CA1242660A

CA1242660A - Process for the preparation of cream-based liqueurs and products thereof

Info

Publication number: CA1242660A
Application number: CA000461263A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Craig C. Widmar; Vincent G. Ficca; Dale Tripp
Original assignee: Joseph E Seagram and Sons Inc
Current assignee: Joseph E Seagram and Sons Inc
Priority date: 1983-08-18
Filing date: 1984-08-17
Publication date: 1988-10-04
Also published as: GB8420921D0; IL72671A0; GB2145111A; ZA846178B; DE3430451A1; AU3195684A

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF DISCLOSURE

The present invention involves a system and method for preparing cream liqueur products having improved emulsion stability and products thereof. The method comprises the steps of preparing a spirits premix by combining spirits, a carbohydrate, and water, and preferably including flavoring and colorant; preparing a protein premix by dissolving citric acid or a salt thereof and caseinate in water;
thoroughly mixing the protein premix with cream, preferably double cream; thereafter preparing a product mixture by mixing the spirit premix with the mixture of cream and the protein premix; and homogenizing the product mixture so that the average particle size is reduced to less than 5 microns, preferably less than 2 microns.

Description

- ~.2~;~66~:) The present inventlon relates to processes for prepar-lng aqueous alcohol/cream emulslons, more partlcularly processes for preparlng cream-based llqueurs, and the products thereof.

Well-known cream llqueur products, such as Balleys Irlsh Cream, and the llke, are baslcally emulslons formed from mlxtures of aqueous alcohollc splrlts and cream.

A recurrlng problem wlth such products Is lack of emul-slon stablllty, I.e., the ablllty of two phases of the emulslon to reslst change over a perlod of tIme and/or stress.

Emulslons may be deflned as a mlxture of llquIds that are Immlsclble under ordlnary condltlons and whlch may separate Into layers upon standlng, heatlng, freezlng, agltatlon or the addltlon of chemlcals. Emulslons are baslcally two-phase sys-tems. The phase whlch Is present In the form of fInely dlvlded droplets Is called the Internal phase; the phase whlch forms the matrlx In which these droplets are suspended Is called the exter-nal phase. Cream llqueurs are emulslons whlch have butteroll (from dalry cream) as , ~
, .~., ~2~ 0 the internal phase, and a suspension of protein, bufferingsalts, flavorants and colorants in an alcohol/water mixture as the external phase.
One kind of emulsion instability is "creaming". This mechanism involves the rising of the dispersed (internal) phase to the surface of the emulsion. Factors influencing the rate and degree of "creaming" are the surface electrical charge of the globule, the relative sizes of the globules and the ionic balance of the external phase.
"Creaming" does not involve total breakdown of the emulsion and the layer of risen globules can be re-dispersed into the emulsion by simple agitation. However, repeated re-dispersion of the emulsion's components increases the tendency towards complete phase-separation.
Phase-separation, sometimes called syneresis, results from the coalescence of a few oversized globules, followed by agglomeration of the coalesced globules that are unable to return to the uniformly dispersed state. As these agglomerates become larger they form clumps. Phase-separated cream liqueurs lose their original flavor and texture characteristics and other important properties.
The effects of "creaming" in cream liqueur products, though undesirable, can usually be overcome by shaking or simple agitation. Phase separation, however, is a more serious problem. Phase-separation renders the cream liqueur product unsaleable and unuseable to consumers.

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Accordlngly, emulslon stablllty Is extremely Important to the preparatlon of cream llqueurs havlng a commerclally acceptable shelf-life.
.
The emulslon stablllty of cream llqueur products must be sufflclent to avoid "creamlng" and phase separatlon under nor-mal handlIng, transportatlon, storage and use for such products.
Therefore, such products mus-t be stable to vlbratlon, agltatlon, shaklng, hlgh shear, freeze-thaw cycllng, elevated temperatures, dllutlon and, of course, be stable wlth the other constltuents of the product itself such as salts, flavorlngs, colorants, alcohol, sugars, and the llke.

Emulslon stablllty of cream llqueurs Is a result of Its composltlon and Its mode of preparatlon.

It Is known that the emulslon stablllty of cream llqueur products can be Improved by addlng stablllzlng agents such as the sodlum and/or potasslum salts of cltrlc acld.

It Is also known that, apart from thelr composltlon, the preparatlon of and processlng of cream llqueur products, e.g., the mlxlng order, Influences emulslon stablllty, hence, the ' shelf llfe. (Reference: Banks, W. et al. "Formulatlon of Cream-~ 25 based Llaueurs: A Comparlson of Sucrose and Sorbltol as the :~ CarbohYdrate Component." Journal of the Socle~y of Dalry Tech-nology, Vol. 3~, No. 2, Apr. 1982, 41--13).

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The present Inventlon provldes a system and method for the preparatlon of cream llqueur products havlng Improved emul-slon stablllty and the Improved products themselves.

The method comprlses the steps of a method for prepar-Ing a cream llqueur havlng Improved emulslon stablllty, whlch comprlses the steps of: (a) admlxlng alcohollc beverage, a carbo-hydrate, and water to form an alcohollc beverage premlx; (b) admlxlng (I) one or more compounds selected from the group con-slstlng of cltrlc acld and alkall metal salts thereof, (Il) caselnate, and (Ill) water to form a proteln premlx, the amount of cltrlc acld or Its salt or salts belng sufflclent to malntaln the pH of the cream llqueur In the range of greater than 6.60 and less than 7.00; (c) admlxlng the proteln premlx from step (b) wlth cream havlng a butterfat content of from about 38 to 52% by welght to form a proteln/cream phase In whlch globules of butter-fat are coated wlth caseinate; (d) admlxlng the alcohollc premlx from step (a) wlth the proteln/cream phase of step (c) to form an emulslon of butterfat globules coated wlth caselnate In an aque-ous alcohol phase; and (e) treatlng the emulslon from step (d) toreduce to average dlameter of the butterfat globules to less than about 5 mlcrons.

The Inventlon also Includes products prepared In accor-26 dance wlth the foregolng method.

Thus, the present Inventlon also provldes a creamllqueur havlng Improved emulslon stablllty, whlch conslsts essen-tlally of an admlxture of (a) an alcohollc beverage premlx com-prlslng alcohollc beverage, a carbohydrate, and water and (b) aproteln/cream phase comprlslng (I) one or more compounds selected from the group conslstlng of cltrlc acld and alkall metal salts thereof, (Il) caselnate, (Ill) water, and (Iv) cream havlng a butterfat content of from about 38 to 52% by welght, the amount of component (I) belng suffIclent to malntaln the pH of the cream llqueur In the range of greater than 6.60 and less than 7.00 and 1~2fi6~) butterfat globules In component tlv) belng coated wlth caselnate and havlng an average dlameter of less than ahout 5 mlcrons and preferably less than 2 mlcrons.

The present Inventlon stlll further provldes a system for manufacturlng cream llqueurs havlng Improved emulslon stabll-lty whlch comprlses: a proteln premlx sectlon Includlng a proteln mlx tank havlng means for agltatlng Its contents, a blender for comblnlng solld proteln wlth llquld and means for clrculatlng llquld between the blender and proteln mlx tank; a means for com-blnlng the proteln premlx wlth cream contalnlng butterfat glob-ules; a means for comblnlng an alcohollc beverage premlx wlth the mlxture of proteln premlx and cream; and a means For reduclng the average dlameter of butterfat globules to less than 5 mlcrons.

The present Inventlon wlll be further Illustrated by way of the accompanylng drawlngs, In whlch:-Flgure 1 Is a dlagrammatlc Illustratlon of a system for the preparatlon of cream llqueur products In accordance wlth thepresent Inventlon.

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The alcohollc beverage pre-mlx Is an aqueous mixture of splrlts, such as, distliled or fermented beverage alcohols Includlng w~11skey, rum, sherry, port, neutral splrlt, vodka, bourbon, rye, and/or the llke; and a carbohydrate preferably sucrose; and may further Include one or more of the flavorlng(s), such as coffee, chocolate, and vanllla; and/or colorant(s), such as caramel, cochlneal, carmlne, annatto and/or other approved F.D.~ C. dyes.

The proteln pre-mlx Is an aqueous mlxture of one of more alkall metal cltrates, such as, sodium and/or potasslum salts of cltrlc acld preferably sodlum cltrate; and a caselnate such as fresh-curd sodlum caselnate, preferably Alanate-180, a trademark of New Zealand MlIk Products, Inc., CalIfornla, U.S.A.

The concentratlon of the caselnate requlred may depend on the butterfat concentratlon. Preferably there Is suffIclent caselnate present to coat the surface of the butterfat globules, but not so much as to make the cream llqueur product too thlck.

The concentratlon of the cltrate Is selected to buffer the product and malntaln Its pH above 6.60 and below 7.00, preferably between 6.70 and 6.80 pH.

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The pH of the product before homogenization is important -so as to minimize the effects of dehydration of the caseinate in the product mixture by the alcohol from the spirits pre-mix, and prevent any other changes in the caseinate that might affect its ability to coat the butterfat globules.
Accordingly, the components of the product mixture are selected to maintain the final product within the desired pH range. The spirits pre-mix is not added until after the caseinate is mixed with the cream.
The cream is preferably heavy dairy cream and should have a butterfat content between 38 and 52~ and a low titrateable acidity.
To prepare a cream liqueur product in accordance with the invention, sodium citrate and sodium caseinate are dissolved in hot water and the resulting mixture is permitted to cool forming the protein pre-mix. The cooled protein pre-mix is added to the cream and sufficiently mixed therewith so as to permit coating of the butterfat globules.
A spirit pre-mix is prepared by mixing spirits, carbohydrate, flavoring(s) and colorant(s) in water. The spirits pre-mix is added to the protein pre-mix/cream mixture thus forming the product mixture. The next step is the homogenization of the product mixture. Homogenization is effected by the forcing of a solution of the two immiscible liquids (the aqueous alcohol phase and the butterfat phase) past a soring-seated valve at pressure and temperature relationships ~2~2660 so as to reduce the average size of the butterfat globules usually from about 10-25 microns to less than five microns, preferably less than about two microns under a controlled and uniform temperature environment.
Generally, the average globule size cannot be sufficiently reduced by a single pass of the product through a homogenizer.
Thus, a double pass, i.e. two passes through a single homogenizer, or one pass, i.e. through two tandemly linked homogenizers, is often used. The most preferable method for homogenization is two-stage homogenization; the first stage at about 4500 psi and the second stage at about 500 psi. It will be appre-ciated that any means for reducing the average diameter of butterfat globules that does not excessively raise the temperature of the product mixture may be satisfactory for practicing this invention, e.g. ultrasonic techniques.
Figure 1, diagrammatically illustrates a commercial system for manufacturing cream liqueurs in accordance with the process disclosed herein. In this system the protein premix is prepared in tank 10 by dissolving the citrate salt(s) Tri Sodium Citrate in hot (140F.) demineralized water and agitating this mixture for about 5 minutes.
This citrate solution (buffer) is let stand for about 15 minutes permitting it to de-aerate and cool slightly. Flow control valve 11 is then positioned to direct liquid flow 6~;~

between conduits 18 and 20, closing off conduit 22, and centrifugal pump 12 is activated to feed the citrate ~ 7~/aJe~
solution to blender 16, e.g. Tri Clover ~lender, and sodium caseinate is gravity fed from supply tank 14 to the blender 16 wherein it is mixed with the aqueous citrate solution from tank 10. The flow between pump 12 and the blender 16 is regulated by valve 13. Eventually the entire protein . ~
premix of sodium citrate, sodium caseinate and water is collected in tank 10. Some additional agitation to insure complete dissolution (hydration) of the sodium caseinate may be applied at this time. The protein premix is let stand in tank 10 for de-aeration and cooling to about 110F.
Cooling may be accelerated by means of a heat exchanger (not shown) provided in conduits 18 or 22 or any other co~venient location. Cooling may also be effected by the addition of selected quantities cold demineralized water to the protein premix itself.
Preferably, while the protein premix is being prepared, fresh heavy cream is pumped from cream holding tank 26 to blend tank 32 by positive displacement pump 2~ via conduits 27, 46, and manifold 30. Then, while slowly agitating the cream, flow control valves 11, 33, and 34 are set to direct protein premix to blend tank 32 via conduit 22 by action of centrifugal pump 12. Filters such as in-line filter 35 may be provided to remove insolubles from the protein premix during transfer to blend tank 32.

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Preferably, while the blend tank 32 is being charged with cream and the protein premix is being prepared, the spirits premix is also being prepared in tank 40. Spirits -(Rum), sucrose, flavoring, and colorant are thoroughly mixed with water in tank 40 forming the spirits premix.
These components are slected to minimize the effect of the spirits premix on the citrate buffered protein/cream system so that the finished product has a pH in the desired range.
Flow control valve 33 is then positioned so that transfer pump 42 can transfer the spirits premix to blend tank 32 via conduits 43 and 22. Blend tank 32 now contains the cream, protein-premix, and spirlts premix which are mixed thoroughly with agitation to form the product mixture which is the complete product except that the average diameter of butterfat globules therein is about 10-25 microns and the solids content and pH of the product mixture etc. are not yet adjusted to the final product specification.
The product mixture is pumped by the centrifugal pump associated with the manifold 30 via conduit 46 and 81 to the balance tank and regulated by automatic valve (86).
The product mixture is pumped from the balance tank 80 by a booster pump 72 and stuffing pump 71 through the Heat Exchanger 70 to two-stage Homogenizer 50. The product mixture flow to the Homogenizer is regulated by a valve 78. Thermometer 58 and 59 and pressure gauges 60-61 are _ g _ ~1.2~L26~

provided at the inlet 72 and outlet 73 of the two stage Homogenizer 50 to facilitate monitoring the product mixture.
Sight glasses 51, 52 and 53 are provided so that this flow can be observed. Flow control valves 53 and 54 are positioned to direct homogenized product mixture to holding tank 82 via conduits 47 and 83 through Manifold 30 or to bottling tank 84 via conduit 85. In practice the two-stage Homogenizer 50 is brought up to operating temperature(s) ~~
and pressure(s) by circulating demineralized water there-through. Stage one is set at 4500 psi and stage two at 500 psi for a total of 5000 psi. Heat exchanger 70 is set to adjust the temperature of the product mixture going to the two-stage Homogenizer 50 to between 150 and 155F.
Homogenization is carried out by passing the product mixture through two-stage Homogenizer 50 so that the temperature of the product mixture does not rise to above 170F.,preferably 168F.,and the average diameter of butterfat globules is reduced to less than 2 microns.
-The homogenized product mixture exists two-stage Homogenizer 50 via conduit 49 and re-enters heat exchanger 70 wherein it is cooled to about 68-70D (room temperature).
Thermometers 74, 75, and 76 are provided for monitoring heat exchanger 70. The product mixture is homogenized twice through a two-stage Homogenizer 50 to insure that the average diameter of butterfat globules is reduced to less than 2 microns. The adjustment of the product mixture 12~66~
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normally takes place after the first pass through the homogenizer. After the product mixture has been homogenized .
twice (double pass homogenization) the finished product may be stored in the holding tank 82 for blending with future batches or to tank 84 for bottling operations by various conduits and valves provided for these purposes as shown in Figure #1.
It will be appreciated that additional conduits, pumps, valves, thermometers, gauges, filters, sight glasses, mixers, agitators, etc. may be added to the system as necessary or desired and are not shown in Figure #1 ~or purposes of clarity.
Cream liqueur products prepared in accordance with the present invention have been shown to have improved emulsion stability including better shelf-life than several comparable commercial cream liqueur products currently on the market. Side by side studies at various temperatures up to 125F., conducted by applicant, indicated that the viscosity of cream liqueur product prepared in accordance with the present invention does not increase as fast as the tested commercial products especially at higher temperatures.
These tests also indicate that phase-separation is less likely in products of this invention and certainly takes longer to occur.

Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. A method for preparing a cream liqueur having improved emulsion stability, which comprises the steps of: (a) admixing alcoholic beverage, a carbohydrate, and water to form an alcoholic beverage premix; (b) admixing (I) one or more compounds selected from the group consisting of citric acid and alkali metal salts thereof, (II) caseinate, and (III) water to form a protein premix the amount of citric acid or its salt or salts being sufficient to maintain the pH of the cream liqueur in the range of greater than 6.60 and less than 7.00; (c) admixing the protein premix from step (b) with cream having a butterfat con-tent of from about 38 to 52% by weight to form a protein/cream phase in which globules of butterfat are coated with caseinate;
(d) admixing the alcoholic premix from step (a) with the pro-tein/cream phase of step (c) to form an emulsion of butterfat globules coated with caseinate in an aqueous alcohol phase; and.
(e) treating the emulsion from step (d) to reduce to average diameter of the butterfat globules to less than about 5 microns.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step (c) the average diameter of the butterfat globules is reduced to less than about 2 microns.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein in step (e) the emulsion is homogenized to reduce the average diameter of the butterfat globules.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the homogenization is a two-stage procedure, the first stage being conducted at a pressure higher than that at which the second stage is conducted.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the first stage is conducted at a pressure of about 4500 psi, the second stage is conducted at a pressure of about 500 psi, and the temperature of the product mixture is not permitted to exceed 170°F.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein in step (a) the car-bohydrate is at least one compound selected from the group con-sisting of sucrose, glucose, and sorbital and the admixture also includes flavoring and colorant, and in step (b) sodium citrate, sodium caseinate, and water are admixed.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the sodium caseinate is fresh curd sodium caseinate.

8. The method of claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the premix in step (a) also comprises one or more flavorings.

9. The method of claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the premix in step (a) also comprises one or more colorants.

10. The method of claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein in step (a) the carbohydrate is selected from the group consisting of suc-rose, glucose, and sorbitol; in step (b) sodium citrate, fresh-curd sodium caseinate, and water are admixed; and in step (c) the cream is double cream.

11. The method of claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein in step (b) the amount of citric acid or its salt or salts is sufficient to maintain the pH of the cream liqueur in the range of from about 6.70 to 6.80.

12. A cream liqueur having improved emulsion stability, which consists essentially of an admixture of (a) an alcoholic beverage premix comprising alcoholic beverage, a carbohydrate, and water and (b) a protein/cream phase comprising (I) one or more compounds selected from the group consisting of citric acid and alkali metal salts thereof, (II) caseinate, (III) water, and (IV) cream having a butterfat content of from about 38 to 52% by weight, the amount of component (i) being sufficient to maintain the pH of the cream liqueur in the range of greater than 6.60 and less than 7.00 and butterfat globules in component (iv) being coated with caseinate and having an average diameter of less than about 5 microns.

13. The cream liqueur of claim 12, wherein the average diameter of the butterfat globules is less than about 2 microns.

14. The cream liqueur of claim 12 or 13, wherein the carbohydrate is selected from the group consisting of sucrose, glucose, and sorbitol; component (i) comprises sodium citrate;
component (II) is fresh-curd sodium caseinate; and component (iv) is double cream.

15. The cream liqueur of claim 12 or 13, which also comprises one or more flavoring.

16. The cream liqueur of claim 12 or 13, which also comprises one or more colorants.

17. The cream liqueur of claim 12 or 13, wherein the amount of component (i) is sufficient to maintain the pH of the cream liqueur in the range of from about 6.70 to 6.80.