GB1583355A

GB1583355A - Filled cream concentrate

Info

Publication number: GB1583355A
Application number: GB47469/77A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Unilever PLC
Current assignee: Unilever PLC
Priority date: 1978-05-26
Filing date: 1978-05-26
Publication date: 1981-01-28

Description

(54) FILLED CREAM CONCENTRATE (71) We, UNILEVER LIMITED, a British company, of Unilever House, Blackfriars, London EC4, England, do hereby declare the invention which was communicated from Unilever N V, a Dutch company, of Burgemeester S'Jacobplein 1, Rotterdam, Netherlands, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: The present invention relates to a filled cream concentrate, to a filled cream prepared therefrom, and to a process for preparing the filled cream concentrate.

The term "filled" is used to indicate that at least a substantial proportion of the fat in the "cream" is non-dairy fat, such as vegetable fat.

The invention particularly relates to a filled cream concentrate which is pourable for at least several week, for example 6 weeks, which remains microbiologically stable for the same period even when stored at ambient temperature, for example 200 C, from which (preferably by dilution) a whippable filled cream can be prepared, and to a process for preparing such a concentrate. On whipping the filled cream concentrate, the filled cream whip so obtained should preferably have a specific volume of greater than 2, especially 2.2 to 3.0, and more particularly 2.5 to 2.8 ml/gram.

Conventional filled cream concentrates often are, or become, plastic at ambient temperature when stored for some time. Moreover, they can be inadequate in respect of one or more of the following characteristics: microbiological stability, whippability of the filled cream prepared therefrom, and taste and "stand-up" of the filled cream whip.

In the Complete Specification of our British Patent No. 1,432,364 we describe and claim an improved filled cream concentrate comprising, by weight, from 35 to 50% fat of dilatation value at 200C of at least 200, an aqueous phase, from 0.1 to 1.5% alph-mon-glycerides, from 1 to 6% egg yolk, at least 5% sugar, the upper limit being determined by the solubility of the sugar in the aqueous phase, and from 5 to 15% polyhydric alcohol. This filled cream concentrate need not be sterlized and can remain, notwithstanding the presence of egg yolk, bacteriologically stable on storage at ambient temperature.

We have now found that the improved properties of the filled cream concentrate as describe and claimed in our British Patent Specification No. 1,432,364 can still be obtained if the polyhydric alcohol is used at a level below 5% by weight of the concentrate.

The invention which is the subject of this present specification provides a filled cream concentrate comprising, by weighty from 35 to 50% fat of a dilatation value at 20 C of at least 200, an aqueous phase, from 0.1 to 1.5% alphamono-glycerides, from 1 to 6% egg yolk, at least 5% sugar, the upper limit being determined by the solubility of the sugar in the aqueous phase, and at least 0.1 but less than 5% polyhydric alcohol, the total concentration of sugar plus polyhydric alcohol being at least 1.75 grammol per kg of the aqueous phase.

Preferably the polyhydric alcohol comprises at least 0.5% by weight of the concentrate.

With the exception of the quantities of polyhydric alcohol and sugar employed, the nature and relative proportions of the ingredients of the filled cream concentrate are governed by the same general considerations as those described in our British Patent Specification No.

1,432,364.

If the fat content of the filled cream concentrate is below 35% phase separation can take place on prolonged storage and if appreciably more than 50% fat is present, the viscosity of the emulsion can increase to such an extent that the product is no longer pourable. If the percentage of alpha-mono-glycerides were to be decreased to below 0.1% the whippability of the product would tend to become insufficient, and if the percentage were to be raised to above 1.5% the whipped product would tend to have too great a specific volume and insufficient form-retaining properties (thus insufficient "stand-up" of the filled cream whip). If the egg yolk content were to be decreased to below 1%, the beneficial taste of egg yolk would tend to be lost, the filled cream would tend to be unstable and the specific volume of the filled cream whip would tend to be too low. At egg yolk levels above 6% the "stand-up" of the filled cream whip tends to be unacceptable.

Suitable fats that can be used for the purpose of the invention are fats or fat blends of a dilatation value at 20 C of at least 200, which fats can in principle also be used in the preparation of margarines and shortenings. The dilatation values of the fat or fat blend as described in this specification were determined by the method described in Boekenoogen "Analysis and Characterization of Oils, Fats and Fat Products", Vol. I, 1964, Interscience Publishers, London pp. 143 et seq.

Preferably mono-glycerides are used which are substantially completely saturated, for example mono-glycerides from substantially completely hydrogenated fats such as palm oil of a melting point of about 58"C, sunflower oil of a melting point of about 67"C or rapeseed oil of a melting point of about 700 C, or monoglycerides of saturated fatty acids, such as fatty acids with 14 and 16 carbon atoms; the latter mono-glycerides can for example be prepared by synthesis. It can be advantageous to use those mono-glycerides that ensure that upon crystallisation of the selected fat blend the percentage of solid phase in the fat at 200C is by weight at least 10 and preferably at least 15.

Examples of crystallisationxconditions for achieving such percentages of solid phase are tempering of the emulsion for 24 hours at 80C and 24 hours at 200C.

Because the quantity of polyhydric alcohol contemplated in a filled cream concentrate is lower than that described in our British Patent Specification No. 1,432,364, it can be advantageous to employ a higher quantity of sugar.

Preferably the sugar content of a filled cream concentrate of the present invention is from 8 to 30%, ideally from 10 to 30%, by weight of the concentrate. Suitable sugars are for example saccharose, dextrose, lactose and fructose.

Suitable polyhydric alcohols are for example glycerol, mannitol and particularly sorbitol.

It is particularly preferred that the sugar and polyhydric alcohol are present in the product of the invention in a combined amount of at least 1.95 grammol/kg aqueous phase, since at such concentrations the product is particularly microbioiogically stable when stored at temperatures of about 20 C.

In this specification, in calculating the concentration of sugars and polyhydric alcohols in the aqueous phase, saccharose.is treated as being present in twice its actual concentration, i.e.

the molecular weight of the saccharose is divided by 2. This is because it has been observed that saccharose has a more pronounced influence on the microbiological stability than other sugars and polyhydric alcohols.

The filled cream concentrate of the invention can contain up to 6% of vegetable phosphatides.

Preferably the vegetable phosphatides comprise not less than 0.1%, and preferably not more than 1.5% of the filled cream concentrate. The phosphatides are particularly advantageous at the lower egg yolk levels. Roughly about 0.3% of phosphatides are required to decrease the egg yolk content from about 4.5 to 3.5%.

The aqueous phase of the filled cream concentrate is preferably derived from milk or milk products. Thus, for example, the aqueous phase can consist of water or a mixture of water and dried milk products, such as dried skimmed or full fat milk powder.

The phosphatides which can be used for the purpose of the invention can be a phosphatide slime obtained inthe production of vegetable oils, for example soybean or rapeseed oil, by steam or water treatment of the extracted oils at for example 95 to 1000C. Crude phosphatides can also be obtained by centrifuging such a phosphatide slime and drying the product under reduced pressure. A typical phosphatide which can thus be obtained contains about 20 to 40% of oil and 80 to 60% of diacylglycerophosphatides. It is particularly preferred to use vegetable phosphatides which contain monoacylglycerophosphatides which lack either the alpha- or beta-acyl groups of the diacylglycerophosphatides. Typical examples of these are alpha- and beta-lysolecithin and alpha- and beta-lysocephalin Monoacylglycerophosphatides can be prepared by synthesis or they can be obtained by chemical hydrolysis (see, for example, British Patent Specification No. 1,229,430) or enzymatic hydrolysis (see, for example, British Patent Specification No. 1,355,967). The partially hydrolysed phosphatides which are particularly preferred in the product of the invention contain 5 to 35% by weight of monoacylglycerophosphatides.

Proteins, especially egg whites, which can have a beneficial effect on the pourability of the filled cream concentrates of the invention especially those of high fat contents, can be present in the proportion of 0 to 5% by weight, preferably 0.5 to 3.5%.

To improve the "stand-up" of the filled cream whip prepared from the products of the invention it is sometimes advisable to add a small proportion, for example up to about 1% by weight, of a stabiliser, such as a vegetable gum. Particularly suitable proportions are 0.01 to 0.3%, preferably 0.025 to 0.035%, by weight of the emulsion. For consistency reasons it is sometimes advantageous to incorporate small proportions of soap and/or fatty acids in the product of the invention, for example 0.1 to 1% by weight.

The filled cream concentrate of the invention can be diluted with sufficient additional aqueous phase, such as water, milk or skimmed milk to provide a filled cream of a fat content of 25 to 35%. This filled cream can be whipped by conventional means to provide a filled cream whip of the desired specific volume.

The invention also relates to a process for preparing a packaged filled cream (as hereinbefore defined) concentrate which comprises preparing a pre-emulsion by emulsifying a blend comprising, by weight, 35 to 50% fat of a dila tation value of at least 200 at 200 C, aqueous phase, 0.1 to 1.5 ,to, mono-glycerides (calculated as alpha-mono-monoglycerides), 1 to 6% egg yolk, at least 5% sugar and at least 0.1 but less than 5% of polyhydric alcohol, the total concentration of sugar plus polyhydric alcohol being at least 1.75 grammol/kg of the aqueous phase, at a temperature above the melting point of the fat and subsequently in turn homogenizing, pasteurising, cooling, homogenizing, cooling and aseptic-filling into a package the filled cream concentrate so obtained. The homogenizing treatment should preferably be carried out such that the majority, preferably at least 90%, of the dispersed fat particles have a particle size below 10 microns, and particularly from 1 to 3 microns, since the better the partition of the fat particles the better the "stand-up" of the filled cream whip.

Care should be taken that the filled cream concentrate is adequately tempered, for example by storage at 5 to 10 C for at least 10 hours, preferably 12 to 48 hours. The invention will now be illustrated by the following Example.

EXAMPLE A filled cream concentrate was prepared from the following ingredients: SO by weight Fat (fat base of a German bakery margarine "Goldband" of a D20 of 500) 44.30 Mono-glycerides of saturated C16 and Cl8 fatty acids (% alphamono-glycerides 90 X0) 0.32 Lecithin (containing 35% oil) 0.30 Stabiliser (K 158 ex Satia, France) 0.02 Sorbitol 1.00 Dextrose 19.41 Saccharose 4.03 Lactose 2.50 Egg yolk 3.45 Egg white 2.40 Water 22.27 The product was prepared from a preemulsion, containing the above ingredients, itself prepared as follows. The fat was heated to 70 and mixed with the mono-glycerides and the lecithin, and subsequently cooled to 500 C.

Water was mixed with the sorbitol, dextrose, saccharose, lactose, and stabiliser at 50 C.

To this aqeous phase egg yolk and egg white were added and after thoroughly mixing the fat phase was dispersed therein, using an Ultra Turrax (registered Trade Mark) stirrer.

The preemulsion at a temperature of 50"C was subsequently homogenised at 70 atmospheres in a high-pressure homogenizer marketed by "Knollenberg" under the reference BE 400 12006200; 10-370, pasteurised for 26 seconds at 85 C in a plate heat exchanger, cooled to 450C in the same plate heat exchanger, homogenised at 40 atmospheres in another high pressure homogenizer as described before, cooled to 200C in the plate heat exchanger and aseptically filled.

The product obtained had an excellent taste and was excellently pourable, and microbiologically stable after 6 weeks storage at 20 C. After 6 weeks storage the filled cream concentrate was diluted with milk to a fat content of 30%, and whipped using a Hobart (registered Trade Mark) whipping machine CE 100 to provide a filled cream whip of a specific volume of 2.8 ml/ gram. The "stand-up" had not changed after 4 hours storage at 20 C.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:.- 1. Filled cream (as hereinbefore defined) concentrate comprising, by weightd from 35 to 50% fat of a dilatation value at 20 C of at least 200, an aqueous phase, from 0.1 to 1.5% alphamono-glycerides, from 1 to 6% egg yolk, at least 5% sugar, the upper limit being determined by the solubility of the sugar in the aqueous phase, and at least 0.1 but less than 5% polyhydri alcohol, the total concentration of sugar plus polyhydric alcohol being at least 1.75 grammol per kg of the aqueous phase.

2. Filled cream concentrate as claimed in Claim 1, comprising, by weight, at least 0.5% polyhydric alcohol.

3. Filled cream concentrate as claimed in Claim l or Claim 2, comprising, by weight, from 8 to 30% sugar.

4. Filled cream concentrate as claimed in Claim 3, comprising, by weight, from 10 to 30% sugar.

5. Filled cream concentrate as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sugar is saccharose, dextrose, lactose or fructose.

6. Filled cream concentrate as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the polyhydric alcohol is sorbitol.

7. Filled cream concentrate as claimed in one of the preceding claims, wherein the monoglycerides are substantially completely saturated.

8. Filled cream concentrate as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, containing up to 6% vegetable phosphatides.

9. Filled cream concentrate as claimed in Claim 8, wherein the vegetable phosphatides are at least partially hydrolysed.

10. Filled cream concentrate as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, containing up to 5% of egg white.

11. Filled cream concentrate as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, containing up to 1% of stabiliser.

12. Filled cream concentrate as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the aqueous phase is derived from milk.

13. Filled cream concentrate as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein all the fat is non-dairy fat.

14. Filled cream concentrate as claimed in Claim 13, wherein the fat is a vegetable fat.

15. Filled cream concentrate as hereinbefore described with particular reference to the Example.

16. Filled cream having a fat content in the range of 25 to 35% by weight, obtained by dilu

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. tation value of at least 200 at 200 C, aqueous phase, 0.1 to 1.5 ,to, mono-glycerides (calculated as alpha-mono-monoglycerides), 1 to 6% egg yolk, at least 5% sugar and at least 0.1 but less than 5% of polyhydric alcohol, the total concentration of sugar plus polyhydric alcohol being at least 1.75 grammol/kg of the aqueous phase, at a temperature above the melting point of the fat and subsequently in turn homogenizing, pasteurising, cooling, homogenizing, cooling and aseptic-filling into a package the filled cream concentrate so obtained. The homogenizing treatment should preferably be carried out such that the majority, preferably at least 90%, of the dispersed fat particles have a particle size below 10 microns, and particularly from 1 to 3 microns, since the better the partition of the fat particles the better the "stand-up" of the filled cream whip. Care should be taken that the filled cream concentrate is adequately tempered, for example by storage at 5 to 10 C for at least 10 hours, preferably 12 to 48 hours. The invention will now be illustrated by the following Example. EXAMPLE A filled cream concentrate was prepared from the following ingredients: SO by weight Fat (fat base of a German bakery margarine "Goldband" of a D20 of 500) 44.30 Mono-glycerides of saturated C16 and Cl8 fatty acids (% alphamono-glycerides 90 X0) 0.32 Lecithin (containing 35% oil) 0.30 Stabiliser (K 158 ex Satia, France) 0.02 Sorbitol 1.00 Dextrose 19.41 Saccharose 4.03 Lactose 2.50 Egg yolk 3.45 Egg white 2.40 Water 22.27 The product was prepared from a preemulsion, containing the above ingredients, itself prepared as follows. The fat was heated to 70 and mixed with the mono-glycerides and the lecithin, and subsequently cooled to 500 C. Water was mixed with the sorbitol, dextrose, saccharose, lactose, and stabiliser at 50 C. To this aqeous phase egg yolk and egg white were added and after thoroughly mixing the fat phase was dispersed therein, using an Ultra Turrax (registered Trade Mark) stirrer. The preemulsion at a temperature of 50"C was subsequently homogenised at 70 atmospheres in a high-pressure homogenizer marketed by "Knollenberg" under the reference BE 400 12006200; 10-370, pasteurised for 26 seconds at 85 C in a plate heat exchanger, cooled to 450C in the same plate heat exchanger, homogenised at 40 atmospheres in another high pressure homogenizer as described before, cooled to 200C in the plate heat exchanger and aseptically filled. The product obtained had an excellent taste and was excellently pourable, and microbiologically stable after 6 weeks storage at 20 C. After 6 weeks storage the filled cream concentrate was diluted with milk to a fat content of 30%, and whipped using a Hobart (registered Trade Mark) whipping machine CE 100 to provide a filled cream whip of a specific volume of 2.8 ml/ gram. The "stand-up" had not changed after 4 hours storage at 20 C. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:.-

1. Filled cream (as hereinbefore defined) concentrate comprising, by weightd from 35 to 50% fat of a dilatation value at 20 C of at least 200, an aqueous phase, from 0.1 to 1.5% alphamono-glycerides, from 1 to 6% egg yolk, at least 5% sugar, the upper limit being determined by the solubility of the sugar in the aqueous phase, and at least 0.1 but less than 5% polyhydri alcohol, the total concentration of sugar plus polyhydric alcohol being at least 1.75 grammol per kg of the aqueous phase.

ting with additional aqueous phase a filled cream concentrate as claimed in any one of the preceding claims.

17. Filled cream as claimed in Claim 16, wherein the additional aqueous phase comprises milk.

18. Filled cream whip prepared by whipping a filled cream as claimed in Claim 16 or Claim 17.

19. Filled cream whip prepared by whipping a filled cream concentrate as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 15.

20. Process for preparing a packaged filled cream (as hereinbefore defined) concentrate which comprises a preparing a pre-emulsion by emulsifying a blend comprising, by weight, 35 to 50% fat of a dilatation value at 200C of at least 200, an aqueous phase, 0.1 to 1.5% alphamono-glycerides, 1 to 6% egg yolk, at least 5% sugar, and at least 0.1 but less than 5% polyhydric alcohol, the total concentration of sugar plus polyhydric alcohol being at least 1.75 grammol/kg of the aqueous phase, at a temperature above the melting point of the fat and subsequently in turn homogenising, pasteurising, cooling, homogenising, cooling and asepticfilling into a package the filled cream concentrate so obtained).