar (11) from wholly or partly dissolving or falling apart.
4.- Method according to any one of the previous claims, characterised in that the sugar water (3) contains approximately 66% sugar (4) and 33% water (10) and 1% additives (5) at a temperature of 20°C.
5.- Method according to any one of the previous claims, characterised in that mixing the sugar water (3) with the pearl sugar (1), after providing one or more additives (5) to the sugar water (3) or not, is realised in a mixer (6), said mixer (6) being rotatable for mixing the sugar water
(3), one or more additives (5) and the pearl sugar (1).
6.- Enriched pearl sugar (11), characterised in that the enriched pearl sugar (11) is at least peripherally provided with one or more additives (5) which are embedded in sugar
(4) such that the enriched pearl sugar (11) is coloured and/or is provided with one or more flavour additives and/or aromas of choice and whereby the additives are heterogeneously distributed throughout the enriched pearl sugar.
7.- Enriched pearl sugar according to claim 6, characterised in that the enriched pearl sugar (11) is fat- free.
EP22741385.3A 2021-07-02 2022-07-01 Pearl sugar and method for the production thereof Withdrawn EP4362713A1 (en)

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BE20215518A BE1029551B1 (en) 2021-07-02 2021-07-02 Pearl sugar and method of its manufacture
PCT/IB2022/056141 WO2023275837A1 (en) 2021-07-02 2022-07-01 Pearl sugar and method for the production thereof

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP2100519A1 (en) * 2008-03-04 2009-09-16 Tiense Suikerraffinaderij N.V. Particle containing a high-intensity sweetener, process for preparation and use
EP2631304A1 (en) * 2012-02-21 2013-08-28 Vertriebs GmbH Kellmann Procedure for fabrication nib sugar
US9101153B2 (en) * 2012-07-06 2015-08-11 Bonique Corp. Pearl sugar particle, composition, and process for preparing a pearl sugar

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