MXPA98003022A - Beverage containing gr - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a liquid drink thermally treated. The drink contains water, a skim that contains a fat, and a stabilizing system. The stabilizing system is a mixture of a monoglyceride and lambda carrageenan. The drink has a reduced tendency to form a layer of cream and prevents the formation of anil

Description

DRINK THAT CONTAINS GREASE DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a liquid beverage, for example, a drink ready to be ingested, which contains fat and which is self-sustaining. The invention also relates to a process for making the liquid beverage. Liquid flavored drinks, especially ready-to-drink beverages, which contain milk, are available in various markets. An example of such a beverage is a coffee with milk beverage in ready-to-eat form. Liquid drinks without any specific flavor are also commercially available. Both types of beverage may contain up to about 40% by weight of total milk or about 5% by weight of milk solids. Milk fats constitute up to about 33% by weight of milk solids and therefore these beverages can contain up to about 1.5% by weight of milk fats. Beverages which are based on non-milk skimmers contain similar concentrations of fat. These fats give rise to stability problems. In particular, when stored for prolonged periods of time, fats rise to the surface of the beverage in the form of globules and form a white, agglomerated layer. This is known as a cream layer and the phenomenon as a cream coating. By agitating the container, the fat globules are usually dispersed again within the beverage. However, a persistent visible white ring usually remains in the container at the interface between the liquid beverage and the gas above it. Consumers usually find the presence of this ring unacceptable. Although the problem is not a major concern for canned beverages since most consumers do not observe it, it is a problem in glass jar beverages. In addition, the problem becomes more pronounced if the drink is stored for more than three months; which is often the case. An attempt to solve certain stability problems in ready-to-drink beverages which contain milk is described in U.S. Patent No. 5,202,145. The beverage is produced by first mixing together water, milk and a stabilizer system consisting of a combination of a monoglyceride and a carrageenan or pectin, or both, to provide a milk mixture. Subsequently, a flavoring solution buffered from an acidic flavoring agent (for example coffee), disodium phosphate or potassium bicarbonate is prepared separately. The buffered flavor solution and the milk mixture are then stirred to provide a solution having a pH in the range of 6.8 to 7.2.

Subsequently, the solution is thermally heated to decompose substantially all of the potassium bicarbonate to potassium hydroxide and carbon dioxide. This process is described to provide a stable shelf-stable beverage having a pH of 6.3 to 6.5. However, this process is unnecessarily complicated and requires the use of a buffer system which is not universally approved by the regulatory authorities. Therefore, there is a need for a system for stabilizing fats in liquid beverages in a manner that minimizes cream coverage and ring formation and which allows the use of various buffer systems and simple processing procedures. Accordingly, in one aspect, this invention provides a liquid beverage, heat treated, consisting of water; a bleach that contains a fat; and a stabilizing system comprising a mixture of a monoglyceride emulsifier and lambda carrageenan to stabilize the fat. The bleached beverage is surprisingly stable to storage with a small amount of cream coverage and no ring formation. In addition, the beverage has substantially the same viscosity as conventional beverages and does not suffer from the disadvantage of settling. Preferably, the monoglyceride emulsifier comprises about 0.05% to about 0.25% by weight of the liquid beverage; for example from 0.1% to approximately 0.2% by weight. The lambda carrageenan preferably comprises from about 0.05% to about 0.15% by weight of the liquid beverage; for example, from about 0.05% to about 0.10% by weight. The liquid beverage preferably has a flavoring agent; for example, soluble coffee solids. In a further aspect, this invention provides a liquid, thermally treated beverage comprising water; a bleach comprising a fat; and a stabilizing system for stabilizing the grease, the stabilizer system consists essentially of: (i) from about 0.05% to about 0.25% by weight of a monoglyceride emulsifier which includes up to 10% by weight of diglycerides and up to 30% by weight of hydrogenated vegetable oils; and (ii) from about 0.05% to about 0.15% by weight lambda carrageenan. In another aspect, this invention provides a method for preventing ring formation in a liquid beverage, heat treated, which contains water and a bleach containing a fat; the method comprises adding a stabilizer system comprising a mixture of a monoglyceride emulsifier and lambda carrageenan to water and bleach; homogenize the mixture; and heat treat the mixture. Now embodiments of the invention will be described by way of example only. The liquid drink is in the form of liquid; for example, in a ready-to-swallow form or in the form of a liquid concentrate. The liquid drink contains water, a bleach containing a fat, a stabilizing system to minimize the formation of a cream layer in the beverage and therefore a ring. Preferably, the liquid beverage is a coffee with milk beverage, milk chocolate drinks and milk shake drinks. The stabilizing system consists of an emulsifier and a thickener. The emulsifier is a monoglyceride; that is, a monoester of glycerol and a fatty acid. Preferably, the fatty acid has from 10 to 20 carbon atoms; for example from 14 to 20 carbon atoms. The monoglyceride may constitute the single fatty acid, but preferably it contains several different fatty acids. Commercially available monoglyceride emulsifiers usually contain small amounts of diglycerides; for example, up to about 10% by weight. Therefore, the emulsifying system may contain small amounts of diglycerides; usually less than 8% by weight. In addition, the emulsifier may contain hydrogenated vegetable oils; for example up to about 30% by weight of hydrogenated vegetable oils. Suitable monoglyceride emulsifiers are available under the tradenames Myvatex ™ or Myverol ™. A particularly suitable emulsifier is Myvatex ™ 8-06 which contains 79.9% by weight of monoglycerides and diglycerides (the content of diglycerides is less than 8% by weight) and 20% by weight of hydrogenated soybean oil. This emulsifier has an acid value of less than 3, an iodine value of 24 to 30 and a density of 930 kg / m3 at 80 ° C and a melting point of approximately 67 ° C. For a ready-to-swallow beverage, the emulsifier may comprise from about 0.05% to about 0.25% by weight of the beverage. For example, from about 0.1% to about 0.2% by weight. For a beverage in the form of a concentrate, the emulsifier may comprise from about 0.12% to about 1.25% by weight of the beverage. The thickener is lambda carrageenan. Small amounts of other carrageenans may also be present since not all commercial sources of lambda carrageenan are completely pure. For a ready-to-swallow beverage, the thickener can comprise from about 0.05% to about 0.15% by weight of the beverage. For a drink in the form of a concentrate, the thickener can comprise from about 0.12% to about 1.0% by weight of the beverage. The beverage can be produced by first preparing a liquid beverage mixture. Usually, the liquid beverage mixture is made up of sugar or other sweetening agent, a flavoring agent, a bleach, a stabilizing system and a buffer system. The liquid beverage mixture can be prepared by mixing together all the dry ingredients, stirring all the liquid ingredients and then subjecting the mixture to homogenization. Usually, the bleach is added after the buffer system. The homogenization can be carried out in two steps through a homogenizer; for example, at about 15 to 30 MPa and after about 2 to 5 MPa. In this step, the fat droplets preferably have a size in the range from about 0.5 μm to 2 μm. If a flavoring agent is used to prepare a liquid beverage mixture, it may be coffee, cocoa, chocolate mixtures, cereals in a malted beverage, etc. The flavoring agent may be liquid or solid; for example coffee powder or coffee extract for a coffee drink. If coffee is used as the flavoring agent for a drink ready to be ingested, the liquid beverage conveniently contains from about 0.5% to about 2% by weight of soluble coffee solids; for example, from 0.75% to approximately 1.5% by weight. The damping system can be any suitable damping system. For example, the buffer system may include sodium and potassium bicarbonate, disodium and dipotassium phosphates, and sodium and potassium substrates. You can also use different combinations of these shock absorbers. The purpose of the buffer is to buffer the pH to stabilize the proteins in the beverage; for example, up to a pH in the range from 6.3 to about 7.2. In addition to the need to provide a pH which stabilizes the proteins, the selected buffer system will depend mainly on the regulations in the various countries and desired organoleptic properties. Typically, the total amount of the buffer system used is in the range of from about 0.05% to about 1.5% by weight of the beverage; for example, from about 0.1% to about 0.3% by weight. The bleach can be any suitable bleach; based on dairy products or different dairy products. The bleaches based on suitable products are full or skimmed milk, mixtures of non-fat dairy solids with milk fats and mixtures of all these. Suitable non-dairy bleaches are skimmed coffee or tea; for example skimmed which contain approximately 35 to 50% by weight of fat (for example coconut fat), approximately 25 to 40% by weight of a sweetener (for example corn syrups), approximately 3 to 10% of a protein ( for example a milk-based protein such as sodium caseinate) and emulsifiers, stabilizers and buffers. If milk or milk solids are used as the bleach in the beverage mixture, the amount of milk or milk solids may vary as desired to obtain a desired appearance and flavor. If whole milk is used, the amount of milk included in the beverage product is usually from about 5% to about 40% by weight. If milk solids are used, the amount included in the beverage is usually from about 1% to about 5% by weight. Milk solids include milk fat. After homogenization, the liquid beverage is conveniently cooled to about 4 ° C to about 20 ° C and is supplied as a filler in containers such as jars or cans. The containers are then sealed and subjected to distillation in retorts to sterilize the beverages. The retort sterilization can be carried out in batch retort sterilization equipment using hot water or steam or it can be carried out continuously using a hydrostatic retort system or spiral continuous heater; for example. The retort distillation is preferably carried out at a temperature of about 110 ° C to about 125 ° C and for a sufficient time to obtain an F0 value of about 3 to about 30; for example from about 4 to about 10. The value F0 is the equivalent time in minutes that the beverage is held at a temperature of 121 ° C. Subsequently the liquid drink is cooled and stored.

The liquid beverage is stable on the shelf and can be stored for a period of at least 9 months up to temperatures of approximately 30 ° C. In addition, the liquid beverage has a reduced tendency to form a creamy layer and therefore a small or no ring formation is observed on the inner side of the container. The flavor profile of the beverage also remains stable with little or no tendency to produce unpleasant flavors. For liquid beverages which contain full milk, the beverage typically has the following components.

It will be appreciated that numerous modifications can be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, instead of producing a liquid beverage mixture as described above, a two-step process described in U.S. Patent No. 5,202,145 (the description of which is incorporated herein by reference) can be used. In this case, water, milk and a stabilizing system are mixed to provide a milk mixture. The flavoring system and the buffer system are mixed together to provide a buffered, flavored solution. The buffered solution with flavor and the milk mixture are subsequently mixed and homogenized. The homogenized mixture can then be filled into containers and heat treated as described above. As a further example of a modification, the homogenized liquid beverage may be subjected to ultra-high temperature processing as described in U.S. Patent No. 4,980,182 (the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference). In this case, the homogenized liquid beverage is heated to a temperature of about 135 ° C to about 155 ° C for 2 to 30 seconds. Subsequently, the thermally treated liquid beverage is aseptically supplied as a filler in containers. No further distillation in retorts or heat treatment of the liquid drink is necessary.

Example 1 Disodium phosphate and potassium bicarbonate are added to water at a temperature of about 65 ° C. Subsequently, Myvatex® 8-06 is added to the buffer solution and mixed well. Then a mixture of lambda carrageenan and sugar is stirred. Subsequently, coffee powder and more sugar are added and the solution is mixed. The solution has a pH of about 6.8 to 6.9. Then add whole milk to the solution and mix well. The liquid beverage is subsequently from about 75 ° C to about 80 ° C and is homogenized in a two stage homogenizer at about 30 MPa and 3.5 MPa, respectively. The homogenized mixture is then cooled and filled into jars. The bottles are then distilled in retorts to an F0 value of approximately 5. The bottles are then stored at room temperature and at approximately 4 ° C for up to nine months. The components of the drink in the jars are as follows: The jars are examined during storage to determine sediment formation, cream coverage, ring formation, viscosity and particle size. No sedimentation is detected and the viscosity and particle size are acceptable. In addition, for bottles stored at 4 ° C, no cream coating or ring formation is detected. For flasks stored at room temperature, the rate of cream coverage is significantly reduced and no ring formation occurs. The jars are opened and tested by a taste determination team. The taste of the drink is good with few or no unpleasant notes.

Example 2 - Comparison The procedure of Example 1 is repeated, except that several emulsifiers and thickeners are used in place of monoglycerides and lambda carrageenan.

None of the products is acceptable. 3 The procedure of Example 1 is repeated, except that the buffer system used is sodium bicarbonate and potassium citrate. No sedimentation is detected and the viscosity and particle size is acceptable. further, for bottles stored at 4 ° C, no cream coating or ring formation is detected. For bottles stored at room temperature, the rate of cream coverage is significantly reduced and no ring formation is observed. It is noted that in relation to this date, the best method known by the applicant to carry out the aforementioned invention, is the conventional one for the manufacture of the objects to which it relates. Having described the invention as above, property is claimed as contained in the following:

Claims (10)

1. A liquid drink, heat treated, characterized in that it comprises water; a bleach that contains a fat; and a stabilizing system comprising a mixture of a monoglyceride emulsifier and lambda carrageenin to stabilize the fat.

2. The beverage according to claim 1, characterized in that the stabilizing system comprises from about 0.05% to about 0.25% by weight of the monoglyceride emulsifier, and from about 0.05% to about 0.15% by weight of lambda carrageenan.

3. The beverage according to claim 2, characterized in that the stabilizing system comprises from about 0.1% to about 0.2% by weight of the monoglyceride emulsifier and from about 0.05% to about 0.1% by weight of lambda carrageenan.

4. The beverage according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it also comprises a flavoring agent.

5. The beverage according to claim 4, characterized in that the flavoring agent is soluble coffee solids.

6. The beverage according to any of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the bleach is milk or milk solids.

7. The beverage according to any of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that it further comprises from about 0.05% to about 0.3% by weight of the drink of buffer salts that are selected from 1 or more of sodium and potassium bicarbonate, disodium and dipotassium phosphates and sodium and potassium citrates.

8. The beverage according to any of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the monoglyceride emulsifier includes up to 10% by weight of diglycerides and up to 30% by weight of hydrogenated vegetable oils.

9. The beverage according to claim 8, characterized in that the monoglyceride emulsifier includes up to 8% by weight of diglycerides and up to 20% by weight of hydrogenated vegetable oils.

10. A method for preventing ring formation in a liquid, heat-treated beverage, which contains water and a bleach containing a fat; the method is characterized in that it comprises adding a stabilizer system comprising a mixture of a monoglyceride emulsifier and lambda carrageenan to the water and to the bleach; homogenize the mixture; and heat treat the mixture.