WO2014206928A1

WO2014206928A1 - Confectionery vegetable fat

Info

Publication number: WO2014206928A1
Application number: PCT/EP2014/063143
Authority: WO
Inventors: Morten Daugaard Andersen
Original assignee: Aarhuskarlshamn Ab
Priority date: 2013-06-25
Filing date: 2014-06-23
Publication date: 2014-12-31

Abstract

The present invention provides a confectionery vegetable fat comprising 0.1 –10% by weight of the total fat content of fatty acid monoglycerides, the weight ratio between saturated fatty acids and unsaturated fatty acids in the fatty acid monoglycerides being between 0.1 and 20.

Description

CONFECTIONERY VEGETABLE FAT

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of confectionery vegetable fat. In particular, the invention relates to a fat comprising certain monoglycerides of fatty acids.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The manufacture of chocolate is a complex endeavour and not all aspects of chocolate manufacture are fully understood. A number of additives have proven to be useful in the production of chocolate and confectionery vegetable fat that may be used in chocolate manufacture, either together with cocoa butter as a cocoa butter equivalent (=CBE), or as a cocoa butter substitute (=CBS). Cocoa butter replacers (=CBR) are also widely used, especially in providing chocolate like coatings on for example ice cream and cookies.

The compositions of these confectionery fats may vary depending on the vegetable source of the fat and the chemical modifications of the natural fats and oils.

Additives typically aid in the control of viscosity, optimization of the tempering process and crystallization [Smith, K.W. et al, Crystallization of Fats: Influence of Minor Components and Additives, J.Am. Oil Chem. Soc. (2011) 88: 1085 - 1101] and the minimization of fat bloom [Lonchampt, P. et al, Fat bloom in chocolate and compound coatings, Eur. J. Lipid Sci. Tecnol. (2004) 106: 241-274].

There is an on-going need to provide confectionery vegetable fats with improved properties. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention a confectionery vegetable fat comprising 0.1 - 10% by weight of the total fat content of fatty acid monoglycerides, the weight ratio between saturated fatty acids and unsaturated fatty acids in the fatty acid monoglycerides being between 0.1 and 20 is provided.

It has surprisingly been found that the use of such a fat in chocolate- or chocolatelike products significantly increases the gloss of the surface of such products. This increase in gloss is dependent on the amount and composition of monoglycerides added to the confectionery vegetable fat. Monoglycerides of both saturated and unsaturated fatty acids must be present in the confectionery vegetable fat. An increased gloss is observed when the amount of fatty acid monoglycerides is between 0.1 and 10% of the total fat content of the confectionery vegetable fat. Lesser amounts may only show marginal effects or no visible effect on gloss and higher amounts may not be feasible to use because other properties of the confectionery vegetable fat are undesirably affected.

Also, monoglycerides of more or less fully saturated fatty acids may have a lesser impact on gloss and accordingly, the amount of unsaturated fatty acid monoglyceride must at least be enough to ensure a weight ratio between saturated fatty acids and unsaturated fatty acids in the fatty acid monoglycerides of 20 or less according to the invention.

Similarly, for monoglycerides comprising unsaturated fatty acids more or less exclusively, the effect on gloss is only minor or not visible. Accordingly, the weight ratio between saturated fatty acids and unsaturated fatty acids in the fatty acid monoglycerides must be at least 0.1 to bring about a significant gloss gain.

It has surprisingly been found that the weight ratio between saturated and unsaturated fatty acids in the fatty acid monoglycerides comprised in the vegetable confectionery fat may be used to adjust the gloss of products comprising such vegetable confectionery fat in the direction of extremely high gloss.

In an embodiment of the invention the amount of fatty acid monoclycerides is between 0.2 - 8% by weight of the total fat content, such as between 0.3 - 6% by weight of the total fat content, or between 0.4 - 5% by weight of the total fat content, such as between 0.5 and 4% by weight of the total fat content.

The high-gloss effect of the fatty acid monoglycerides in the confectionery vegetable fat may be regulated by adjusting their amount by weight of the total fat content. In an embodiment of the invention the confectionery vegetable fat is selected from the group consisting of cocoa butter, a cocoa butter equivalent, a cocoa butter replacer, a cocoa butter substitute, and any combinations thereof.

Increase in gloss is to some degree observable for different vegetable fats used in the manufacture of chocolate- or chocolate-like products, according to embodiments of the invention.

Experiments have indicated that the source of the confectionery vegetable fat may vary, while the presence of the fatty acid monoglycerides will provide for an increased gloss irrespective of the source of the confectionery vegetable fat. In an embodiment of the invention the confectionery vegetable fat is a cocoa butter substitute that comprises laurin fat.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the presence of laurin fat in the confectionery vegetable fat allows for the preparation of compound coating fats for high gloss chocolate- or chocolate-like coatings.

In an embodiment of the invention, the laurin fat comprises lauric oils selected from the group of palm kernel oil, coconut oil, babassu oil and fractions thereof in any combination. In an embodiment of the invention the laurin fat comprises partly or fully hydrogenated lauric oils.

According to further embodiments of the invention partly or fully hydrogenated lauric oils are components of the confectionery vegetable fat.

Thus, according to the embodiments comprising laurin fat, these fats may comprise fractions of non-hydrogenated lauric oils, partly hydrogenated lauric oils and fully hydrogenated lauric oils and combinations thereof.

In an embodiment of the invention the confectionery vegetable fat comprises sorbitan tri-stearate in an amount of 0.1 - 4% by weight of the total fat content. According to embodiments of the invention the addition of sorbitan tri-stearate to the confectionery vegetable fat helps preserving the high gloss initially obtained on the surface of the products comprising such fat by minimizing fat bloom over time. In an embodiment of the invention the confectionery vegetable fat is free of sorbitan tri-stearate.

According to preferred embodiments of the present invention, the avoidance of sorbitan tri-stearate in the confectionery vegetable fat may surprisingly lead to extremely high gloss on the surface of the products comprising such fat.

In an embodiment of the invention the fatty acid monoglycerides comprise glycerol esters of stearic acid, palmitic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid, linolenic acid, palmitoleic acid, arachidic acid, gadoleic acid, behenic acid, erucic acid and combinations thereof.

According to embodiments of the present invention, a number of fatty acids may be comprised in the monoglycerides being part of the confectionery vegetable fat.

In an embodiment of the invention the weight ratio between palmitic acid and saturated fatty acids in the fatty acid monoglycerides is between 0.08 and 0.95, such as between 0.15 and 0.65.

In preferred embodiments comprising palmitic acid monoglyceride, the weight ratio between palmitic acid and the total amount of saturated fatty acid in the fatty acid monoglycerides may vary considerably, but palmitic acid monoglyceride is present in the monoglycerides to provide gloss-enhancing compositions according to these embodiments.

Surprisingly experiments have shown that the presence of palmitic acid (CI 6:0) monolyceride in certain ratios in the monoglycerides may further enhance the obtainable gloss. In an embodiment of the invention, the confectionery vegetable fat may be used as a cocoa butter equivalent, a cocoa butter substitute or a cocoa butter replacer. A wide range of products may benefit from the gloss-enhancing properties of the confectionery vegetable fat according to embodiments of the present invention.

According to an aspect of the present invention an edible product coated with a confectionery vegetable fat according to embodiments of the invention is provided. Such edible products may achieve an increased customer appeal and value due to the high gloss finish obtainable.

In an embodiment of the invention the confectionery vegetable fat may be used in a coating.

Embodiments of the present invention are very useful as coating fats or part of coating compositions for high gloss coatings.

The coatings according to these embodiments of the present invention may significantly enhance the visual appeal and customer appreciation of products coated therewith, due to the very high gloss of the coatings.

In an embodiment of the invention the confectionery vegetable fat is triggering a clearly visible increase in gloss on the surface of products made with said fat.

Although gloss, when measured with the human eye, is a somewhat subjective parameter unless well trained, for some preferred embodiments of the invention the increase in gloss compared to products from fats not comprising monoglycerides according to the invention is extreme and visible to anyone with normal eyesight. This implies that the increase in gloss brought about by these embodiments is not subtle and debatable but rather impressive and clearly detectable by the naked eye.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Definitions:

Whenever a weight ratio between fatty acid glycerides is given herein the weight ratio is obtained according to IUPAC 2.304.

MAG = Mono Acid Glyceride = fatty acid monoglyceride SAFA = Saturated Fatty Acid

TAG = Tri Acid Glyceride

STS = Sorbitan Tri Stearate The confectionery vegetable fat compositions of the present invention and their use in the chocolate- or chocolate-like products are significantly increasing the gloss of the surface in such products. Such products may be moulded chocolate- or chocolatelike products or products having a chocolate- or chocolate-like coating, for example candies, biscuits, pastries, ice cream, and other edible products.

The increased gloss is making such products more appealing to the customer. The visual appearance of such products is in some cases decisive for the customers purchase. According to embodiments of the present invention hitherto unrivalled gloss can be obtained.

Gloss in chocolate manufacture may be measured on an arbitrary scale by simple visual comparison between different samples. The moulded or coated samples are for example placed on a tray and the gloss of the samples is visually compared and a value assigned to each sample.

In the below examples values from 1+ to 6+ have been assigned to the samples given, 1+ designating the gloss of prior art products and 6+ designating extreme gloss not previously obtained by the inventor.

For certain embodiments of the present invention, the gloss obtained is higher than for any composition previously studied by the inventor. It should be noted that +1 represents a product having some gloss and not a product with a dull surface.

It has been found that the confectionery vegetable fat according to the present invention works in both dark recipes and in milk recipes.

EXAMPLES

Example 1

Recipes and manufacture of milk and dark compounds.

Table 1 displays the recipes for dark and milk compounds used. The monoglyceride (MAG) content constitutes about 0-8 % (w/w) of the sum of triglyceride (TAG) and MAG contents. I.e. MAG constitutes about 0-3,0 % (w/w) of total mass of the milk and dark compounds.

All the ingredients for the milk and dark compounds were mixed in a Hobart N-50 mixer at 55 and 65°C, respectively, for ten minutes and refined in a Buhler SDY-300 three-roll refiner to a particle size of approximately 20μ. Thereafter, the milk and dark compounds were conched in the Hobart mixer for 6 hours at 55 and 65°C, respectively. Biscuits were coated with the dark and milk coatings at 45°C in a Nielsen enrobing machine followed by cooling in a three zone cooling tunnel at temperatures of 6°C, 6°C and 15°C. The gloss was evaluated by visual inspection after 1 week at storage at 20°C. The number of "+" indicate the gloss on a scale from to "6+", where higher number denotes higher gloss.

Example 2

Gloss for varying SAFA in MAG

The vegetable confectionery fat in Table 1 in this example is a blend of hydrogenated palm kernel fractions added 2 % by weight of the total fat- and monoglyceride content in Table 1 Sorbitan Tri-Stearate (=STS). MAGs based on hydrogenated rapeseed oil and high oleic sunflower oil and blends thereof were added to the fat phase prior to compound production to constitute 2,0 % (w/w) of the sum of TAG and MAG content. Biscuits coated with dark and milk compounds were produced and evaluated for gloss as described in Example 1.

Table 2: Dark compound recipe, variation in gloss.

Table 3: Milk compound recipe, variation in gloss

As can be seen from the data in tables 2 and 3, increase in gloss is observed for all samples having added MAG. The gloss may be controlled by adjusting the SAFA content in the MAG. Results for milk- and dark recipes are comparable.

Example 3

Gloss for varying C16:0/SAFA ration in MAG

The vegetable confectionery fat in Table 1 in this example is a blend of hydrogenated palm kernel fractions added 2 % by weight of the total fat- and monoglyceride content in Table 1 STS. MAG blends of MAGs based on hydrogenated rapeseed oil and/or hydrogenated palm oil and high oleic sunflower oil were added to the fat phase prior to compound production to constitute 2,0 % (w/w) of the sum of TAG and MAG content. Biscuits coated with milk compounds were produced.

Table 4: Milk compound recipe, variation in gloss

The data in Table 4 indicate that the ratio between palmitic acid monoglyceride (CI 6:0) and the total content of saturated fatty acids (SAFA) unexpectedly has some influence on the obtained gloss. Example 4

Gloss for varying MAG content in fat

The vegetable confectionery fat in Table 1 in this example is a blend of hydrogenated palm kernel fractions added 2 % by weight of the total fat- and monoglyceride content in Table 1 STS. MAGs based on hydrogenated rapeseed oil and high oleic sunflower oil and blends thereof were added to the fat phase prior to compound production to constitute 0,5 to 8,0 % (w/w) of the sum of TAG and MAG content. Biscuits coated with milk compounds were produced.

Table 5: Milk compound recipe, variation in gloss The data in Table 5 indicate that the weight-percentage of MAG added influences the obtained gloss. Even small amounts of added MAG result in an increase in gloss. As the amount of MAG is increased, gloss is also increased up to a certain point, where the increase in gloss levels off.

Example 5

Gloss for varying STS content in fat

The vegetable confectionery fat in Table 1 in this example is based on hydrogenated palm kernel stearin added 0 to 2.0 % by weight of the total fat- and monoglyceride content in Table 1 STS. MAG blends of MAGs based on hydrogenated palm oil and high oleic sunflower oil were added to the fat phase prior to compound production to constitute 2.0 % (w/w) of the sum of TAG and MAG content. Biscuits coated with dark and milk compounds were produced.

Table 6: Dark compound recipe, variation in gloss

Product 5-0 5-P 5-Q 5-R

Recipe Milk Milk Milk Milk

STS content % (w/w) - - 1.0 2.0

Added MAG % (w/w) of TAG+MAG content - 2.0 2.0 2.0

Content of SAFA in MAG % - 61 61 61

C16:0/SAFA ratio in MAG - 0.4 0.4 0.4

Gloss 1+ 6+ 5+ 5+ Table 7: Milk compound recipe, variations in gloss

The data in Tables 6 and 7 surprisingly indicate that extreme gloss (6+) can be obtained in both dark - and milk recipes when STS is omitted from the recipe. Still, very high gloss is also obtained with STS present.

Claims

1. Confectionery vegetable fat comprising 0.1 - 10% by weight of the total fat content of fatty acid monoglycerides,

the weight ratio between saturated fatty acids and unsaturated fatty acids in the fatty acid monoglycerides being between 0.1 and 20.

2. Confectionery vegetable fat according to claim 1, wherein

the amount of fatty acid monoclycerides is between 0.2 - 8% by weight of the total fat content, such as between 0.3 - 6% by weight of the total fat content, or between 0.4 - 5% by weight of the total fat content, such as between 0.5 and 4% by weight of the total fat content.

3. Confectionery vegetable fat according to claims 1 - 2, wherein

the confectionery vegetable fat is selected from the group consisting of

cocoa butter, a cocoa butter equivalent, a cocoa butter replacer, a cocoa butter substitute, and any combinations thereof.

4. Confectionery vegetable fat according to claim 3, wherein the cocoa butter substitute comprises laurin fat.

5. Confectionery vegetable fat according to claim 4, wherein the laurin fat comprises lauric oils selected from the group of palm kernel oil, coconut oil, babassu oil and fractions thereof in any combination.

6. Confectionery vegetable fat according to claims 4 - 5, wherein the laurin fat comprises partly or fully hydrogenated lauric oils.

7. Confectionery vegetable fat according to claims 1 - 6 comprising sorbitan tri- stearate in an amount of 0.1 - 4% by weight of the total fat content.

8. Confectionery vegetable fat according to claims 1 - 6 being free of sorbitan tri- stearate.

9. Confectionery vegetable fat according to claims 1 - 8, wherein the fatty acid monoglycerides comprise glycerol esters of stearic acid, palmitic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid, linolenic acid, palmitoleic acid, arachidic acid, gadoleic acid, behenic acid, erucic acid and combinations thereof.

10. Confectionery vegetable fat according to claim 9, wherein the weight ratio between palmitic acid and saturated fatty acids in the fatty acid monoglycerides is between 0.08 and 0.95, such as between 0.15 and 0.65.

11. Use of a confectionery vegetable fat according to claims 1 - 10 as a cocoa butter equivalent, a cocoa butter substitute or a cocoa butter replacer.

12. Edible product coated with a confectionery vegetable fat according to claims 1 - 10.

13. Use of the confectionery vegetable fat according to claims 1 - 10 in a coating.

14. Confectionery vegetable fat according to claims 1 - 10, said fat triggering a clearly visible increase in gloss on the surface of products made with said fat.