SK281003B6 - Edible salt - Google Patents

Abstract

Edible salt containing, for 100 parts by weight of anhydrous material, 82 - 98 parts of alkali metal chloride and 2 - 18 parts of a sweetener, wherein the alkali metal chloride contains over 20 wt.% of potassium chloride and the sweetener contains a dipeptide and a starch hydrolysis product.

Description

The invention relates to an edible salt useful as a table salt or for flavoring gourmet preparations.

In particular, it relates to an edible salt useful as a substitute for sodium chloride, generally used as a table salt, in salting techniques and in gourmet preparations.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Human use of sodium is often considered to be the cause of cardiovascular disease. However, an important source of sodium in human nutrition is sodium chloride, generally used for flavoring foods. Attempts have therefore been made to find substitutes for sodium chloride in human nutrition.

In addition, it is considered desirable from both a nutritional and a physiological point of view to increase the potassium intake in human nutrition.

To achieve these objectives, a salt-flavoring preparation consisting of a mixture of sodium chloride and potassium chloride is proposed in BE-A-709091 (Morton Intemational, Inc.). However, in view of the pronounced bitter taste of potassium chloride, the content of this ingredient in this known edible salt must be limited to a value which can barely exceed 20% by weight.

CA-A-1147653 (CPC Intemational, Inc.) proposes a therapeutic salt composed of a mixture of sodium chloride and maltodextrin. In this known therapeutic salt, maltodextrin forms a filler whose function is to dilute sodium chloride. Due to its essentially tasteless character, maltodextrin makes it difficult to reduce the amount of sodium chloride necessary to obtain the intended salty taste. In addition, the known therapeutic salt does not make it possible to compensate for the potassium deficit in the diet.

WO88 / 09131 (Stauffer Management Company) suggests a dietary salt which overcomes the above drawbacks and therefore contains ammonium chloride, potassium chloride and a sweetener. Examples of sweeteners are sucrose, fructose and aspartame, with sucrose in an amount equal to at least 20% of the total weight of the dietary salt being particularly recommended. However, the presence of at least 20% sucrose in the dietary salt results in an increase in the calorie content of the food, which may be disadvantageous.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to overcome the disadvantages of the known formulations by means of the edible salt, which makes it possible to simultaneously reduce the sodium supply and to increase the potassium supply in food and gourmet preparations.

Accordingly, the present invention provides an edible salt containing, per 100 parts by weight of anhydrous material, 82 to 98 parts of alkali metal chloride and 2 to 18 parts of sweetener, wherein the alkali metal chloride contains more than 20% potassium chloride and the sweetener comprises a dipeptide and starch hydrolysis product.

Edible salt is a composition having a salty taste that allows it to be used as a substitute for pure sodium chloride as a table salt or for salting foodstuffs in gourmet preparations.

In order to express the amounts by weight or proportions, the edible salt components according to the invention are given in the anhydrous state.

In the edible salt of the invention, the alkali metal chloride contains more than 20% by weight of potassium chloride. It may consist of 100% potassium chloride, or may contain, in addition to potassium chloride, at least one other alkali metal (to which ammonium is added), usually sodium chloride. Depending on the circumstances, it is preferred that the proportion by weight of sodium chloride in the alkali metal chloride does not exceed 80%. It is recommended that the alkali metal chloride contains a potassium chloride content by weight of at least 40%, preferably at least 55% and a sodium chloride content of at most 60%, preferably at most 45%. It is particularly preferred that the proportions by weight comprise 60 to 67% potassium chloride and 33 to 40% sodium chloride.

The function of the sweetener is to mask the bitterness of potassium chloride and therefore contains at least one dipeptide and at least one starch hydrolysis product. The dipeptide in the sweetener should have a sweet or sugar flavor. Therefore, they are usually selected from aspartyl substituted phenylalanine derivatives. The dipeptides especially recommended in the context of the invention are alkyl esters derived from L-aspartyl-L-phenylalanine, their salts and their metal complexes. Particularly preferred are aspartame (α-L-aspartyl-L-phenylalanine methyl ester), salts thereof and metal complexes thereof. Aspartame is preferred.

The function of the starch hydrolysis product is to stabilize the dipeptide at elevated temperatures usually used in cooking food ingredients in the home kitchen and in the food industry. Preferably it is selected from polydextroses and dextrins.

Water-soluble polysaccharides are useful in the present invention as polydextroses. They are formed, by definition, with polymeric substances whose monomer units contain monosaccharides, for example glucose or maltose, optionally esterified with carboxylic acid units such as citric acid, fumaric acid, tartaric acid, adipic acid or terephialic acid. Additional information regarding polydextroses useful in this particular embodiment of the invention is available in EP-A-0100002 (G. D. Searle and Co.).

Dextrins are by definition water-soluble products resulting from partial depolymerization of starch. Dextrins are polymers containing usually more than 3 (usually at least 5) and less than 20 (usually no more than 10) monoglycidic units. They are usually characterized by their equivalent dextrose content, which is defined as the ratio between the reduction capacity of 1 g of a given dextrin and the reduction capacity of 1 g of dextrose. According to the invention, dextrins having an equivalent dextrose content of greater than 2.5, preferably equal to at least 4 and less than 25, preferably lower than or equal to 20, are preferably selected. Dextrins with an equivalent dextrose content not exceeding 13 are preferred. Additional information regarding dextrins useful in this particular embodiment of the invention is available in CA-A-1147653 (CPC Intemational Inc.).

According to the invention, the starch hydrolysis product is preferably selected from dextrins. Maltodextrins are particularly recommended, especially those having an equivalent dextrose content of 5 to 10.

In the edible salt of the invention, the starch hydrolysis product is preferably present in an amount of 90 to 99% (preferably 95 to 98%) by weight of the sweetener and the dipeptide is present in an amount of 1 to 10% (preferably 2 to 5%) by weight.

In one particular embodiment, the food salt of the invention further comprises 0.5 to 10% by weight of the magnesium compound. In this embodiment, the function of the magnesium compound is the supply of magnesium in the diet. For this, the magnesium compound can be selected, for example, from anhydrous or hyd2

Ratified magnesium sulphate and magnesium carbonate. Magnesium sulfate is particularly preferred. In one variation, the edible salt of the invention may simultaneously comprise magnesium sulfate (anhydrous or hydrated) and magnesium carbonate. In this variation of the invention, the main function of the magnesium carbonate is to serve as a desiccant and to aid in the free flow of salt and the magnesium sulfate essentially serves to supply magnesium in the diet. For example, in this preferred variant of the invention, the magnesium compound may comprise 88 to 93% by weight magnesium sulfate (preferably at least 95%) and 7 to 12% by weight magnesium carbonate (preferably at least 2%).

The edible salt according to the invention may further optionally contain at least one of the additives usually present in the salt separating compositions. Such additive is any substance which is useful in saline preparations intended for human nutrition, other than an alkali metal chloride, a dipeptide, a starch hydrolysis product or a magnesium compound. Examples of ingredients useful in the edible salt of the invention are potassium ferrocyanide (usually used as a desiccant) and aromatic herbs. In the case where the food salt according to the invention contains said ingredient, the content of said ingredient should not exceed 16%; content below 10% is recommended.

The food salt of the invention has the ability to release a taste comparable to that of sodium chloride in human nutrition. When used as a substitute for sodium chloride as a table or table salt in gourmet preparations, it has the advantageous property of reducing or suppressing the supply of sodium ions to the human body while forming a source of potassium ions and possibly magnesium ions.

Another advantageous characteristic of the edible salt of the invention is its good thermal stability, which allows its use at temperatures above 80 ° C, usually equal to at least 100 ° C and even in some cases reaching and exceeding 120 ° C, without the risk of dipeptide degradation, even in the case of aspartame. The edible salt of the invention is therefore particularly suitable for use in the food industry in the cooking of foods.

The edible salt composition according to the invention, which optimally combines the above advantages, is 52 to 60% potassium chloride, 30 to 38% sodium chloride, 6 to 8% magnesium sulfate, 0.6 to 0.8% carbonate magnesium, 2.0 to 2.5% maltodextrin and 0.05 to 0.1% aspartame.

The edible salt of the invention is prepared by any suitable means to ensure a homogeneous mixture of the ingredients thereof. A particularly suitable method consists in mechanically mixing their components in powder form.

The food salt of the invention is useful as a flavoring agent in domestic, craft or industrial activities associated with gourmet, for example, in the home kitchen, the restaurant industry, the craft or industrial production of human nutritional products and the salting of meat or sausages. For this purpose, the food salt of the invention may take any form suitable for the particular application. For use in the home kitchen or in the restaurant industry, for example, it can be produced in powder form with a grain diameter, measured by sieving using a standardized Tyler method, between 100 and 850 µm, preferably between 200 and 500 µm. In another variation, the edible salt may be used in the form of large particles having a diameter exceeding 850 µm and lying, for example, between 1 and 2.5 mm, the edible salt variant of the invention being particularly suitable for salting meat and sausages. In another variation, the food salt of the invention may be produced in the form of lozenges obtained by agglomeration of fine particles.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention is illustrated by the following examples. The granulometry of the powders used was measured by sieving using a standardized Tyler method.

Example 1

First, a sweetener was prepared by mixing maltodextrin with aspartame in appropriate amounts so that the resulting mixture contained 97% maltodextrin and 3% aspartame. To form the mixture, maltodextrin and aspartame were used in powder form with a granulometry between 210 and 500 µm.

2.3 g of the sweetener thus obtained were used, which were then thoroughly mixed to obtain a homogeneous powder with the following substances:

32.0 g of powdered sodium chloride 210 to 500 µm, 65.0 g of powdered potassium chloride 210 to 500 µm, 0.7 g of powdered magnesium carbonate 210 to 500 µm.

Example 2

The food salt according to the invention was prepared as in Example 1 from the following substances:

32.0 g of powdered sodium chloride 210 to 500 pm, 50.0 g of powdered potassium chloride 210 to 500 pm, 15.0 g of powdered magnesium sulfate heptahydrate 210 to 500 pm (corresponding to about 7.3 g of anhydrous magnesium sulfate),

0,7 g of powdered anhydrous magnesium carbonate with a particle size lower than 53 µm,

2.3 g of sweetener prepared in Example 1.

Example 3

The food salt according to the invention was prepared as in Example 1 from the following substances:

32.0 g of powdered sodium chloride 210 to 500 pm, 58.0 g of powdered potassium chloride 210 to 500 pm, 7.0 g of powdered anhydrous magnesium sulfate 210 to 500 pm,

0,7 g of powdered anhydrous magnesium carbonate with a particle size lower than 53 µm,

2.3 g of sweetener prepared in Example 1.

Claims (11)

Food salt, characterized in that it contains 82 to 98 parts of alkali metal chloride and 2 to 18 parts of sweetener per 100 parts by weight of anhydrous mass, wherein the alkali metal chloride contains more than 20% by weight of potassium chloride and the sweetener comprises a dipeptide and a hydrolysis product starch. A salt according to claim 1, wherein the dipeptide is selected from alkyl esters derived from L-aspartyl-L-phenylalanine, their salts and their metal complexes. 3. A salt according to claim 2 wherein the dipeptide comprises aspartame. A salt according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the starch hydrolysis product comprises dextrin. A salt according to claim 4, wherein the dextrin is selected from maltodextrins with an equivalent dextrose content of 5 to 10. A salt according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the sweetener comprises 95 to 98% by weight of the starch hydrolysis product and 2 to 5% by weight of the dipeptide. The salt of any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising 0.5 to 10% by weight of the magnesium compound. 8. The salt of claim 7, wherein the magnesium compound comprises at least 95% magnesium sulfate and at least 2% magnesium carbonate by weight of dry matter. A salt according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the alkali metal chloride comprises 60 to 67% by weight potassium chloride and 33 to 40% by weight sodium chloride. Salt according to claim 9, characterized in that it contains by weight of dry matter 52 to 60% of potassium chloride, 30 to 38% of sodium chloride, 6 to 8% of magnesium sulfate, 0.6 to 0.8% of magnesium carbonate, 2.0 to 2.5% maltodextrin and 0.05 to 0.1% aspartame. The salt of any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising at least one additive in an amount of at most 16% by weight.