Patent Application
20130142934
The present invention relates generally to gelatin desserts and more particularly provides methods and compositions relating to freezer-stable gelatin desserts which are ready to use for consumption upon thawing.
Gelatin is a product with a very short shelf life because grenetine gel is sensitive to being frozen. This product has very high water content, with an unstable protein gel. Such a product is very popular as a dessert or a side dish, particularly with children.
Currently, the product is mostly home-made and when it is produced on an industrial scale, it is generally presented in single use plastic cups of a single flavor. The product is stored in the refrigerator and distributed by the regular dairy refrigeration network.
The present invention provides ready to use gelatin compositions which are freezer stable for several weeks or months. The gel of the present composition comprises gelatin, fat, sugar, emulsifiers, stabilizers, starch, soluble fiber, wheat fiber and water. This composition has desirable organoleptic properties and has the characteristics of freezer stability with a shelf life of several months.
The invention provides freezer-stable compositions for ready-to-use gelatin gel product. In contrast to other available products, this product is stable at freezer temperatures for several months. The gel of the present composition comprises gelatin, fiber and gel-stabilizing agents such as hydrocolloids. While not intending to be bound by any particular theory, it is considered that the hydrocolloids reinforce the protein network. The present composition has desirable organoleptic properties and has the characteristics of freezer stability with a shelf life of several months.
The gelatine dessert of the present invention comprises gelatin, fat, sugar, emulsifier, stabilizer, starch, soluble fiber (such as 1.5-3.5%), wheat fiber (such as 0.01 to 0.5%) and water. In one embodiment, the wheat fiber is 0.05 to 0.5%. All percentages are weight percentages unless indicated otherwise. Whenever a range of values is indicated in this application, all values to the tenth decimal point are included and all ranges within the indicated range to the tenth decimal place are included. Single forms (such as “emulsifier”) include plural forms (such as “emulsifiers”) and vice versa unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
The dessert is water based or can be based on any other non-dairy liquid base such as fruit juice. The gelatin can be any bloom that is used for edible purposes. For example, the gelatin may be 250 or 275 bloom and all integers therebetween. The amount of gelatin should be such that a gel can form. Suitable amounts are from 1.5 to 3.5%.
The fat can be any edible fat. In one embodiment it is vegetable oil. For example, the fat can be palm kernel oil (PKO) and/or coconut oil. In another embodiment, the fat is hydrogenated PKO and partially hydrogenated coconut oil. In another embodiment, the fat can be soybean oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, com oil, cottonseed oil, olive oil, peanut oil, rapeseed oil, safflower oil, or any fraction or combinations thereof In another embodiment, the fat can be babassu oil, coconut oil, tucum oil, palm kernel oil, or any fraction or combination thereof Suitable amounts of fat are from 5-10%.
The stabilizers in the present composition are hydrocolloids. These can be natural or synthetic. Examples include guar gum, locust bean gum, acacia gum, caregeenan, methyl cellulose, HPMC and the like. It is preferred that guar gum be not used alone because it was observed that in a composition containing guar gum (and very small amounts of locust bean and carageenan), the product did not form a gel with desirable properties and was not freezer stable. It is important to have at least acacia gum in the formulation and in one embodiment, the composition includes guar gum, locust bean gum, carageenan gum and acacia gum. The gums are generally from 0.5 to 1.0%. The majority of the gum component is acacia gum. For example, acacia gum can form 90-99.9% of the gum component.
Suitable emulsifiers for the present composition include polysorbate 60, polysorbate 80, mono and diglycerides, sorbitan and glyceride monostearae, lecithin and the like. Suitable amounts of emulsifiers are from 0.05 to 0.2%.
Suitable starch for the present composition includes com starch, potato starch, tapioca starch and the like. In one embodiment, the starch is modified corn starch. Suitable amounts of starch are from 0.1 to 0.2%.
Various buffers may also be used in the present invention. Preferred buffering salts include disodium phosphate, dipotassium phosphate, disodium hexaphosphate, and sodium citrate. More than one buffer may be used in the present invention.
It is considered that fiber is an important ingredient of the present invention. Suitable amounts of fiber are 1.5% to 4.0%. An example is inulin—which is a soluble fiber. Another important fiber is wheat fiber. A convenient way of using two important components—wheat fiber and acacia gum—is to use Equacia, which is a gum-fiber containing ingredient and is commercially available. A suitable amount of Equacia is 0.5 to 1.5%. Equacia generally contains from 5-30% wheat fiber and 70-95% acacia gum. In one embodiment, the wheat fiber/acacia gum combination (Equacia) contains 10-12% gluten-free wheat fiber and the rest is acacia gum.
Various sugars can be used in the present composition. Suitable sugars for the present invention include, monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides. The sugars may be comprised of one or more sugars, such as sucrose, fructose, dextrose and/or intensive sweeteners, such as aspartame, acetosulfame, alitame, saccharin, cyclamates, and trichloro sucrose. In the event one or more intensive sweeteners are used, bulking agents may be included in the formulation to provide additional solids and provide body to the product structure. Suitable bulking agents include maltodextrin, polydextrose, polyglucose, xylitol, mannitol and sorbitol. Suitable amount of sugars is from 18-24%.
It is considered that the particular combination of ingredients as described herein provides a gelatin dessert which can be frozen in a ready-to-eat form and withstands one or more cycles of freezing and thawing. In the frozen form, the gelatin dessert can be stored in the freezer for at least 1 month. In various embodiments, it can be stored in the freezer for at least 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, or 12 months. Thus, the gelatin does not need to be made fresh from powdered formulation by the end user, but rather can be purchased in a frozen ready to eat form. The frozen dessert can be simply thawed and consumed.
It is considered that the unique combination of ingredients provide freezer stability to this product. For comparison purposes, when other fibers or gums were tested, the product did not exhibit comparable freezer stability. Additionally, when guar gum was used alone, it did not result in the formation of a gelatin product that was comparable to the product produced by the present formulation.
In the above table, Profit1M is commercially available from Panadino, Dannova Quimica, Metalose™ SFE-50 is available from R. W. Unwin & Co. Ltd ShinEtsu, MiraThik™ 469 is available from Tate & Lyle, Seagel™ FL 6625 and Avicel™ are available from FMC Biopolymer, and Gelogen™ RTE 20 is available from Cargill. The ingredients were tested at amounts between 0.9 to 2.5%. The table above indicates that the combination of inulin, wheat fiber and acacia gum was needed for freezer stability characteristics. The gelatin dessert products of the present invention have a moist-cool mouth feel. Even though the product contains no milk, it has a mouth-feel, texture and organoleptic feel like that of a milk product.
For preparing the gel, the various ingredients can be mixed as known in the art. The gel is formed by heating the jelly mixture to 65-75° C. and then cooling to 40° C. until depositing it in nonstick pans and cooling it to 4-7° C. A convenient way is to use a premix of some of the ingredients. For example, a premix of fat, buttermilk solids, starch, emulsifiers, and gums can be made as follows. The starch, guar gum, emulsifiers, buffering agent, butter milk powder can be mixed in water and then fat is added and thoroughly mixed. The resultant mixture can be heated (such as to 66° C.). The mixture can be subjected to UHT treatment using steam injection or tube heat exchanger and then homogenized. The resultant mixture can be cooled and then stored for later use. To make the gelatine dessert, the gelatin is dissolved in water and then mixed with the premix and other components including sugar, inulin, wheat fiber and acacia gum. The mixture can be refrigerated and gels in about 1 hour. It can be kept in the refrigerator overnight and then frozen for long storage. For use, the frozen gel can be thawed overnight in the refrigerator and then used for consumption. After thawing, the dessert is stable in the refrigerator for at least 7 days.
In order to make a more appetizing dessert the product is formed in several layers of different flavors and sometimes includes, canned or dry fruits and alternated milk and water-based layers of jelly. The product can tolerate acidity and therefore, if desired, yogurt can be added to the product prior to gel formation.
The product can be made in a single serving size or larger family size (such as 20 1-2.5 kg) and can have multiple layers (such as 3-6 layers). Further, dry fruit can be included in one or more layers, such as in the bottom layer.
Some of the characteristics of the present product include: The prepared gel dessert product can be stored at freezer temperatures instead of refrigeration. The shelf life in the freezer is at on the order of months instead of days. In one embodiment, the product can be stored in the freezer for at least 6 months. In another embodiment, it can be stored in the freezer for at least 12 months. Because the prepared product can be frozen and stored at the freezer temperatures for an extended period of time, the product can be distributed in a ready to eat state. Additionally, the dessert product is a gelatin dessert product, which maintains its integrity even after freezing and thawing, with the traditional mouth feel of a gelatin gel easily melting in the mouth.
Table 2 provides the composition of the water based formulation. The buttermilk solids-contain minerals, proteins and sugar from milk. This ingredient is generally a sub product in the production of butter. Some of the components (part water, fat, dairy solids, part sugar, starch, part color/salts, emulsifiers and gums) can be added in the form of a premix. For example, the composition of nondairy cooking cream found in U.S. Pat. No. 7,658,962, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference can be used.
In this example, the premix provided below in Table 3 was used.
The premix was then used to prepare the gelatin dessert using the following formulation (Table 4).
The product had a very desirable mouth feel and texture and was freezer stable for at least 13 months. The product has a characteristic product with particular visual and sensorial properties that make it desirable. The gel responsible of this product, gives it a nice smooth soft and firm non rough texture. Further, it has a shining and transparent appearance.
While this invention has been described through specific embodiment, routine modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art and such modifications are intended to be within the scope of the invention.
This application claims priority to Serial No. PCT/US2011/042569 filed Jun. 30, 2011, which in turn claims priority on U.S. Provisional Application No. 611359,896, filed on Jun. 30, 2010, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US2011/042569 | 6/30/2011 | WO | 00 | 2/15/2013 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61359896 | Jun 2010 | US |
