OA12967A - Hard bouillon tablet or cube. - Google Patents

Description

012967

Hard bouillon tablet or cube

The présent invention relates to a hard bouillon tablet orcube and to a process for the production of a hard bouillon 5 tablet or cube. A conventional way of manufacturing hard bouillon tabletsor cubes comprises mixing powdered bouillon components withfat and no or only little amounts of oil, and pressing the 10 mix into a tablet or cube form. Indeed, the presence of oilthat is liquid at ambiant température may be detrimental tothe physical integrity of the tablet leading to itscrumbling as well as to oil imprégnation of the cardboardpackage. 15

Nowadays there is a nutritional trend to avoid or at leastreduce consumption of fats rich in trans fatty acids andsaturated fatty acids and to preferably consume healthyoils rich in monounsaturated fatty acids and/or 20 polyunsaturated fatty acids. Beside this fact in some countries oil is cheaper than hardened fat or solid fatobtained by fractionation. A first object of the présent invention is to provide a 25 hard bouillon tablet or cube which only or mainly containsoil that is liquid at ambient températures in localconditions and no or only little amounts of solid fatbeside non fat conventional bouillon ingrédients. 30 A second object of the présent invention is to provide ahard bouillon tablet or cube which, might hâve an improved,fresh appearance and which has an improved nutritionalvalue. 35 A third object of the présent invention is to provide a process for manufacturing such a bouillon tablet or cube. 012967

It has now been found that the first two objecta of theprésent invention can be met by a hard bouillon tablet orcube which comprises, in total tablet weight %, from 1 to 10 % of liquid oil and possibly solid fat, from 10 to 80 % of crystals, up to 30 % of a filler, from 1 to 20 % of a sticking agent, and, in total liquid oil and solid fat weight %, up to 80 % or even 70 %, preferably up to 60 % oreven 50 %, more preferably up to 40 % or even 30 %, evenmore preferably up to 20 % or even 10 %, and still evenmore preferably up to only 5 % solid fat, as well as optionally spices, flavours, dehydrated vegetables, herbleafs and/or plant extracts.

The third object of the présent invention can be met by aprocess for the production of a hard bouillon tablet orcube, which comprises the steps of -preparing a dry premix of powdered constituentscomprising, in total tablet or cube weight %, from 10 to 80% of crystals and up to 30 % of a filler, -adding, in total tablet or cube weight %, from 1 to10% of a liquid oil and optionnally solid fat to the drypremix while further mixing, -adding, in total tablet or cube weight %, from 0,2 to 1,5 % of water while further mixing, - adding from 1 to 20 % by weight, of a sticking agentand optionally spices, flavours, and/or plant extracts,and tableting the final mixture thus obtained,wherein, in total liquid oil and solid fat weight %, up to80 % or even 70 %, preferably up to 60% or even 50 %, morepreferably up to 40 % or even 30 %, even more preferably upto 20 % or even 10 %, and still even more preferably up to only 5 % solid fat is présent. 012967

Throughout the présent description, the expression"bouillon" is to be understood as meaning "bouillon and/orseasoning".

The expression "hard bouillon tablet or cube" means atablet or cube obtained by pressing a free flowing bouillonpowder into a tablet or cube form.

The expression "liquid oil" means oil or mixture of oilswhich is liquid or pourable at ambiant température, i.e.which has a solid fat content (SEC) of less than about 10 %at about 30°C.

On the contrary the expression "solid fat" herein means afatty material that is solid at ambiant température, i.e.which has a solid fat content of more than 10%, preferablymore than 15% and even more preferably more than 20% atfrom about 20°C to about 30°C.

The expression "crystals" means crystalline ingrédientssuch as sait, sugar, MSG of which the granulometry may varyfrom : (to be specified by PTC Kemptthal aftêr raw materialsarrived).

The expression "filler" means a substance of thecarbohydrate group such as starch, flour, cassava powder,and/or maltodextrines with low DE values.

Thus, it has surprisingly been found that it is possible tohâve only or mainly liquid oil and no or only little solidfat entrapped in a hard bouillon tablet or cube providedthe tablet or cube also comprises crystals, a filler and asticking agent.

In this. way, it is indeed possible to provide a hardbouillon tablet which only or mainly contains liquid oil 012967 and. no or only little solid fat beside non fat conventionalbouillon ingrédients. The tablet according to the présentinvention keeps its integrity during packaging, handlingand shipping without crumbling and does not exhibit anyrelease of fatty material during storage.

Thus, the présent invention also involves a method forimproving the nutritional quality of a hard bouillon tabletor cube by at least partially or totally replacing in thehard bouillon tablet or cube, solid fat which containstrans fatty acids and/or saturated fatty acids with liquidoils rich in monounsaturated fatty acids and/orpolyunsaturated fatty acids.

Moreover, the présent invention further involves a methodfor reducing consumption of trans fatty acids and/orsaturated fatty acids by administering a food productprepared from a hard bouillon and/or seasoning tablet orcube in which solid fat which contain trans fatty acidsand/or saturated fatty acids are at least partially ortotally replaced with liquid oils rich in monounsaturatedfatty acids and/or polyunsaturated fatty acids.

The better diffusion of liquid oil through the mass of theother ingrédients helps for a good homogeneity and thus,the présent invention further involves a method ofimproving the appearance of a hard bouillon tablet or cubeby at least partially or totally replacing solid fat in thetablet with liquid oil.

In the présent hard bouillon tablet or cube, the liquid oil may be any suitable food grade oil such as palm olein, peanut oil or high oleic sunflower oil, for example, or any fractionnated or not fractionnated vegetable oil, for example. 5 012967

The solid fat may be vegetable fat such as palm fat (palmoil) and palm stearin for example or animal fat such asbeef fat and chicken fat for example or any other fat thatis solid at ambiant température.

The filler which can adsorb a part of the liquid oil may bea porous ingrédient such as maltodextrin, flour, cassavapowder and/or corn starch or any other carbohydrate, forexample.

The sticking agent, used at a quantity of about 1-20 % inthe recipe, allows to obtain a certain tablet physicalstability- by slightly raising the moisture of the mass.This is achieved by adding between about from 0.2 to about 1.5 % water. As sticking agent reaction flavors and/orother flavor powders, vegetable powders (e.g. onion andgarlic powder), méat extract and maltodextrins may be used.In this case, the présent hard bouillon tablet or cubepreferably comprises from about 1 to about 20% stickingagent and from about 0.2 to about 1.5% added water.

The crystals may be a powdered crystalline ingrédient suchas kitchen sait, glutamate and/or sugar, for example.

Preferably, these crystals may hâve a granulometry asfollows : - D10, D50 and D90 may range respectivelyfrom about 50 to 80 μτη, from about 150 to 200 μη and fromabout 250 to 400 μη for glutamate. - D10, D50 and D90 may range respectivelyfrom about 40 to 80 μπι, from about 400 to 600 μη and fromabout 1000 to 2000 μτη for kitchen sait.

The sticking agent may comprise ingrédients the addition of which (combined with an adéquate increase of the aw value) may impart a glass transition température to the final 012967 mixture which may be relativeiy easily exceeded duringtableting. Such ingrédients may comprise méat extract,processed flavours, powdered vegetables and maltodextrinsfor example.

The Aw value of this hard bouillon tablet may preferably bein the range of from about 0.3 to about 0.5.

The préparation the premix may be carried out by means ofany suitable traditional powder mixer such as a horizontalmixer with plough-shaped tools arranged on its horizontalshaft or a ribbon mixer, for example.

The liquid oil may be atomised (onto the dry premix throughany adéquate nozzle such as simple or a binary nozzle, forexample) or added as bulk (manually or using a pump).Further mixing may be combined with chopping in order tobetter adsorb and absorb the liquid oil with the crystalsand the filler.

The optional solid fat may be added either in solid form tothe dry premix or in liquefied form to the liquid oil, forexample.

Tableting may be carried out under a pressure of from 10 to150 bar, for example. A further, spécial advantage of an embodiment of theprésent process in which no or only little amounts of solidfat and only or mainly liquid oil is used, is that, incontrast with a conventional process, it is not necessaryto ripen the mass which can therefore immediately betableted. The solid fat commonly used in conventional hardbouillon tablets or cubes has to be cooled and crystallisedbefore tableting is feasible at a good line efficiencywhile pressing. 7 012967

Embodiments of the hard bouillon tablet or cube and of theprocess for producing them according to the présentinvention are illustrated in the following Examples inwhich the percentages are given by weight unless indicatedto the contrary.

Method 1 : Particle size analysis

The particle size of the filler was analysed by means of alaser diffraction particle sizer (MASTERSIZER S, MalvernInstruments Ltd., Malvern/GB), coupled with a fullyautomated, air pressure controlled dry powder feeder (GMPultra).

The resuit from the analysis was the relative distributionof volume of the particles in the range of size classes.Cumulative undersize curves and the following particle sizedistribution parameters were derived from these basicresults: D50: 50% limit = mean particle diameter (50% by volume ofthe particles had a diameter below D50 and 50% by volume ofthe particles had a diameter above D50) D10: 10% limit (10% by volume of the particles had adiameter below D10) D90: 90% limit (10% by volume of the particles had adiameter above D90)

Span: (D90-D10)/D50 8 012967

Example 1 A hard bouillon cube was produced which had the followingcomposition : • 50 O. O sait • 15 o. *0 monosodium glutamate • 10 o, o cassavâ starch and/or corn starch • 10 o, O sugar • 8,4 o, 0 dehydrated powdered aromatics and spices(including reaction flavors) • 6 % liquid palm olein • 0,6 o. 0 water

The granulometry of the sait was as follows: D50 = 500 μιη

The granulometry of the glutamate was as follows: D50 = 166 μκι.

The production process comprised the following steps:

The spice premix is prepared in a ribbon mixer.

In the next mixing step the crystals (sait, glutamate andsugar) are added to the spice premix.

The liguid oil is added to the mixture.

Then the water is added into the powder. After this stepthe sticking agents and flavours are added to the mix.

The mixture thus obtained is tableted under a pressure of75 bar.

Due to a excellent diffusion of the liguid oil, this tablet has a fresh and nice appearance and does not crumble upon handling and storage. 9 012967 A hard, vegetable bouillon tablet which had the following composition: or cube was produced

Example 2 44 O O sait 20 Q, Ό monosodium glutamate 14 O. Ό cassava starch and/or corn starch 13, 3 O Ό powdered aromatics and spices (including reaction flavours) 6 O "O liquid palm olein 2 O. Ό dried vegetables 0,7 % water

The respective granulometry of sait and glutamate were asshown in Example 1.

The production process comprised the same steps than in thefirst example.

The mixture thus obtained was tableted under a pressure of75 bar.

The hard, vegetable bouillon tablet or cube thus obtainedcontained only liquid oil.

Due to an excellent diffusion of the liquid oil, thistablet or cube has a fresh and nice appearance and does notcr.umble during handling and shipping and storage.

Example 3 A hard, beef-type bouillon tablet was produced which hadthe following composition: 10 012967 8 43 o, 0 sait 8 16 0, Ό powdered aromatics and spices (e.g. méat flavour • 12 o. O cassava starch and/or corn starch • 10 Q. Ό sugar • 9 O 0 monosodium glutamate 8 6 g. 0 liquid palm olein 8 3 o 0 méat extract 8 1 o, o additional water 10 The respective granulometry of sait and glutamate were asshown in Example 1.

The production process comprised the same steps than in thefirst example. 15

Due to an excellent diffusion of the liquid oil, thistablet or cube has a fresh and nice appearance. 20

Claims (8)

1. 012967 11 Claims

   1. A hard bouillon and/or seasoning tablet or cube whichcomprises, in total tablet weight %, from 1 to 10 % ofliquid oil, from 10 to 80 % of crystals, up to 30 % of afiller, from 1 to 20 % of a sticking agent, and., in totalliquid oil and solid fat weight %, up to 80 % or even 70 %,preferably up to 60 % or even 50 %, more preferably up to40 % or even 30 %, even more preferably up to 20 % or even10 %, and still even more preferably up to ‘‘dnly 5 % solidfat, as well as optionally spices, flavours, dehydratedvegetables, herb leafs and/or plant extracts.
2. 2. A hard bouillon and/or seasoning tablet or cubeaccording to claim 1, in which the liquid oil is a healthyliquid oil rich in monounsatured and polyunsaturated fattyacids.
3. 3. A hard bouillon and/or seasoning tablet or cubeaccording to claim 1, in which the crystalline ingrédientsare selected from the group comprising sait, glutamate andsugar or combination thereof.
4. 4. A hard bouillon and/or seasoning tablet or cubeaccording to claim 1, in which the sticking agent comprisesan ingrédient which is able to develop a good mechanicalstability due to its low glass transition température at aslightly increased aw.
5. 5. A hard bouillon and/or seasoning tablet or cubeaccording to claim 4, which comprises as sticking agent atleast one substance selected from the group comprisingreaction flavors, méat extract, yeast .extract, vegetablepowders, maltodextrins and/or other flavor components witha low glass transition température at moderate aw levels. 012967 12
6. 6. A process for the production of a hard bouillon tabletor cube, which comprises the steps of -preparing a dry premix of powdered constituentscomprising, in total tablet or cube weight %, from 10 to 8 0% of crystals and up to 30 % of' a filler, -adding, in total tablet or cube weight %, from 1 to10% of a liquid oil and optionnally solid fat to the drypremix while further mixing, -adding, in total tablet or cube weight %, from 0,2 to 1,5 % of water while further mixing, - adding from 1 to 20 % by weight, of a sticking agentand optionally spices, flavours, and/or plant extracts,and tableting the final mixture thus obtained,wherein, in total liquid oil and solid fat weight %, up to80 % or even 70 %, preferably up to 60% or even 50 %, morepreferably up to 40 % or even 30 %, even more preferably upto 20 % or even 10 %, and still even more preferably up to only 5 % solid fat is présent.
7. 7. A method of improving the colour and appearance of ahard bouillon and/or seasoning tablet or cube by at leastpartially replacing in the tablet or cube, solid fat withliquid oil.
8. 8. A method for reducing consumption of trans fatty acidsand/or saturated fatty acids by administering a foodproduct prepared from a hard bouillon and/or seasoningtablet or cube in which solid fat which contains transfatty acids and/or saturated fatty acids is at leastpartially or totally replaced with liquid· oil rich inmonounsaturated fatty acids and/or polyunsaturated fattyacids.