MXPA01007097A - Rte cereals and other foods presweetened with d tagatose - Google Patents

Abstract

This invention discloses an RTE cereal having a sugar coating comprising D tagatose, either alone or in combination with at least one polyol, and processes for preparing such cereal. This invention also discloses other foodstuffs, including functional and convenience foods, that are presweetened with a syrup solution comprising D tagatose, either alone or in combination with at least one polyol, and processes for preparing such foodstuffs.

Description

CEREALS READY TO EAT AND OTHER FOODS SWEETENED WITH D-TAGATOSA BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to ready-to-eat breakfast cereals (RTE) and other foods in which D-tagatose totally or partially replaces sucrose or other sugars commonly used. Ready-to-eat cereals are a significant source of healthy nutrition. Many of the ready-to-eat cereals contain sugars for a better palate sensation. The sugars most commonly used in sweetened ready-to-eat cereals, such as sucrose, fructose or glucose, have the disadvantage of potentially causing tooth decay and depriving the population of diabetics of the population of obtaining the nutritional benefit of ready-to-eat cereals. . The present invention relates to this problem by providing ready-to-eat cereals and other foods that are previously sweetened with a sugar which, while having substantially the same sweetening capacity, does not present the disadvantage of the commonly used sugars discussed above.

In the following, further embodiments of the present invention are described.

DESCRIPTIVE MEMORY The present invention replaces sugars such as sucrose, fructose or glucose, which are commonly used to pre-sweeten cereals and other foods, including functional foods and fast foods, with a sugar having substantially the same sweetening capacity , a pleasant taste, none of the disadvantages of commonly used sugars, and additional health benefits. The sugar used in the present invention is D-tagatose, which is a natural keto-hexose with a melting point of 134 ° C. The caloric value of D-tagatose is less than half the caloric value of sucrose and in addition D-tagatose is not cariogenic. D-tagatose does not lead to elevation of the glycemic index and is therefore safe for consumption by diabetics. D-tagatose also has a prebiotic effect, resulting in a desirable fermentation to butyrate in the colon. A preferred embodiment of this invention is a ready-to-eat cereal coated with D-tagatose to which the sweetener is applied following the main process. If D-tagatose is used in a normal cereal cooking procedure that is typical for Corn Flakes or Rice Krispies (crunchy rice), it is subjected to a non-enzymatic Maillard reaction when heated, resulting in a dark and bitter end product. It has been discovered, however, that if the D-tagatose is applied as a syrup solution to the flakes, rice or other pre-formed cereal pieces to form a frosted coating or glaze, the poor color may be minimized, resulting in a final product with a desirable color and good organoleptic properties. The syrup containing D-tagatose should first be heated to a temperature sufficient to dissolve the D-tagatose crystals. To produce a glazed (non-crystallized) sugar coating, a heated syrup solution containing D-tagatose may be applied to the pre-formed cereal pieces according to any of the methods known in the art. It has been discovered that, by producing a frosted (crystallized) sugar coating, the application of a heated syrup containing D-tagatose to cereal pieces preformed according to conventional methods does not lead to the crystallization of D-tagatose and instead a final product glaze. These conventional methods normally involve spraying a solution of the syrup onto the preformed cereal pieces, and subsequent immediate drying of the cereal pieces at a temperature above 110 ° C. In the present invention, it has been found that, to produce a frosted product using a heated solution of syrup containing D-tagatose, the syrup solution must first be cooled to a temperature sufficient to cause an incipient crystallization of the solution so that the solution becomes cloudy and viscous. This temperature is usually from about 50 ° C to about 70 ° C, depending on the viscosity. Once the solution is cooled, it is sprayed onto the pre-formed cereal pieces. Spraying the syrup on the cereal pieces requires a balance between viscosity and crystallization. It is essential that incipient crystallization take place before spraying the syrup solution onto the pre-formed pieces of cereal. The cereal pieces with the spray on them are then allowed to cool for at least one hour at room temperature before being dried at a maximum temperature of 80 ° C. D-tagatose can be added to ready-to-eat cereals of all kinds, including flakes, inflated flakes, rice strips and bran. Although it is preferred to add the syrup containing D-tagatose to the cereal once the main processing of cereal has been completed, the D-tagatose can also be added during the extrusion of the cereal, provided that a short time is used or a temperature regime is employed. low, or after baking or roasting the cereal. A syrup containing D-tagatose can also be used as a sweetening composition without sucrose, non-cariogenic, low-calorie, insulin-independent, in a variety of other foods in addition to ready-to-eat cereals, and among those foods are baked goods or fast, functional foods such as snack bars and toaster pastries. In another embodiment of this invention, D-tagatose may also be used in admixture with one or more poly-alcohols such as sorbitol, maltitol, isomalt, erythritol, xylitol, lactitol or hydrogenated corn syrups. A common disadvantage to polyalcohols, with the exception of erythritol, is its pronounced laxative effect. Some polyalcohols, such as sorbitol and maltitol, are very hygroscopic, while others, such as isomalt and lactitol, have a reduced sweetening capacity when compared to sucrose, or others, such as xylitol and erythritol, have a pronounced effect refreshing that in some products is undesirable. None of the polyalcohols can be subjected to the Maillard toasting reaction, which in certain foods such as ready-to-eat cereals and baked goods is desirable to produce color and flavor. D-tagatose does not have these disadvantages and when mixed with one or more polyalcohols it leads to a sweetening composition, free of sucrose, non-cariogenic, reduced in calories, independent of insulin. The sweetening composition can be used as a glaze coating on ready-to-eat cereals or as a sweetener for a variety of other foods including functional and quick foods, chewing gum and candy. The sweetening capacity of the composition can be enhanced by the addition of intense sweeteners, sweetening enhancers such as neohesperidin, dihydro cha chacone, or commercial sweet flavors. The following examples describe preferred modes of the invention. It is to be understood that the examples given herein are illustrative and not limitative of the scope of the invention.

EXAMPLE 1 Production of non-crystallized sugar coating In this example, D-tagatose replaces the sugar based on one-to-one in a conventional formulation, to give a non-crystallized coating on corn flakes. The coating also has adhesive properties for adhering nuts, fruits, etc. to the flakes. The glazed cornflakes are prepared as follows: A solution of D-tagatose of 72-73 ° Brix is heated (as quoted here, Brix refers to an equivalent of D-tagatose) at 58 ° C-61 ° C until the crystals dissolve D-tagatose. The solution is then heated to 70 ° C to give a more mobile solution and sprayed onto the base flakes through an LRF spray head 6. The glazed flakes are then dried in a commercial dryer at 110 ° C for three cycles of one to two minutes, one to four minutes, and one to four minutes, where the flakes are turned between each drying cycle.

EXAMPLE 2 Production of a coating of: crystallized sugar (frosting) Conventional sucrose frosting procedures did not produce a satisfactory product when the sucrose was replaced by D-tagatose because the D-tagatose was not crystallized. To produce an acceptable product, the following procedure was employed. It warmed up one. D-tagatose solution of 83 ° Brix at approximately 97 ° C until the D-tagatose crystals dissolved. The solution was then cooled to about 70 ° C to the point of incipient crystallization. 550 g of this solution were then sprayed through an LF 12 nozzle onto 750 g of corn flake cereal pieces. To avoid frosting, the flakes carrying the spray at room temperature were allowed to cool for two hours before allowing them to dry in small trays at a maximum of 80 ° C for 15 minutes. This produced a good frosty product.

EXAMPLE 3 Production of a crystallized (frosted) sugar coating A solution of D-tagatose of 83 ° Brix was heated to about 100 ° C until the D-tagatose crystals dissolved. The solution was then cooled to approximately 62 ° C to the point of incipient crystallization. 550 g of this solution were then sprayed through an LF 12 nozzle onto 750 g of pieces of inflated rice. The flakes were then cooled with cold air until completely frosted, partially dried overnight and then dried in a commercial dryer between 92 ° C and 100 ° C for 7 minutes. This produced a good frosty product.

EXAMPLE 4 Production of a non-crystallized sugar coating with D-tagatose and a polyalcohol Three 80 ° Brix syrups consisting of: 33% maltitol and 67% D-tagatose 50% maltitol and 50% D-tagatose 67% of maltitol and 33% of D-tagatose were applied separately to cereal pieces in the form of O, either by spraying or by immersing the cereal piece in the syrup. The temperature of the syrup was maintained at 110 ° C. After application of the syrup, the pieces were dried at 110 ° C for 30 minutes. Sweetener levels were produced at 30% to 50% of the total weight.

EXAMPLE 5 Three 80 ° Brix syrups were prepared according to Example 4, but xylitol was used instead of maltitol.

It is to be understood that the specification and examples are illustrative of the present invention and that other embodiments may occur to those skilled in the art within the spirit and framework of the invention. All citations made here are incorporated as a reference.

Claims (9)

R e i v i n d i c a c i o n s

1. A ready-to-eat cereal (RTE) that has a sugar coating that comprises D-tagatose.

2. A ready-to-eat cereal that has a sugar coating comprising D-tagatose and at least one polyalcohol.

3. A process for preparing a sugar-coated ready-to-eat cereal comprising the application of a heated syrup solution comprising D-tagatose to cereal pieces preformed to form a coating.

4. A process according to claim 3, wherein the syrup solution further comprises at least one polyalcohol.

5. A process for producing a frosted coating comprising the application of a heated syrup solution comprising D-tagatose to preformed cereal pieces, cooling the syrup solution to a temperature sufficient for an incipient crystallization of D-tagatose to take place, spraying the syrup solution onto the preformed cereal pieces, cooling the preformed cereal pieces for at least one hour at room temperature and then drying the preformed cereal pieces to a maximum of 80 ° C.

6. A process according to claim 4, wherein the syrup solution is cooled to a temperature of about 50 ° C to about 70 ° C.

7. A ready-to-eat cereal prepared by the process of claim 3.

8. A ready-to-eat cereal prepared by the process of claim 5.

9. A ready-to-eat cereal prepared by the process of claim 3, wherein the syrup solution further comprises at least one polyalcohol.