MXPA00008789A - Freeze-dried foods and process for producing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

Freeze-dried foods which have a porousstructure with a fine texture, compared with the freeze-dried foods obtained by the existing techniques, and give a smooth meltability in mouth. These foods are produced by processing food materials into an aqueous solution or a paste, then emulsifying the same, cooling the resultant emulsion to give a semi-frozen product, freezing and solidifying it by further cooling it in a mold and then freeze-drying.

Description

FOOD PRODUCTS LIOFILI ZAPOS AND PROCESS TO PREPARE THE SAME TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to lyophilized food products that show mild melting in the mouth and a process to prepare them.

BACKGROUND As foods that are lyophilized and eaten as they are, they are ice cream, lyophilized fruits and the like, and for example a process for preparing them has been described, in Japanese patents 47-19011 (B) and 1-218554 (A ). These lyophilized food products have low moisture content and a porous structure, since the products have been prepared by freezing the moisture or water contained in the raw materials of the same and removing the moisture by sublimation, so that the parts where it is present frozen water come to empty spaces. Therefore, freeze-dried, conventional food products give a fragile feeling, which is like a snack confectionery. However, lyophilized food products obtained by simple lyophilization or freeze-drying, from the raw materials for food according to the conventional process may give some rough feeling, when they melt in the mouth, it provides a strange sensation by absorbing saliva in the mouth. the mouth or adheres to the mucous membrane in the oral cavity, and in this way it can not be said that this element shows a soft melt in the mouth.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The objects of the invention, therefore, are to provide lyophilized food products that show mild melting in the mouth and a process for preparing food products. The process according to the invention comprises the steps of dissolving raw materials for food in water or making them into a paste form through a micronization treatment; emulsifying the food materials in the form of solution or paste by adding to the same oil or fat heated for the food and an emulsifier to mix it to prepare an emulsion; while the emulsion is stirred, it is cooled to prepare a semi-frozen cream-type product; distribute the semi-frozen product in a mold; further cooling the product to cause solidification due to freezing; and lyophilizing or freezing the frozen solid product. The lyophilized food products according to the invention are characterized by those obtained by the above process and show mild melting in the mouth. In a more specific explanation of the process according to the invention, water soluble food materials are made in an aqueous solution or food materials insoluble in water or difficult to dissolve in water are processed in micronized form to make them in the form of a pasta; the solution or paste is mixed with the oil or fat heated at a temperature of 35-70 ° C and an emulsifier, when adding, if necessary, water to adjust the water content of the mixture to 30-70% by weight; the emulsion is cooled until the temperature becomes -1 - -6 ° C, while stirring it, to have a semi-frozen cream type product; the creamy product is distributed in molds or containers to stand overnight at a temperature of -40 - -20 ° C to cause complete solidification due to freezing; and then the frozen product is lyophilized to prepare final food products having a moisture content of about 4% or less. When the food materials are made in the solution or paste, an emulsifier can be added if necessary, heated to 35-70 ° C. When the food materials in the form of solution or paste are prepared or these food materials are mixed with the liquefied fat and emulsifier, starch hydrolyzate, lactose, sugar, dextrose, sorbitol, maltitol, polydextrose or the like can be added. There is no specific limitation in food materials and in this way the invention can be applied to an ice cream, milkshakes, yogurt, cheese and similar dairy products, chocolate, cookies and similar confectionery, nuts, fruits, vegetables and others. The term "chocolate" generally includes one which is prepared by mixing cocoa mass, cocoa, cocoa butter, sweetening material, milk powder and the like, is rolled and subjected to a contact treatment as well as analogous products thereof. . When the food material is chocolate and its thermostability is required as the lyophilized final food product, it is preferred to add an initiating gelatin agent such as crystalline cellulose in the emulsion in an amount not exceeding 6% by weight, for example 2-3. % by weight to the amount of total solids. As the oil or fat for the food to be used in the process according to the invention, there may be listed in the form of example palm oil, palm kernel oil, coconut oil, soybean oil, cottonseed oil , peanut oil, cocoa oil, substitute oil and cocoa butter fat and milk fat. Among these, it is suitable to use cocoa butter, substitute oil and cocoa butter fat, milk fat or any combination thereof. This oil or fat for the food is composed in an amount of 10-80% (W / W) and more preferably 30-60 (W / W)% by weight of the amount of solids of the freeze-dried food product. The lyophilized food product obtained by the process according to the present invention has porous structure with fine texture, in comparison with products obtained by the conventional lyophilized processes and in this way it is excellent in the soft melt in the mouth.

BEST MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Now, the invention must be explained in more detail and specifically with reference to the examples and test examples.

Example 1 (sweetened yogurt, lyophilized; Raw material Composition ratio (P / P)% Yogurt 38.67 Hydrolyzate of 9.84 Starch Lactose 4.82 Emulsifier 0.60 Substitute fat of 12.20 cocoa butter Water 33.87 Total 100.00 Among the raw materials, yogurt, starch hydrolyzate, lactose and emulsifier were dissolved in water to prepare yoghurt solution and their temperature was adjusted to 50 ° C. Meanwhile, the substitute fat of cocoa butter that has a solid fat content (SFC) of 85% (15 ° C), 80% (20 ° C), 72% (25 ° C). and 19% (30 ° C) and 0% (35 ° C) was heated to prepare liquefied fat and its temperature was adjusted to 50 ° C. The yoghurt solution adjusted to the temperature of the substitute fat of cocoa butter was poured into a container to be stirred for 3 minutes by a stirrer-type homogenizer at 17,500 rpm to obtain an emulsion. The emulsion was cooled to -1 ° -6 ° C, while stirring it, to put it in a semi-frozen state and then distributed in pantamoldes to stand overnight under a temperature condition of -40 - -20 ° C to obtain frozen solids. The resulting frozen solids were lyophilized under conditions of solids temperature that was minus 40 - minus 20 ° C, the temperature of the heat source was adjusted to 20 ° C and the degree of vacuum was adjusted to 0.2 - 0.02 Torr, for get sweetened yogurt products, lyophilized. The yogurt products were sampled to show a very soft melt in the mouth.

Test Example 1 (Effect of the fat component quantity) Sweetened yogurt products were prepared, lyophilized by the process as described in example 1, except that the fat content of cocoa butter substitutes the solid content of the final product. varied in a range of 0 - 80 (P / P)%, to evaluate melting in the mouth and taste of each product. The results are shown in the following Table 1 which shows that the products with the ratio of substitute fat of cocoa butter are in a range of 10-80 (P / P)% show mild melt in the mouth, products with a ratio of 30 - 60 (P / P)% show mild melting in the mouth similar to chocolate and do not spoil the taste like yogurt, and the product with the ratio of 80 (P / P)% spoils the taste as the yogurt .

Table 1 Example 2 (Freeze-dried ice cream Raw material Composition ratio (P / P)% Commercial ice cream 55.38 available Substitute fat of 10.57 cocoa butter Emulsifier 0.60 Water 33.45 Total 100.00 Among the raw materials, commercially available whey and emulsifier were dissolved in water to prepare a solution containing the dairy product and sugar. Meanwhile, the substitute fat of cocoa butter was heated to 50 ° C to prepare liquefied substitute fat of cocoa butter. The dairy product-sugar solution and the liquefied substitute fat of cocoa butter were poured into a container and stirred for 3 minutes by using a stirrer-type homogenizer at 17,500 rpm to obtain an emulsion. The emulsion was cooled to -1 ° -6 ° C, while stirring it, to make it in a semi-frozen creamy state and then distributed in pantamoldes to stand overnight at -40 - -20 ° C. to obtain frozen solids. The resulting frozen products were lyophilized or freeze-dried, under conditions of temperature of the products which was -40 - -20 ° C, the temperature of the heat source was adjusted to 20 ° C and the degree of vacuum was adjusted to 0.2 - 0.02 Torr, to prepare freeze-dried ice cream products. The resulting lyophilized ice cream products were sampled to show a very soft melt in the mouth.

Example 3 (lyophilized cookie) Raw material Quantity of composition (P / P)% Cookie 19.43 Emulsifier 0.60 Substitute fat of 10.70 cocoa butter Water 69.27 Total 100.00 The cookie was pulverized by a mill, a part of the substitute fat of cocoa butter was added to the powdered biscuit, so that the oil content of the same comes to be in a range of 26-28% to mix the same , and then try for a refiner to prepare a paste of crumbs. The crumb paste, which has the surplus remaining cocoa butter fat liquefied by heating at 50 ° C, emulsifier and water was poured into a container and heated to 50 ° C to prepare the liquefied raw material that was stirred when using a stirring type homogenizer for 3 minutes at 17,500 rpm to obtain an emulsion. The emulsion was cooled to -1 - -6 ° C to make it in a semi-frozen creamy state and distributed in pantamoldes to stand overnight at -40 - -20 ° C to obtain frozen solids. The resulting frozen products were lyophilized under conditions of a product temperature that was -40 - -20 ° C, the temperature of the heat source was adjusted to 20 ° C, and the degree of vacuum was adjusted to 0.2-0.02 Torr. , to prepare lyophilized cookie products. The resulting lyophilized biscuit products were sampled to show a very soft melt in the mouth.

Example 4 (Freeze-dried almond product) Raw material Amount of composition (P / P)% Almond paste 13.84 Starch hydrolyzate 12.60 Emulsifier 0.60 Substitute fat of 7.50 cocoa butter Water 65.46 Total 100.00 Almond nuts were milled by a mill and treated by a refiner to prepare a paste of almonds. The almond paste, the substitute fat of liquefied cocoa butter by heating at 50 ° C, starch hydrolyzate, emulsifier and water were poured into a container and heated to 50 ° C to prepare the liquefied raw material which was stirred using a stirring type homogenizer for 3 minutes at 17,500 rpm to obtain an emulsion.

The emulsion was cooled to -1 - -6 ° C to make it in a semi-frozen creamy state and distributed in pantamoldes to stand overnight at -40 - -20 ° C to obtain frozen solids. The resulting frozen products were lyophilized under conditions of a product temperature that was -40 - -20 ° C, the temperature of the heat source was adjusted to 20 ° C, and the degree of vacuum was adjusted to 0.2-0.02 Torr. , to prepare lyophilized almond food products. The lyophilized almond products were sampled to show a very soft melt in the mouth.

Example 5 (Freeze-dried chocolate No. 1) Raw material Amount of composition (P / P)% Chocolate 12.00 Cocoa butter 17.40 Emulsifier 0.60 Water 70.00 Total 100.00 The chocolate and the cocoa butter were liquefied by heating to 50 ° C, and the emulsifier was dissolved in water to prepare an emulsifying solution. The liquified solutions were mixed and stirred for 3 minutes by a homogenizer at 17,500 rpm to obtain an emulsion. The emulsion was cooled to -1 - -6 ° C, while the same was stirred to make it in a semi-frozen creamy state and distributed in pantamoldes to stand overnight at -40 - -20 ° C to obtain solids Frozen The resulting frozen products were freeze-dried or lyophilized under conditions of a product temperature that was -40 - -20 ° C, the temperature of the heat source was adjusted to 20 ° C, and the vacuum degree was adjusted to 0.2-0.02 Torr, to prepare lyophilized chocolate products. The lyophilized chocolate products were sampled to show a fragile feeling, as a type of snack confectionery and a very soft melt in the mouth.

Example 6 (Freeze-dried Chocolate No. 2) Raw material Amount of composition (P / P)% Chocolate 12.00 Cocoa butter 17.40 Emulsifier 0.60 Cellulose 0.30 microcrystalline Water 69.70 Total 100.00 The lyophilized chocolate products were prepared by using the raw materials and the process similar to that described in example 5. The lyophilized chocolate products were also sampled to show a fragile feeling, which is a type of snack confectionery and a very hot melt. soft in the mouth.

Test example 2 (Thermostability test) The thermostability of the lyophilized chocolate products obtained by examples 5 and 6 as well as a commercially available chocolate ("Milk chocolate" sold by Meiji Seika Kaisha, Ltd.) was evaluated by standing the same for 24 hours under each temperature condition of 20, 30, 35, 45, 55 and 67 ° C. The results are shown in the following Table 2 which shows the facts that the lyophilized chocolate products according to the invention are completely excellent in the thermostability than the commercially available chocolate and that the thermostability is increased by the crystalline cellulose composition in the same .

Table 2 In table 2, O: No problem as the commercial product ?: Product maintains its shape, but there is a problem such as the commercial product, because it only generates a stain after packing it, and X: Product maintains its form Industrial Applicability According to the process of the invention, the raw materials of the food are made in the form of solution or paste, emulsified, made in a semi-frozen state upon cooling the emulsion and then made in a frozen solid state upon cooling additionally the semi-frozen material, before the final lyophilization treatment. As a result, the lyophilized product has a porous structure with a fine texture compared to the lyophilized product obtained by a conventional process. Therefore, the product shows soft melt in the mouth and is excellent in the appetite.

Claims (3)

1. CLAIMS 1. A process for preparing a lyophilized food product, comprising the steps of dissolving raw materials for food in water or making the same in a paste form through a micronization treatment; emulsifying the food materials in the form of solution or paste by adding to the same oil or fat heated for the food and an emulsifier to mix it to prepare an emulsion; as long as the solution is stirred, cool it to prepare a semi-frozen cream-type product; distributing the semi-frozen product in a mold, further cooling the product to cause solidification due to freezing; and lyophilizing the frozen solid product.
2. 2. A process according to claim 1, wherein palm oil, palm kernel oil, coconut oil, soybean oil, cottonseed oil, peanut oil, cocoa butter are used as the oil or fat for the food. , substitute fat of cocoa butter, substitute oil of cocoa butter or milk fat, or a combination of two or more kinds of oils and fats. 3. A process according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the oil or fat content for the food is 10-80 (w / w)% by weight of the solid in the lyophilized food product. 4. A lyophilized food product prepared by the process according to any of claims 1 -
3. 3.