HK1026122A - Chocolate crumb - Google Patents

Description

Chocolate crumb

The present invention relates to a chocolate crumb and a process for the preparation thereof, and also to milk chocolate prepared from such chocolate crumb.

Milk chocolate differs from dark or plain chocolate in that it contains milk solids and it is an essential part of the process of making milk chocolate that the process has often mixed in milk solids in the past. Milk chocolate is virtually moisture free and contains 0.5-1.5% water, whereas full fat milk contains about 12.5% milk solids including fat, the other material being about 87.5% water.

As one method of removing 87.5% of water from milk by evaporation and drying of liquid milk into powder, a conventional method of preparing milk chocolate is accomplished by mixing milk powder with cocoa mass or powder, sugar and cocoa butter, followed by refining, refining and tempering.

Chocolate crumb powder will be prepared by concentrating and drying a mixture comprising liquid milk or milk concentrate mixed with sugar and cocoa mass under vacuum and elevated temperature conditions as a further method of removing 87.5% of the moisture from the milk. As such a process for preparing chocolate crumb it is initially desirable to maintain a stable state of milk solids for a prolonged period of time and to use the chocolate crumb as an intermediate product in another conventional process for preparing milk chocolate which involves mixing the chocolate crumb with cocoa butter followed by refining, conching and tempering.

One advantage of chocolate crumb powder is that it has excellent storability and prevents rancidity of fat in milk. This allows chocolate crumb to be processed well in preference to milk chocolate processing and can be readily transported to any desired destination. In addition, chocolate crumb is used instead of milk powder to provide a strong, creamy partial caramel flavour which gives a very pleasant taste to a large consumer. Although milk is sometimes delivered to chocolate factories producing chocolate crumb, since milk quickly becomes sour, it is preferable to build crumb factories on suburban dairy farms where there is a steady supply of fresh milk. Typically crumb plants are built in chocolate plants in the dairy.

There has been no area available to date that attempts to mimic the flavour obtained by crumb preparation methods using standard milk powders would facilitate the preparation of crumb-type chocolate in such areas. However, there is no method for producing such suitable substitutes.

For example, GB-B-1425839 claims a method of preparing milk chocolate comprising the steps of: the mixture with the other chocolate-making ingredients is processed to form milk chocolate by melting the sugar by heating to a temperature between 188 and 210 ℃, mixing the heated molten sugar with milk powder. However, molten sugars are difficult to handle and require high energy input, form amorphous sugars and high viscosity, which can affect the structure and result in undesirable flavors at the high temperatures employed.

USP3622342 discloses a process for preparing chocolate crumb from milk solids by dry blending milk solids with sugar and cocoa mass and then press cooking the above mixture at a temperature of about 104 to 127 ℃ in the presence of a small amount of moisture for a forming time of about 1-3 seconds, followed by cooling and comminuting. The chocolate crumb may be used to produce milk chocolate by conventional methods. However, the substantial cost of the extruder is very high and the processing reaction time is very short, which is an inherent limitation on the flavor profile.

GB-a-1537377 discloses a method of preparing milk chocolate wherein a milk and sugar based mixture is prepared and then dried under reduced pressure to form a crumb type product which is compressed under a pressure of at least 100kg/cm2 and then processed into milk chocolate. However, this process only involves the production of white crumb, the vacuum/evaporation process is only carried out at a temperature of about 80 ℃, and such low temperatures will produce little or no caramelization and limited flavour.

DE3502446 discloses a process for the preparation of chocolate crumb which comprises mixing powdered milk with powdered sugar and water at about 80 ℃ and then adding cocoa paste to a slow-rotating mixer and heating to about 100 to 110 ℃ (water is added in the form of steam through a nozzle and heated) followed by drying. However, the use of powdered sugar is more expensive than ordinary sugar and a different structure is obtained. In addition, powdered sugar results in the formation of large lumps which increase viscosity and cause clogging. DE3502446 has no description of the reaction time nor of the amount of ingredients used, except water.

We have found that by reacting milk solids, sugar, cocoa mass and 1.2 to 8% total moisture in a mixer at a temperature of 85 to 180 ℃ for 2.5 to 25 minutes followed by drying to a moisture content of less than 3% not only excellent chocolate crumb is obtained but also flavour is made to meet the requirements by adjusting the temperature, time and water content.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a process for the preparation of chocolate crumb which comprises mixing and heating milk solids, sugar and 1.2 to 8% moisture by weight of the mixture in a mixer at 85 to 120 ℃ with or without cocoa solids, reacting at a temperature of 85 to 180 ℃ for 2.5 to 25 minutes and then drying to a moisture content of less than 3% by weight of the total mixture.

The milk solids may include, for example, whole milk powder, whey protein, or low fat milk solids. The low fat milk solids preferably contain less than 5 wt% fat, more preferably less than 2 wt% fat, and most preferably are skimmed milk powder, or a component thereof or reconstituted milk solids. The amount of milk solids may be from 20 to 70%, preferably from 25 to 65%, based on the total weight of the mixture.

The sugar used may preferably be in the form of a dry powder of crystals, or in the form of a syrup. The sugar used may be, for example, sucrose, glucose, dextrose, lactose, fructose, invert sugar, corn syrup solids or sugar substitutes such as polyols, for example, sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol, maltitol, lactitol, polydextrose and the like, or mixtures thereof. Preferably, only sucrose is used, but if desired, one or more other sugars may be used together with sucrose in amounts up to 25% based on the total weight of the sugars, for example 5 to 20% based on the total weight of the sugars. If desired, a portion of the sugar or sugar substitute may be replaced by a low calorie sweetener such as cyclamate, aspartame or aspartame. The amount of sugar used may be from 10 to 75%, and preferably from 20 to 70%, based on the total weight of the mixture.

In conventional processes for the preparation of chocolate crumb, the ratio of milk solids to sugar is typically from about 1: 3 to 1: 1.5, and such ratios may be used in the present invention, more often from 1: 2.5 to 1: 1.75. However, in the process of the invention, concentrated chocolate crumb can be produced by reducing the amount of sugar used to improve processing and increase productivity. In this case, the ratio of milk solids to sugar may be between 1: 1.5 and 1: 0.1, preferably from 1: 1.25 to 1: 0.3, especially 1: 1 to 1: 0.75.

When the process is carried out without cocoa solids, white bits are obtained. When the process is carried out with Cocoa solids, the Cocoa solids may be Cocoa mass, Cocoa powder or Cocoa butter substitutes such as Cocoa Butter Equivalents (CBE) or Cocoa Butter Substitutes (CBS), which are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art, e.g., CBS lauric and CBS non-lauric (see Chocalate, Cocoa, and Confectionery; third edition, 1989, Bernard W. Minifie; AVI), page 100-. The cocoa mass may be a conventional cocoa mass prepared by roasting cocoa beans, cooling, air-separating to form bean meats, and grinding the bean meats to form a mass containing about 50 to 60% cocoa butter. The cocoa powder can be obtained by extracting cocoa butter derived from cocoa mass by a conventional method. The amount of cocoa solids used in the process of the invention can be from 3 to 20% based on the total weight of the mixture. The amount of cocoa solids typically used in the concentrated chocolate crumb of the invention may be from 5 to 15% based on the total weight of the mixture.

It will be understood that the word "chocolate crumb" as used in the present invention is meant to include crumb which may be used to make a coating of a mixture or a chocolate substitute in which some or all of the cocoa solids are replaced by cocoa butter substitutes or crumb which contains sugar substitutes or ingredients such as carob or isolated soy protein. Mixture coatings are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art (see Chocolate, Cocoa, and Confectionry; third edition, 1989, Bernard W. Minifie; AVI), pp. 165-182).

The invention also provides a concentrated chocolate crumb comprising low fat milk solids, sugar and optionally cocoa solids, wherein the ratio of milk solids to sugar is between 1: 1.5 and 1: 0.1, preferably between 1: 1.25 and 1: 0.3. When present, the amount of cocoa solids in the concentrated chocolate crumb is preferably from 10 to 15% based on the total weight of the mixture.

The amount of water used in the process of the present invention is preferably from 1.5 to 7.5%, and more preferably from 1.75 to 6.5%, based on the total weight of the mixture.

The mixer may be a low or high shear mixer, such as a Lodige high shear mixer (Batch mixer FKM 600D-morton machines ltd.) with three plows mounted on a main shaft and two high speed chopping blades. The speed of the low shear mixer is typically 50 to 100rpm, while the speed of the high shear mixer is typically 1000 to 3000 rpm. Speeds between 100 and 1000rpm are also suitable for the process of the invention.

The preferred result of mixing the ingredients is a homogeneous mass and the time required to raise the temperature to 85 ℃ to 120 ℃ may be 30 to 150 minutes, preferably 60 to 120 minutes. The reaction time of the mixture is preferably from 5 to 20 minutes at 85 to 180 ℃. The reaction temperature is preferably 90 to 120 ℃. After the reaction, the drying temperature may be 60 to 80 ℃, and preferably 65 to 75 ℃. The drying time is 30 to 150 minutes, and preferably 60 to 120 minutes. If desired, drying may be carried out under vacuum, and if a vacuum method is employed, the drying time is preferably 30 to 60 minutes. During drying, the moisture content is preferably reduced to less than 2%, and more preferably to less than 1%, based on the total weight of the mixture.

The present invention also provides a process for the preparation of milk chocolate which comprises mixing chocolate crumb prepared by the process of the present invention with chocolate ingredient remnants (cocoa mass, cocoa butter and milk fat) and processing it into milk chocolate. The chocolate crumb may be mixed with the remainder of the chocolate ingredients, typically using the same mixer used to prepare the crumb, and the mixture is then refined, refined and tempered by means of refiner roll apparatus.

By varying the reaction time, reaction temperature and moisture content during the reaction, a wide variety of milk chocolate flavors may be obtained as desired. In general, the longer the reaction time, the higher the reaction temperature and the higher the moisture content, the stronger and more varied the flavor can be obtained.

For example, the crumb used contained milk solids and sugar in a conventional ratio of 1: 3 to 1: 5, and the following flavour changes in milk chocolate were obtained:

a) an increase in reaction time of 5 to 25 minutes resulted in an increase in musty taste.

b) The increase in reaction temperature results in an increase in cocoa and milk flavors, an increase in caramel and fruit flavors, and a decrease in astringency and malt flavors.

c) The increase in initial moisture content results in a decrease in cocoa flavor, and an increase in caramel and cream flavors.

On the other hand, the concentrated crumb used contained milk solids and sugar in a ratio of 1: 1.5 to 1: 0.1, and the following flavour changes in milk chocolate were obtained:

a) an increase in reaction time of 5 to 25 minutes results in a reduction in milk flavor and an increase in cocoa and malt flavors.

b) The increase in reaction temperature results in an increase in musty, sweet and bitter tastes, and an increase in caramel taste.

c) The increase in initial moisture content results in an increase in nut taste.

Summarizing the above data, the longer the reaction time, the higher the reaction temperature and the larger the specific range of the moisture content of the initial mixture for all the crumb prepared according to the process of the invention, the more concentrated and varied the flavour can be obtained in the milk chocolate prepared from them. The astringency and creaminess of milk chocolate prepared from concentrated crumb is superior to that of milk chocolate prepared from crumb containing milk solids and sugar in conventional ratios of 1: 3 to 1: 1.5.

Examples

The following examples further illustrate the invention.

Example 1

40.95kg of skim milk powder, 97.35kg of sucrose and 11.7kg of cocoa mass were fed with 3kg (2%) of water into a Lodige high shear mixer (Batch mixer FKM 600D) equipped with a water jacket, a temperature probe, a fan, three plows mounted on a main shaft running along the main mixer body, wherein the distance between the plow surface and the inner wall surface of the mixer was 5-10mm, two high speed chopping blades, and an aspirator capable of rapidly removing water from the mixture. (Total moisture content is about 3.5%)

The ingredients were mixed and heated to 90 ℃ over a 90 minute period, reacted using a high shear chopping blade at 90 ℃ for 15 minutes, and then dried at 70 ℃ for 90 minutes with the fan turned on to reduce the moisture content to less than 1% to give crumb containing 64.9% sucrose, 27.3% milk solids, 7.8% cocoa mass. Milk chocolate is made by adding cocoa liquor mass (9.22%), cocoa butter (13.69%), milk fat (6.54%), vanillin crystals (0.04%) to this mass (70.55%), mixing for 5 minutes to form a homogeneous mass, with an average particle size of 20-40 microns obtained by 2-and 5-roll refiners, followed by conching with an additional 1.2% mixture of lecithin and cocoa butter, followed by tempering and molding by conventional methods. The obtained milk chocolate has caramel, milk and sweet fragment taste.

Example 2

The procedure of example 1 was repeated except that 6kg (4%) of water was added instead of 3kg of water used. The obtained milk chocolate has strong caramel taste and biscuit taste.

Example 3

The ratio of milk solids to sugar was about 1: 0.9 and concentrated crumb was prepared by the same method as described in example 1 but using 67.07kg of skim milk powder, 63.78kg of sucrose and 19.16kg of cocoa mass and 3kg (2%) of water. (Total moisture content about 7%)

The components were mixed and heated to 90 ℃ over a 90 minute period, reacted using a high shear chopping blade at 90 ℃ for 15 minutes, and then dried at 70 ℃ for 90 minutes with the fan turned on to reduce the moisture content to less than 1% to give a crumb containing 42.52% sucrose, 44.71% milk solids and 12.77% cocoa mass. Milk chocolate was prepared by adding sugar (27.47%), cocoa liquor (9.22%), cocoa butter (13.69%), milk fat (6.54%), vanillin crystals (0.04%), to this crumb (43.08%), mixing for 5 minutes to form a homogeneous mass, with an average particle size of 20-40 microns obtained by 2-and 5-roll refiners, followed by conching with an additional 1.2% mixture of lecithin and cocoa butter, followed by tempering and molding by conventional methods. The resulting milk chocolate had a caramel crumb flavour which was more astringent and creamy than the milk chocolate of example 1.

Example 4

The ratio of milk solids to sugar was about 1: 0.33 and concentrated crumb was prepared by the same method as described in example 1 but using 98.14kg of skim milk powder, 32.71kg of sucrose and 19.15kg of cocoa mass and 9kg (6%) of water. The components were mixed and heated to 90 ℃ over a 90 minute period, reacted using a high shear chopping blade at 90 ℃ for 15 minutes, and then dried at 70 ℃ for 90 minutes with the fan turned on to reduce the moisture content to less than 1% to give a crumb containing 42.52% sucrose, 44.71% milk solids and 12.77% cocoa mass. Milk chocolate was prepared by adding the other ingredients of chocolate to this crumb in the same manner as described in example 3. The resulting milk chocolate had a caramel crumb flavour which was more astringent and creamy than the milk chocolate of example 1.

Claims (19)

1. A process for the preparation of chocolate crumb comprising mixing and heating milk solids, sugar and water in an amount of from 1.2 to 8% by weight of the mixture, with or without cocoa solids, in a mixer at a temperature of from 85 to 120 ℃, reacting for 2.5 to 25 minutes at a temperature of from 85 to 180 ℃ and then drying to a moisture content of less than 3% by weight of the total mixture.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the milk solids comprise whole milk powder, whey protein or low fat milk solids.

3. A process according to claim 2 wherein the low fat milk solids consist of skim milk powder, or a component thereof, or reconstituted milk solids.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the amount of milk solids is from 20 to 70% based on the total weight of the mixture.

5. A process according to claim 1, wherein the sugar used is in the form of a dry powder or in the form of a syrup.

6. A process according to claim 1, wherein the sugar used is sucrose, glucose, dextrose, lactose, fructose, invert sugar, corn syrup solids, or sugar substitutes or mixtures thereof.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the sugar substitute is sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol, maltitol, lactitol or polydextrose.

8. A process according to claim 1, wherein the ratio of milk solids to sugar is from 1: 3 to 1: 1.5.

9. A process according to claim 1, wherein the ratio of milk solids to sugar is from 1: 1.5 to 1: 0.1.

10. A process according to claim 1, when the process is carried out with cocoa solids, said solids may be cocoa mass, cocoa powder, Cocoa Butter Equivalents (CBE) or Cocoa Butter Substitutes (CBS).

11. The process according to claim 1, wherein the amount of cocoa solids used in the process of the invention can be from 3 to 20% based on the total weight of the mixture.

12. Chocolate crumb comprising reduced fat milk solids, sugar and 3 to 20% cocoa butter substitute, based on the total weight of the crumb.

13. A chocolate crumb comprising reduced fat milk solids, sugar, cocoa solids and cocoa butter substitutes.

14. Chocolate crumb obtainable by the process according to claim 1 containing sugar substitutes, carob or isolated soy protein.

15. A concentrated chocolate crumb comprising low fat milk solids, sugar and optionally cocoa solids, wherein the ratio of milk solids to sugar is between 1: 1.5 and 1: 0.1.

16. A concentrated chocolate crumb according to claim 12 wherein the amount of cocoa solids in the concentrated chocolate crumb is from 10 to 15% based on the total weight of the mixture.

17. A process for the preparation of milk chocolate which comprises mixing chocolate crumb prepared by the process of the invention with chocolate ingredient remnants (cocoa mass, cocoa butter and milk fat) and processing it into milk chocolate.

18. A process according to claim 17 wherein the chocolate crumb is mixed with the remainder of the chocolate ingredients and the mixture is subsequently refined, conched and tempered by the refiner roller means.

19. A milk chocolate prepared from chocolate crumb according to any one of claims 1 to 16 together with other chocolate ingredients.