FR2658700A1 - MILK FOAM, PROCESS FOR PREPARATION AND USE THEREOF. - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a milk foam with a high content of living and viable lactic ferments, which remains constant throughout the life of the foam and the presence of which gives the latter exclusive and personalized organoleptic and structural characteristics. When mixed with a lower layer usually used to produce desserts, this foam provides a final product free of additives and having good nutritional value. The invention also presents an improved process for the preparation of said milk foam.

Description

i

  MILK FOAM, PROCESS FOR PREPARATION AND USE THEREOF

  The present invention relates to a new milk foam having a high content of living and viable lactic ferments, which give it a pleasant and delicate taste, slightly acidic, particularly aromatic, a process for its preparation and its use.

for the preparation of desserts.

  In general, the term "dessert" means the last dish of a meal consisting essentially of fruit, cheese and a dessert. In the context of the present invention, the term "dessert" exclusively designates a particular sweet dish, in a cup or a glass, comprising a lower layer made up of ingredients of different nature, and an upper layer, itself made up of a milk foam, said layers being mixed with each other just

  before consumption by the consumer.

  There are currently known many types of desserts belonging to this class, and the best known, however, consist of a lower layer generally comprising chocolate, vanilla, coffee, or a fruity compound, and an upper layer exclusively consisting of a milky foam As a rule, the lower layer / upper layer ratio

is 5-7 / 1.

  As used here, the word "foam" denotes a soft compound obtained from milk and which, after having been mixed with the lower layer, gives a tasty dessert having a particular and refined taste. There are known milky foams intended to be used in combination with the lower layers mentioned above, to give a dessert However, lactic acid bacteria have not been detected in any of the products currently available This fact may be due to very different factors, and possibly to heat treatments , who are responsible for the destruction of

  any viable form, lactic or not.

  As stated above, none of the available foams contains live lactic ferments, and thickeners / emulsifiers have been added to them and aerated with an inert gas to give a soft and delicate cream, the softness of which is exclusively due to the fact that it contains large quantities of gas Bacteriological tests carried out on commercial products have shown the absolute absence of any ferment

living and viable lactic.

  The object of the present invention was therefore to provide a new milk foam, which can be used as an upper layer in conventional desserts, which has a soft and supple appearance without it being necessary to aerate it with large quantities of gas. , which contains a large number of living and viable lactic ferments of different types, which is free of additives and can be mixed, with good results, not only with the well-known layer combinations based on chocolate, vanilla, coffee or fruity compositions, but also with new compositions based on chocolate, eggnog, coffee cream, wild strawberries, wild berries and other compositions without food additives, so as to obtain a composite with new taste and

new aspect.

  The present invention has also been developed to provide an improved process for the preparation of the

foam described above.

  According to the present invention, the above requirements are satisfied by means of a new milk foam, having a pleasant and delicate taste, slightly acidic, particularly harmonious, said foam being characterized in that it contains a large amount of lactic ferments. living and viable, a quantity which remains constant throughout its lifetime, and the presence of which gives the product exclusive and personalized organoleptic and structural characteristics. Other aspects, objects, advantages and characteristics of the invention will be

  understood by a person skilled in the art from the description

  detailed below of the invention, as well as

attached claims.

  The present invention therefore relates to a new milk foam having a particularly pleasant and delicate taste, slightly acidic and well balanced, said foam being free of additives, containing a large amount of living and viable lactic ferments and which, after combination with the lower layer usually used for the preparation of desserts,

  gives the whole an extremely personalized taste.

  The lactic ferments used in the practical implementation of the present invention are known. These are in particular thermophilic ferments, chosen from different strains of St thermophilus, as well as mesophilic ferments (St cremoris, lactis, diacetylactis, L cremoris) The above ferments can be used alone or in any mixture, and this to ally the drawback of having variable organoleptic and structural characteristics, caused by fluctuations in the raw materials used which cannot be compensated for by the addition of appropriate additives (flavoring agents, thickeners, etc.) In fact, in the case of the present invention, only natural raw materials can be used In any case, whatever the use, the quantity of thermophilic ferments is generally from 1 to 2%, and that of mesophilic ferments is 0.1 to 0.5% In this regard, it should be noted that in the mixture of fermented milk on the one hand, cream and sucrose on the other hand, it has sometimes proved useful to also add probiotic bacteria, in particular

  particularly Bifidobacterium infantis.

  As mentioned above, even the substrate to which the foam will be mixed can undergo absolutely new changes, which have never been described. Besides chocolate, one can also use lower layers comprising eggnog, coffee cream, wild strawberries, wild fruits and the like The production of fruit-based ingredients consists of fresh fruit suitably chosen. The moderate physical and thermal treatments to which the fruit is exposed during its preparation allow make the most of the interesting organoleptic characteristics, while simultaneously protecting the original structural characteristics. As mentioned above, the soft appearance of the foam is generally achieved by means of aeration using an inert gas (nitrogen). In the case of the foam of the present invention, before aeration with an inert gas, the concentrated fermented milk is added with cream and sucrose After homogenization and finishing, the aeration of the fermented milk product is carried out without using the thickeners / emulsifiers usually used to retain large quantities of gas The softness of the foam of the present invention is therefore the result only of

  special treatments, completely natural.

  Another object of the invention relates to the use of the foam mentioned above for preparing desserts where said foam is placed on a lower layer, the mixture of the two layers before use.

  giving a product has a delicate and delicious taste.

  The following compositions, intended for the lower layer of the new desserts according to the invention, are presented here by way of illustration and have no

limiting character.

  CHOCOLATE CREAM j a) cream (whole milk) 60 65 b) chocolate powder 20 25 c) sucrose 10 12 d) wheat flour (type 00) 2 5

EGGNOG

  a) egg yolk + sucrose 50 53 b) marsala liqueur 29 33 c) sucrose 12 15 d) wheat flour (type 00) 3 5

COFFEE CREAM

  a) cream / whole milk 50 53 b) sucrose 38 40 c) wheat flour (type 00) 4 6 d) lyophilized soluble coffee 2 5 e) cocoa powder 0.5 1.5

WILD STRAWBERRIES

  a) whole and mashed wild strawberries 70 b) cane sugar 15 c) sucrose 15 d) fructose 8

FOREST FRUITS

  a) blueberries (vaccinium myrtillus) 32 b) currants 22 c) raspberries 16 d) cane sugar 15 e) sucrose 15 f) fructose 8

  All of the above percentages are by weight.

  Logically, the above percentages may undergo some changes or modifications, without departing from the scope of the present invention. In all cases, the weight proportion between the fruit and the soluble solids is preferably 70/44 It is at least suitable to observe that, in the compositions based on fruits, the mixture used of sugars is new, so much

  in terms of both quantity and nature.

  While the fruits are used fresh and whole, the other ingredients are kept in airtight containers (wheat flour type 00, chocolate powder, egg yolk, sucrose, freeze-dried coffee) and in separate tanks (whole milk and / or cream) Then the following operations take place: their mixing by dissolving in line in a milk / cream mixture, a heat treatment using heat exchangers with a thin layer at 95 -1100 C, a new treatment giving the desired structure, cooling & 40 C in a heat exchanger, and conservation in a tank with an overpressure

  sterile air, fitted with an agitator system.

  As, in the prior art, there has never been described a lower layer for desserts comprising wild strawberries or wild berries or wild berries, tests have been carried out on said compositions to establish the properties and define the characteristics The results obtained are presented below: Physico-chemical characteristics for forest fruits:

R.O (20 'C)

  R.S (70 C under vacuum) p H Fluidity (Bostwick 25 'C, 60 sec) Foreign bodies and / or matter Additives

Thermo-yeasts and molds

44 + 2 Bx

46 + 2%

3.4 + 0.2

  6 + 2 none none resistant none Pathogens none Total bacterial load less than 1000 g x 1 g Dyshysochemical characteristics for wild strawberries

R.O (20 C)

  R.S (700 C under vacuum) p H Fluidity (Bostwick 250 C, 60 sec) Foreign bodies and / or materials Additives

Thermo-yeasts and molds

44 + 2 Bx

46 + 2%

3.2 + 0.2

  6 + 2 none none resistant none Pathogens none Total bacterial load less than 1000 gx 1 g It is also important to emphasize that the particular ingredients and the technology of manufacturing the milk foam give a finished product with a new aroma and original which gives it an absolutely innovative character The restricted heat treatments to which the ingredients are subjected allow the known, typical and natural aromatic characteristics to remain intact and without change, so that it is not necessary to add afterwards a

natural flavor.

  The percentage composition given above has a certain proportion between the nutrients, so as to give a dessert which combines a character

  delicious and good nutritional value.

  The quantitative proportions of the milk foam and the ingredients were chosen to meet the following requirements: 1) better exploitation of the sanitary and nutritional properties resulting from the presence, in large quantity, of the fermented milk foam compared to the ingredients of the layer lower of known products (milk foam proportion: ingredients of the lower layer = 1: 3, 2: 3, 3: 7 or 62:40, compared to the previous value of 5: 7.1); 2) a balanced synergy between the organoleptic characteristics of the milk foam and the ingredients, to give the dessert an even more flavorful taste, so as to avoid the use of flavorings; 3) a lower amount of inert gas in the milk foam, to give a product richer in milk,

  while retaining the softness of the foam.

  The present invention also relates to an improved process for the preparation of the above milk froth, said process comprising the steps consisting in: a) receiving and storing whole milk and heating it to 50-55 e C for purification by centrifugation, b) to continue heating to 90-95 C, c) to carry out a concentration to eliminate by evaporation 5 to 12% of water,

  d) to rid the milk of bacteria by pasteuri-

  sation at 95 @C, e) cooling and adding selected lactic ferments, f) maturing at 24-30 @C, g) breaking the curd at p H 4.9-5.0 and heat at C, h) ultracentrifuge the fermented milk at 400 C, i) mix the concentrated fermented milk with fat (35-40% fat) and sucrose, 1) homogenize or smooth the mixture, m) to cool to 40 ° C. and then to store under a sterile air overpressure,

n) to ventilate and condition.

  As regards the manufacturing steps a) to d), these are steps well known to those skilled in the art, and it

  it is therefore not necessary to describe them in more detail.

  On the other hand, it is of great interest that the presence in the milk foam of living and viable lactic ferments in an amount of 300 to 500 million per gram is essential for obtaining the product of the

present invention.

  As mentioned above, lactic acid fermentation lowers p H due to the production of lactic acid by the bacteria making up the leaven. Experimental tests have enabled the applicant to determine the breaking point (treatment of the curd obtained for subsequent ultrafiltration) when a p H of 4.9 5.0 is reached In the known procedures, this point does not occur, because the products are always at

p H neutral.

  Although we can also consider step f) as known, it is important to note that the rupture of the curd at a given p H (step g)) is entirely new, and that ultra-filtration (step h )) was applied directly on acidified milk to increase the protein content and the total dry matter, which contributes to giving the product a natural thickening Similarly, the temperature must be chosen to maintain the number and viability of lactic ferments, avoiding the preliminary thermal treatments usually

  used in known procedures.

  Mixing the fermented concentrated milk with the cream and the sucrose is necessary (step i)) to minimize and suppress the acidic character produced in the

lactic fermentation.

  In step n), the treatment of the mixture was carried out in appropriate equipment, to give the soft consistency desired. It comprises a supply unit with positive displacement pump (ensuring a constant flow of the mixture), a unit of injection of inert gas, in which the gas is mixed with the product, and a cylinder whose walls are cooled by ice water The injection of air takes place at the rate of approximately%, to give a foam having a density from 0.7 to 0.8 kg / l This aeration takes place without the use of thickeners or emulsifiers, so that the softness of the new milk foam is only the result of

natural physical treatments.

  Likewise, the dosing and packaging unit is of a new design, which avoids any possible phenomenon of destructuring or contamination of the product. The examples below are presented to illustrate the invention. All percentages, proportions and parts

  ingredients mentioned here and in the claims

  attached are by weight unless otherwise stated.

EXAMPLE

  Raw milk (3.5% fat), stored at a temperature of 46 C, has been cleaned and titrated

  to achieve a fat content of around 7%.

  Then the milk was preheated to a temperature of 50 to C for purification by centrifugation, degassed, still heated to 90-95 e C, and concentrated so that 5 to 12% of the water escaped by evaporation. carried out a bacterial purification by pasteurization at 950 ° C., the milk remaining online for 5 minutes, the mixture was cooled to the maturation temperature of 24-30 ° C., then the selected thermophilic and / or mesophilic lactic ferments were added,

  1-2% and 0.1-0.5% respectively.

  The ferments mentioned can be used as a single component or in the form of any mixture, and this to compensate for the variations in structural and organoleptic characteristics resulting from fluctuations in the raw materials, which cannot be compensated for by the addition of suitable additives ( thickeners, flavorings), because it is not possible, in the present invention,

  use only natural raw materials.

  Subsequent ripening was carried out in tanks under sterile air overpressure for 8-10 hours, then the product was allowed to stand and, when the p H reached 4.9 5.0, the product was broken curd and raised the temperature to 40 "C. The ultrafiltration of the fermented milk was carried out at an average temperature of 400 C, to arrive at a total dry extract of 23 24%; the concentrated fermented milk was then mixed with cream -40% fat and sucrose, eventually adding probiotic bacteria

(Bifidobacterium infantis).

  The subsequent homogenization and / or smoothing operation of the mixture (concentrate + cream + sucrose) thus obtained made it possible to give the product a particular microstructure; the assembly was then cooled to 40 ° C. using a heat exchanger, and transferred to a

  tank under sterile air overpressure.

  The product was then aerated with an inert gas containing 20-30% nitrogen, the average density, after such treatment, being 0.8-0.7 kg / l At this time, the product been transferred to the dessert manufacturing unit, equipped with a dosing station for the upper layer and the lower layer, so as to obtain a final product in which the ratio between the foam and the lower layer is preferably 1: 1, 2: 3, 3: 7 or 62:40, a value very different from the known proportion 1: 5-7 The final packaging was closed with an aluminum lid, placed at refrigerator at 4 C and maintained at this temperature for about 18-24 hours, the time after which the product

was ready to ship.

Claims (9)

  1 Milky foam, with a balanced taste, weakly acidulous, and particularly pleasant and delicate, characterized in that it is free of additives and has a high content of living and viable lactic ferments, which remains constant throughout its lifetime , and whose presence gives the product exclusive organoleptic and structural characteristics. 2 Milky foam according to claim 1, characterized in that it contains mesophilic lactic ferments. 3 Milky foam according to claim 1, characterized in that it contains mesophilic lactic ferments. 4 Milky foam according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises lactic ferments mesophiles and thermophiles.   Milky foam according to claim 1, characterized in that it also comprises probiotic bacteria. 6 Milky foam according to claim 2, characterized in that the mesophilic ferments are chosen from St cremoris, St lactis, St Diacetylactis and L cremoris, the thermophilic ferments being chosen from different strains of St. thermophilus. 7 Milky foam according to claim 5, characterized in that the probiotic bacteria is Bifidobacterium infantis.   8 Milky foam according to claims 1 to 7,   characterized in that the termophilic ferments are present in an amount of 1 to 20%, while the mesophilic ferments are present in an amount of 0.1 to%. 9 Process for preparing a milk foam according to   claims 1 to 8, which can be used for the   preparation of desserts, which comprises the steps of: a) receiving and storing the whole milk and heating it to 50-55 C for purification by centrifugation, b) continuing the heating to 90-956 C, c) carrying out a concentration to eliminate by evaporation 5 to 12% of water,   d) to rid the milk of bacteria by pasteuri-   sation at 95 ° C, e) cooling and adding selected lactic ferments, f) maturing at 24-30 OC, g) breaking the curd at p H 4.9-5.0 and heating to C, h) to ultracentrifuge the fermented milk at 40 C, i) to mix the concentrated fermented milk with fat <35-40% fat) and sucrose, 1) to homogenize or smooth the mixture, m) to cool to 4 ° C. and then to store under sterile air overpressure, n) to ventilate and condition.   Process according to Claim 9, characterized in that, in step h), the ultrafiltration is carried out directly on acidified milk to increase the   protein content and total dry matter.   11 Method according to claims 9 and 10,   characterized in that the curd breaks at p H 4.9-5.0.   12 Method according to claims 9 to 11,   characterized in that the aeration of step n) is carried out with 2030% nitrogen, the product having a mass   volume between 0.8 and 0.7 kg / l.   13 Method according to claims 9 to 12,   characterized in that, in step e), the lactic ferments are termophilic and / or mesophilic ferments, present respectively in an amount of 1 to 2% and of 0.1 to 0.5%.   14 Method according to claims 9 to 13,   characterized in that the thermophilic ferments are chosen from different strains of St thermophilus and that the mesophilic ferments are chosen from the strains   St cremoris, lactis, diacetylactis and L cremoris.   Process according to claims 9 to 14,   characterized in that, in step i), the fermented milk concentrate is mixed with cream with 30-40% fat and sucrose, and that probiotic bacteria are ultimately added, as Bifidobacterium infantis.   16 Use of milk foam according to   Claims 1 to 8 for preparing a dessert.   17 Use according to claim 16, characterized in that the upper layer consists   milk foam according to claims 1 to 8, and   the lower layer consists of eggnog, chocolate cream, coffee cream, wild strawberries, wild berries, the milk foam / lower layer ratio being 1: 1, 2: 3, 3: 7 or 60:40, and that in the case of wild strawberries and wild berries, a mixture of sugars is used, consisting of cane sugar, sucrose and fructose, the fruit: solids ratio soluble being 70:44.   18 Dessert with top layer   consisting of the foam according to claims 1 to 8, and   a lower layer consisting of eggnog, chocolate cream, coffee cream, wild strawberries, wild berries and the like, in a proportion of 1: 1, 2: 3, 3: 7 or 60:40.