Patent Application
20180213814
The invention relates to the food industry, in particular to a method for producing a chocolate mass suitable for producing dark and milk chocolate having a reduced energy value with the use of a water-in-oil emulsion.
Traditionally, chocolate products based on cocoa butter and sugar have an energy value ranging from 530 to 580 kcal per 100 g of a product. Such products are not suitable for persons suffering from diabetes mellitus and those on clinical nutrition with a limited amount of calories consumed.
A variety of efforts for replacing sugar with less energetic sweeteners and a portion of cocoa butter with a water-in-oil emulsion have been made in order to reduce the energy value of chocolate products.
A process for producing a low energy value chocolate product is known in the art, which product comprises a chocolate shell and a filling (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,425,957, 20 Jun. 1995), According to a process for producing thereof, a chocolate composition is prepared for the shell, which comprises a cocoa butter, a cocoa liquor, a milk powder, a maltitol, a hazelnut paste, vanillin, lecithin, aspartame, milk protein and polydextrose, Then the chocolate composition for the filling is prepared that comprises the cocoa butter, the cocoa liquor, a butter fat, the milk powder, the rnaltitol, the hazelnut paste, vanillin and lecithin. After that, a water-in-oil emulsion is prepared that comprises the cocoa butter, an emulsifier, sorbitol and water. The produced emulsion is mixed with the chocolate composition for the filling. A chocolate mass for the shell is tempered, and the product is formed as the chocolate shell and the filling encapsulated therein.
A process for manufacturing chocolate compositions for producing chocolate is known in the art (see U.S. Pat. No. 6,165,540 26 Dec. 2000), which comprises preparation of a water-in-oil emulsion containing water in a quantity of 10-80 wt. %, an emulsifier in a quantity of 0.5-3 wt. %, and cocoa butter, and mixing of the produced emulsion with melted dark or milk chocolate. The energy value of milk chocolate produced on the basis of maltitol, as calculated according to the formulation described in this patent, is 384 kcal per 100 g. A disadvantage of this process is that chocolate thus produced has a very short period of melting, i.e. does not have a satisfactory texture characteristic of chocolate with a standard energy value. Moreover, this chocolate based on maltitol does not have a sufficient sweetness.
The closest method to the claimed invention is a method of making a low fat chocolate (see U.S.20120177801, 12 Jul. 2012), which comprises preparation of a water-in-oil emulsion, preparation of a chocolate composition, and mixing a melted chocolate composition with said emulsion. Said emulsion is prepared by high-shear mixing of a cocoa butter, an aqueous phase comprising water and a water-soluble substance, and an emulsifier. The chocolate composition may comprise milk powder, sweeteners, cocoa liquor, fruits, nuts, biscuit particles, candy particles and colorings. But this analog does not disclose particular formulations of the chocolate composition.
One common disadvantage of the known analogs is that low-energy chocolate produced using known technologies has organoleptic and physical properties that are far from those of chocolate having standard energy value and based on sugar and cocoa butter.
The objective of this invention is to eliminate disadvantages of the analogs and develop a method for producing a chocolate mass for the purpose of producing chocolate with a reduced energy value (330 kcal per 100 g or less) that has physical and organoleptic properties closest to those of chocolate of a standard energy value.
The technical effect of the claimed invention is an improvement in organoleptic indicators, such as intensity of chocolate flavor, absence of off-flavors and aftertaste, natural sweetness and chocolate texture, with a reduction of energy value thereof. Moreover, physical properties, such as yield stress, contraction degree upon crystallization and hardness of a final product, are improved.
This technical effect is achieved by the claimed invention due to the fact that a method for producing the chocolate mass for producing chocolate with a reduced energy value comprises: preparation of a water-in-oil emulsion, preparation of a chocolate composition, and mixing of a melted chocolate composition with said emulsion, wherein for producing said chocolate composition
Furthermore, the stated technical effect is achieved in particular implementations of the first embodiment of the invention due to that:
The claimed invention is directed to producing the chocolate mass for dark or milk chocolate with a reduced energy value, wherein sugar is replaced with a composition of erythritol and dietary fibers, and cocoa butter is replaced with an emulsion of the water-in-oil type.
The term “chocolate with a reduced energy value” is understood herein as a product having an energy value by at least 30% lower than that of chocolate with standard energy value (530-580 kcal/100 g) based on sugar and a cocoa butter (see Appendix 5 to the Technical Regulations of the Customs Union “Foodstuffs with regard to their Marking” (CU TR 022/2011)″).
Preferably, an energy value of this chocolate is not more than 330 kcal/100 g.
Chocolate produced according to the claimed method exhibits improved physical and organoleptic characteristics that are close to properties of chocolate of standard energy value to the maximum. As a result, a consumer can have taste and emotional sensations similar to those arising when consuming chocolate with a standard energy value, but can receive far less quantity of calories.
These properties are ensured due to combining the steps of the claimed method with a composition of the chocolate mass produced.
According to the claimed method, a cocoa liquor is produced that contains 5-20% of an water-in-oil emulsion based on a cocoa butter, which ensures reduction in energy value of a product produced, while preserving main organoleptic characteristics thereof.
A reduction in an amount of the emulsion to a level below 5 wt. % when using the claimed method will lead to an increase in energy value of the product and deterioration of organoleptic properties thereof, which will result in poor melting of chocolate in the mouth.
An increase in the amount of the emulsion to a level above 20 wt. % when using the claimed method will lead to poorer physical properties of chocolate produced, namely, losses in contraction and typical glance.
Production of a chocolate composition comprising cocoa products, erythritol and dietary fibers ensures the most optimal combination of natural taste and low energy value of a product.
It is found that erythritol is the only sweetener suitable for production of chocolate with a reduced energy value and optimal physical and organoleptic characteristics, since it possesses the following properties:
According to the claimed invention, erythritol is introduced into the composition in the form of a crumb produced from a mixture of an erythritol solution (syrup) and the cocoa liquor by thickening and crystallization. These operations enable to intensify taste-and-flavor properties of the product, in particular intensify chocolate flavor and reduce the cooling effect of erythritol.
The introduction of dietary fibers in an amount of 5-30 wt. % into the chocolate composition results in a significant reduction in energy value of the product as well as reduces the cooling action of erythritol, i.e. masks off-flavors and aftertaste. A ratio of erythritol (crumb) and the dietary fibers, each of them having a lower sweetness level as compared to sugar, is such that they intensify each other being taken in combination and in said amounts, thus ensuring reaching a sweetness level that does not differ from that of conventional chocolate.
The claimed method can be implemented as follows.
The first step is production of an aqueous phase for an emulsion. For this purpose, water is mixed with a water-soluble substance (s), preferably in the following ratio, wt. %:
Then, in the second step, a mixture is prepared from the produced aqueous phase, a cocoa butter and an emulsifier. For this purpose, the emulsifier is dissolved in the cocoa butter at a temperature of 60° C. for 15 minutes under moderate stirring with the use of any suitable equipment. The aqueous phase is added to the prepared mixture at a temperature ranging from 50 to 60° C. under moderate stirring with the use of a magnetic or mechanical mixer. The addition is performed batchwise, as a continuous stream or by drops. The produced mixture is stirred for 1 minute. As a result, a triple mixture is produced that comprises, wt. %:
The third step comprises preparation of a water-in-oil emulsion with an aqueous phase drop size ranging from 0.1 to 1,000 microns from the triple mixture, as produced in the second step, with the use of any apparatus suitable for this purpose, e.g. a high-shear bottom mixer operating at high rotation speeds. The emulsification process is continued until aqueous phase drops of a required size are achieved (approx. 10 minutes). The emulsion thus produced should be stable for a time period required for its further processing.
The fourth step may be conducted in parallel with the first and the second ones and consists in preparing a crumb based on a sweetener (erythritol) and a cocoa liquor. For this purpose, an aqueous solution (syrup) of erythritol is prepared by heating thereof, the water content being preferably in the range of 20 to 30 wt. %. The solution is heated to 100-120° C. and mixed with the cocoa liquor. The prepared mass is passed through a heat exchanger for thickening, after which dry matter content of the mixture is increased to approx. 99 wt. %. At the same time, taste-and-flavor properties are formed. The concentrated mass produced by thickening is loaded into a crystallizer wherein an amorphous mass is quickly transformed into the crumb comprising erythritol small crystals with a size from 0.5 to 2 mm The mass is held in the heat exchanger for 2-10 minutes. The crumb thus produced comprises, wt. % %:
The crumb based on erythritol and the cocoa liquor is used for producing a chocolate composition at the stage of mixing the ingredients. The use of said crumb in the final chocolate mass enables to further reduce cooling effect of erythritol during dissolving.
The chocolate composition is prepared in the fifth step. In order to produce dark chocolate, the crumb, the cocoa liquor and dietary fibers are mixed in the following ratio, wt. %:
In order to produce milk chocolate, the crumb, the cocoa butter, the dietary fibers and a milk powder are mixed in the following ratio, wt. %:
Mixing is performed, e.g. in a screw-type mixer. Then, the produced mixture is refined to a particle size ranging from 15 to 25 microns with the use of a refiner for a required time period.
The sixth step consists in mixing the water-in-oil emulsion, as produced in the third step, with the chocolate composition heated to 40-50° C., under stirring. The mixing process is performed, e.g. in a collecting tank equipped with a screw-type mixer. A duration of the mixing process is determined by mass homogeneity and may last from 1 minute to 1 hour (30 minutes on the average).
The last step comprises tempering of the produced mass for forming cocoa butter crystals of the required crystalline modification, subsequent molding and forming of chocolate.
Chocolate masses were prepared according to the claimed invention for producing dark (Examples 1-3) and milk (Examples 4-6) chocolate, which compositions and properties are shown in Tables 1-12 below.
Comparative studies of the following specimens were conducted:
Specimen 1—dark chocolate produced from the mass according to the claimed composition,
Specimen 2—milk chocolate produced from the mass according to the claimed composition.
Specimen 3—milk chocolate with maltitol produced from the chocolate mass according to U.S. Pat. No. 5,425,957 (analog).
Specimen 4—dark chocolate with maltitol produced from the chocolate mass according to U.S. Pat. No. 6,165,540 (analog).
Specimen 5—dark commercial chocolate of standard energy value comprising sugar, cocoa liquor, cocoa butter, lecithin, emulsifier E476, vanillin.
Specimen 6—milk commercial chocolate of standard energy value comprising sugar, cocoa butter, dried whole milk, cocoa liquor, dried skimmed milk, lecithin, emulsifier E476, vanillin.
In order to determine organoleptic and consumer properties of the product, the chocolate specimens were tasted.
Active chocolate consumers (who buy chocolate at least once a week) were involved as tasters.
The tasters were invited to taste the chocolate specimens and answer the following questions:
1. Please, evaluate consumer properties under the scale from 1 to 5, where: 5—like very much, 1—dislike totally. The evaluation criteria are shown in Table 13.
2. Please, compare a degree of your readiness to consume chocolate of Specimens 1-6 under the following scale: “Surely shall consume”, “Sooner shall consume”, “Do not know”, “Sooner shall not consume”, “Surely shall not consume”.
The results of tasting are shown in Tables 14 and 15.
Also, physical properties of chocolate were measured, such as: viscosity, yield stress, fineness degree, contraction degree and hardness.
Viscosity and yield stress of the chocolate masses were determined with the use of an Anton Paar RheolabQC viscometer and software RheoPlus at 40° C.
Fineness degree was determined with the use of a micrometer. Contraction degree was determined by measuring the dimensions of the mold and the dimensions of a chocolate brick in a day after cooling.
Hardness was determined with the use of a static mechanical analyzer (TA-HD plus).
Viscosity determines the chocolate degree of thickness. An optimal viscosity value of chocolate should be in the range from 2 to 4. As seen in Table 14, the viscosity of Specimens 1, 2 and 4 is close to an optimal value on the whole. Specimen 3 has too high viscosity.
Solid particle fineness degree in chocolate determines organoleptic properties of a product: if an average fineness degree is higher than 30 microns, granularity of chocolate can be felt. All the specimens comply with this requirement, but Specimens 1 and 2 have a greater fineness degree.
Yield stress is an important process parameter for chocolate which determines its ability to flow. Specimens 1 and 2 have much better ability to flow than Specimens 3 and 4.
Contraction degree after crystallization should be greater than 0.5%, in order a cast chocolate bar may be extracted from a mold easily. Specimens 1 and 2 have a sufficient contraction degree, unlike Specimens 3 and 4.
Taking into account the above results of tasting and tests, a conclusion may be drawn that the chocolate mass produced according to the claimed invention exhibits significant advantages with regard to taste and physical characteristics as compared to the analogs.
Chocolate produced by methods according to U.S. Pat. No. 5,425,957 (Specimen 3) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,165,540 (Specimen 4) do not have a smooth surface and are characterized by too quick melting, i.e. have texture not peculiar to chocolate with a standard energy value (Specimens 5 and 6). Moreover, said chocolate is characterized by the presence of off-flavors.
Chocolate according to the claimed invention (Specimens 1 and 2) has optimal appearance, structure and texture and is characterized by natural taste peculiar to chocolate with a standard energy value (Specimens 5 and 6) and, at the same time, has a reduced total energy value (not more than 330 kcal/100 g). Moreover, this chocolate has physical properties, such as hardness, yield stress and contraction degree, that are closer to those of chocolate with a standard energy value.
Thus, the claimed chocolate composition ensures production of a low energy value chocolate having improved organoleptic and physical characteristics.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015133959 | Aug 2015 | RU | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/RU2016/050022 | 7/25/2016 | WO | 00 |
