Patent Application
20140099407
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a compound coating containing coffee powder for snack food products and snack food products made with the compound coating.
2. Description of Related Art
Coffee is a popular beverage in part because coffee provides the effect of warding off drowsiness and restoring alertness. Although many people enjoy coffee, some find the bitter taste undesirable. Coffee beans covered with chocolate are a popular food product designed to deliver the experience of coffee while taking advantage of the flavor and desirability of chocolate. However, they are usually only slightly sweet, and the intense, bitter flavor of the coffee beans can be overwhelming for non-coffee-drinkers. Thus, it is desirable to make a snack food product that delivers the experience of coffee but only has a slight bitter flavor, if any, from the coffee.
The novel features believed characteristic of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages thereof, will be best understood by reference to the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Several embodiments of Applicants' invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. Unless otherwise noted, like elements will be identified by identical numbers throughout all figures. The invention illustratively disclosed herein suitably may be practiced in the absence of any element which is not specifically disclosed herein.
The present invention is directed to a compound coating containing coffee powder for snack food products that delivers the experience of coffee to the consumer in snack food form. As used herein, the term “coffee powder” means the powder from which liquid coffee is made by adding water. The compound coating may be used in many different snack food products, providing an additional source of energy for the consumer. The goal in developing the compound coating was to deliver the substantial equivalent as a cup of coffee in about one to about three ounces of food product while masking the bitter flavor of the coffee to make the product palatable to consumers.
One consideration in choosing the coffee powder for inclusion in the compound coating is the overall flavor profile of the coffee. Coffee naturally has a bitter taste, but one goal in developing the compound coating is to decrease or limit the bitterness in the final compound coating. Thus, it is preferable to choose a coffee with minimal bitter flavor and aftertaste. In one embodiment, a coffee source with low to mild roasted notes and low bitterness is used to produce a mild coffee profile in the final coating. In another embodiment, instant coffee is used because the desired experience of coffee can be achieved while using two to three times less the amount of coffee powder in the final compound coating.
Another consideration in choosing the coffee powder is the particle size of the coffee powder. The particle size of the coffee powder affects the grittiness in the final coating; thus, coffee powders with a smaller particle size distribution are preferred. In one embodiment, spray-dried coffee powder is used instead of freeze-dried coffee powder due to its smaller particle size distribution.
Regardless of the coffee powder used, there will be a bitter flavor to the compound coating due to coffee's natural bitterness. Choosing a coffee powder with low bitter notes as described above lessens the degree of the bitterness. Another way to offset or mask the bitter flavor is to add a bitter masker to the compound coating. As used herein, a “bitter masker” is an ingredient or ingredients chosen to mitigate the bitter flavor and aftertaste that the coffee produces. In one embodiment, the bitter masker used is a compound containing mixed triglycerides and natural flavoring. Additionally, a topical seasoning may be applied to the final snack product using the compound coating to further mask any remaining bitter aftertaste that the bitter masker does not effectively mitigate. The topical seasoning may comprise any ingredients known in the art that complement the compound coating and help mask the bitter flavor of the coffee in the coating. In one embodiment, the topical seasoning comprises one or more ingredients selected from sugar, brown sugar, dextrose, molasses, lactose, cocoa powder, cocoa powder processed with alkali, sunflower oil, corn oil, canola oil, modified corn starch, corn starch, corn maltodextrin, butter powder, cream powder, flavors and gum arabic.
The compound coating flavor may be flavor known in the art such as chocolate, white chocolate, peanut butter or caramel. Standard compound coating technology allows the addition of coffee powder to a compound coating in an amount of about 5% to about 20% by weight of the total compound coating without adversely affecting the coating properties of melt viscosity and ability to set. In one embodiment, the amount of coffee added to the compound coating is sufficient to deliver the substantial equivalent of a cup of coffee, or about 1.5 grams to about 3 grams of coffee powder, in about one to about three ounces of the snack food product using the compound coating. In one embodiment, coffee powder is added to the compound coating in an amount of about 5% to about 12% by weight of the total compound coating. In another embodiment, coffee powder is added to the compound coating in an amount of about 8% to about 10% by weight of the total compound coating. In yet another embodiment, the amount of coffee added to the compound coating is sufficient to deliver the substantial equivalent of a cup of coffee, or about 2 grams to about 2.4 grams of coffee powder, in about two ounces of the snack food product using the compound coating. Those skilled in the art will understand that the coffee flavor and overall flavor of the compound coating may be manipulated by varying the amounts of coffee powder and other ingredients added to the compound coating mixture.
The compound coating containing coffee powder of the present invention may be used to coat or enrobe a core product to make a finished snack food product. As used herein, the term “core product” means any low water activity product, such as cookies, pretzels, granola clusters, granola bars, wafers, nuts, corn chips, potato chips, or wheat chips.
While this invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The inventors expect skilled artisans to employ such variations as appropriate, and the inventors intend the invention to be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. Accordingly, this invention includes all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicable law. Moreover, any combination of the above-described elements in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the invention unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.
