Detailed Description
The present invention relates to a composite confectionery product. The composite confectionery product may comprise a cone filled with aerated frozen confection. Or the composite confectionery product comprises a plurality of stacked layers of confectionery, wherein at least one layer is an aerated frozen confection.
As used herein, the term "aerated frozen confection" refers to a frozen confection in which gas is deliberately incorporated into the product. The gas is preferably air, but any food grade gas may be used. The amount of gas incorporated into the product is generally described by the expansion ratio (in "%"), which is defined by the following formula:
The expansion ratio was measured at ambient temperature (20 ℃) and atmospheric pressure.
If the overrun is too low, aerated frozen confections tend to be "thin" and unable to retain shape when extruded. Thus, the overrun of the aerated frozen confection is greater than 100%, for example at least 102%. Preferably, the aerated frozen confection has an overrun of at least 105%, at least 110%, or even at least 115%. Preferably, the aerated frozen confection has an overrun of not more than 160%, not more than 155%, not more than 150%, or even not more than 145%.
Fat helps stabilize air bubbles, helps in creamy texture, provides desirable thawing characteristics (by slowing the rate at which thawing occurs), and is a good carrier for certain flavor compounds. Reducing the fat content of frozen confections is not easy. The aerated frozen confection comprises from 1wt% to 8wt% fat, preferably from 3wt% to 8wt%, or even from 5wt% to 8wt% fat. It is particularly preferred that the aerated frozen confection comprises no more than 7.5wt% fat, for example from 5wt% to 7.5wt% fat. The fat is preferably a vegetable fat (such as coconut oil, palm kernel oil or mixtures thereof), and particularly preferably the fat is coconut oil.
The aerated frozen confection comprises 10 to 30wt% sugar. As used herein, the term "sugar" includes monosaccharides, disaccharides and oligosaccharides (formed from 3 to 10 monosaccharide units). Monosaccharides include glucose, fructose, galactose and mannose. Disaccharides include sucrose, lactose and trehalose. The oligosaccharides include raffinose. The term "saccharide" does not include polysaccharides comprising >10 monosaccharides. Some of the ingredients typically contained in frozen confections may contribute to the sugar content. One example is corn syrup (sometimes referred to as glucose syrup), which is a mixture of monosaccharides, disaccharides, and oligosaccharides.
High concentrations of sugar may impart undesirable sweetness and/or calories to the frozen confection. Thus, the aerated frozen confection comprises no more than 30wt%, preferably no more than 28wt%, no more than 25wt% or no more than 22wt% sugar. Conversely, low concentrations of sugar tend to result in frozen confections having a high ice content, which can negatively impact consumer acceptance of the composite confectionery product. Thus, the aerated frozen confection comprises at least 10wt%, preferably at least 12wt%, at least 15wt% or at least 20wt% sugar.
The aerated frozen confection comprises from 0.1wt% to 1wt% of an emulsifier. The emulsifier may be a single emulsifier or a mixture of emulsifiers. The aerated frozen confection preferably comprises at least 0.12wt%, or even at least 0.15wt% of an emulsifier. The aerated frozen confection preferably comprises no more than 0.8wt%, no more than 0.5wt%, or even no more than 0.4wt% of an emulsifier. Preferably, the emulsifier is selected from the group consisting of saturated fatty acids of mono-and diglycerides, unsaturated fatty acids of mono-and diglycerides and mixtures thereof.
The aerated frozen confection comprises 0.4 to 4wt% protein. Wherein 50 to 100wt% of the protein is a vegetable protein and 0 to 50wt% of the protein is a milk protein.
Plant-based foods are an increasing consumer trend, and consumer demand for such products is increasing. In one embodiment, 100wt% of the protein is vegetable protein.
Because high levels of vegetable protein are associated with undesirable mouthfeel characteristics (such as gritty feel) and/or flavor off-flavors, the aerated frozen confection contains 4wt% or less vegetable protein. The aerated frozen confection comprises at least 0.45wt%, preferably at least 0.5wt%, at least 0.55wt%, or even at least 0.6wt% vegetable protein. Most preferably, the frozen confection comprises from 0.6wt% to 2.5wt%, or even from 0.6wt% to 2wt% vegetable protein.
Preferably, the vegetable protein is a pulse (pulse) protein, a cereal protein or a mixture thereof. The vegetable protein is preferably selected from the group consisting of bean (bean) protein, lentil protein, lupin protein, pea protein, soy protein, oat protein, wheat protein, rye protein, barley protein, rice protein, buckwheat protein, millet protein and mixtures thereof. Particularly preferably, the vegetable protein comprises legume proteins. The vegetable proteins may additionally include cereal proteins and legume proteins.
When the vegetable protein is a legume protein, it is preferably selected from the group consisting of legume protein, lentil protein, lupin protein, pea protein, soy protein, and mixtures thereof. For example, the legume proteins may include pea proteins, soy proteins, or mixtures thereof. Particularly preferably, the legume protein is pea protein. When the vegetable protein is a cereal protein, it is preferably selected from oat protein, wheat protein, rye protein, barley protein, rice protein, buckwheat protein, millet protein and mixtures thereof.
Reducing the use of dairy based ingredients can correspondingly reduce the environmental footprint of the frozen confection, as dairy farming tends to produce significant greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, partial replacement of milk components is considered to be an interesting direction for environmentally conscious consumers. Thus, in one embodiment, 50 to 90wt% of the protein is vegetable protein and 10 to 50wt% of the protein is milk protein. Preferably, at least 10wt% of the protein is milk protein, at least 20wt% of the protein is milk protein, at least 30wt% of the protein is milk protein, or even at least 40wt% of the protein is milk protein. At least 50wt% of the protein is vegetable protein. Preferably, at least 60wt% of the protein is a vegetable protein, at least 70wt% of the protein is a vegetable protein, at least 80wt% of the protein is a vegetable protein, and at least 90wt% of the protein is a vegetable protein. Particularly preferably, 50 to 60wt% of the protein is vegetable protein and 40 to 50wt% of the protein is milk protein.
Preferably, the milk protein is casein, whey protein or a mixture thereof. Any milk protein source may be used. Suitable milk protein sources include, for example, concentrated milk, skim milk, whole milk, skim milk powder, whole milk powder, whey proteins (including whey protein concentrates), yogurt powder, processed soluble caseinates (processed soluble caseinate) (such as sodium caseinate), buttermilk (buttermilk), buttermilk powder, or mixtures of two or more thereof. The most preferred milk protein source is skim milk powder and/or whey protein concentrate. The milk protein source may comprise related sugars. For example, skim milk powder is typically 35wt% milk protein and 52wt% lactose, and whey protein concentrate also contains lactose as well as milk protein.
Particularly preferably, the aerated frozen confection comprises:
5 to 8wt% fat;
15 to 25wt% sugar;
0.1 to 0.6wt% of an emulsifier, and
0.5 To 3.5wt%, preferably 0.6 to 2wt% protein.
The aerated frozen confection preferably comprises from 35 to 45wt%, more preferably from 36 to 44wt%, or even from 37 to 43wt% total solids. The total solids is the sum of all ingredients except water. Methods for measuring total solids are described in ICE Cream (7 th edition, 2013, ISBN 978-1-4614-6095-4) by Goff & Hartel, page 406.
The aerated frozen confection typically comprises at least one stabilizing agent, preferably selected from locust bean gum, xanthan gum, guar gum, carrageenan, tara gum and mixtures thereof (e.g., mixtures of locust bean gum and guar gum). The amount of stabilizer in the aerated frozen confection is preferably 0.05wt% to 1wt%, 0.1wt% to 0.8wt% or 0.15wt% to 0.5wt%.
The aerated frozen confection may optionally comprise colours and/or flavourings. For example, the aerated frozen confection may comprise cocoa solids.
The aerated frozen confection of the present invention can be prepared by any suitable method. The aerated frozen confection is typically prepared by freezing a premix of ingredients (preferably a pasteurized premix) such as water, fat, sugar, emulsifiers, proteins (including vegetable proteins and optionally milk proteins) and optionally other ingredients such as stabilizers, colors and flavors. During the freezing process, air is introduced into the premix to achieve a suitable expansion ratio.
Preferably, the layer or surface of the composite product is provided by an aerated frozen confection, the layer or surface having a structure comprising ridges and grooves.
As described above, the composite confectionery product may comprise a cone (e.g. a wafer cone) filled with aerated frozen confection. Such products are typically prepared by extruding an aerated frozen confection into a cone such that the aerated frozen confection fills from the bottom (or tip) of the cone to the top thereof. Thus, the composite confectionery product has a top surface provided by an aerated frozen confection. The surface preferably has a structure comprising ridges and grooves. For example, the composite confectionery product may have a top with corrugations (fluted) wherein the top surface has a radial section defined by a ridge radiating from the centre to the edge. The ridges are separated from each other by grooves. Other attractive decorations can be created on the top surface provided by the frozen aerated confection. For example, the product may comprise a surface structure of thin walls (ridges) of aerated frozen confection, which are separated from each other by grooves, and which structure presents a spiral, rose or tulip appearance (as shown in figures 3 and 4 of WO 2013/149899 A1).
The composite confectionery product may comprise a plurality of stacked layers of confectionery, wherein at least one layer of the composite confectionery product is provided by an aerated frozen confection. Such products are typically prepared by extruding aerated frozen confections onto a moving conveyor belt. Preferably, the layer has a structure comprising ridges and grooves. This can be achieved by extruding the aerated frozen confection at a rate faster than the rate of movement of the conveyor belt, thereby folding the frozen confection on itself, forming a wave-shaped layer having a structure comprising ridges and grooves.
The composite confectionery product comprises a plurality of stacked layers of confectionery. However, the layers need not be identical, and any number of different colors or flavors can be used for the different layers. For example, some layers may be vanilla flavored, while other layers may be chocolate flavored.
Preferably, the composite confectionery product comprises at least 2 layers, more preferably at least 3 layers, at least 4 layers, at least 5 layers, even at least 6 layers of aerated frozen confection. However, an excessive number of layers is undesirable because it increases the complexity of the manufacturing process (because each layer typically requires additional dispensing nozzles). Thus, the composite confectionery product preferably comprises no more than 20 layers, more preferably no more than 18 layers, no more than 16 layers, no more than 14 layers, or even no more than 12 layers of aerated frozen confection.
It should be noted that not all layers of the composite confectionery product need to have the wavy structure described above. Indeed, preferably 1 to 8, 2 to 7, or even 3 to 6 aerated frozen confection layers have a structure comprising ridges and grooves, while the other frozen confection layers are substantially planar. For example, the composite confectionery product may comprise equal numbers of sinusoidal wave layers and substantially planar layers, or may even comprise fewer sinusoidal wave layers than substantially planar layers.
The thickness of the aerated frozen confection layer is preferably 1mm to 12mm,1.5mm to 10mm,2mm to 8mm, or even 2.5mm to 6mm.
The composite confectionery product may preferably comprise at least one additional confectionery material selected from the group consisting of a fat-based coating, a water-based coating and/or a sauce. The additional confectionery material preferably provides one or more layers having a thickness of less than 2mm, or even less than 1 mm.
When the composite confectionery product comprises a plurality of stacked layers of confectionery, the additional confectionery material is preferably arranged in a staggered manner between the frozen aerated confectionery layers. Such a composite confectionery product may comprise a first additional confectionery material (e.g. a fat-based or water-based coating which is interleaved between the layers of frozen aerated confection) and a second additional confectionery material (e.g. a sauce applied on top of the uppermost layer of the aerated frozen confection).
When the composite confectionery product comprises a cone filled with aerated frozen confection, the inner surface of the cone is preferably coated with additional confectionery material. In this embodiment, the additional confectionery material is typically a fat-based coating. Suitable fat-based coatings include chocolate, chocolate analogues and cowy Qu Qiao chocolate (couverture).
The composite confectionery product comprising a cone filled with aerated frozen confection may further comprise a sauce. For example, such a product may comprise a first additional confectionery material (i.e. a fat-based coating applied on the inner surface of the cone) and a second additional confectionery material (i.e. a sauce applied on the top surface). When the composite confectionery product has a wrinkled top, the sauce flows into the grooves between the ridges, giving the product an attractive appearance.
In a second aspect, the invention relates to a method of preparing a composite confectionery product comprising a plurality of stacked layers. The method comprises extruding one or more confectionery materials onto a moving conveyor to form the composite confectionery product. The extrusion temperature is preferably from-4 ℃ to-10 ℃, more preferably from-5 ℃ to-8 ℃.
When the aerated frozen confection has an extrusion rate faster than the movement rate of the conveyor belt, it folds upon itself, forming a wavy layer with a structure comprising ridges and grooves. When the extrusion speed of the aerated frozen confection matches the speed of the conveyor belt, a substantially planar layer is formed. The composite confectionery product preferably comprises a combination of a planar layer and a wavy layer of aerated frozen confection.
As mentioned above, the additional confectionery material is preferably arranged in a staggered manner between the frozen aerated confectionery layers. This may be achieved by spraying the additional confectionery material onto the aerated frozen confection layer and then extruding another layer of aerated frozen confection onto the additional confectionery material layer.
Finally, the invention relates to the use of the aerated frozen confection for providing a layer or surface having a structure comprising ridges and grooves, wherein the aerated frozen confection has an overrun of more than 100%, and comprises:
1 to 8wt% fat;
10 to 30wt% sugar;
0.1 to 1wt% of an emulsifier, and
0.4 To 4wt% of a protein, wherein 50 to 100wt% of the protein is a vegetable protein and 0 to 50wt% of the protein is a milk protein.
Unless otherwise indicated, a numerical range expressed in a "from x to y" format should be understood to include x and y, and any particular upper value or amount may be associated with any particular lower value or amount when a range of any numerical values or amounts is specified.
Except in the examples and comparative experiments, or where otherwise explicitly indicated, all numbers are to be understood as modified by the term "about". As used herein, the indefinite article "a" or "an" and its corresponding definite article "the" means at least one or more unless specified otherwise.
Drawings
By way of example, the invention is described with reference to the following drawings, in which:
figures 1a to 1c are schematic representations of the preparation of a cone filled with aerated frozen confection;
FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of the preparation of a composite product comprising a plurality of stacked layers;
Fig. 3a to 3d are photographs illustrating the structures of samples 1 to 4 (from example 1);
fig. 4a and 4b are photographs illustrating the structure of samples 5 and 6 (from example 2).
As described above, the composite confectionery product may comprise a cone (e.g. a wafer cone) filled with aerated frozen confection. Fig. 1 shows a schematic of the preparation of such a composite product. First, as shown in fig. 1a, a fat-based coating (1) is sprayed onto the inner surface (2) of a cone to provide a coated cone (3). For example by spraying the fat-based coating (1) from a spray nozzle (4) under pressure. Subsequently, as shown in fig. 1b, the coated cone (3) is filled with aerated frozen confection (5) by means of a dispensing nozzle (6). The aerated frozen confection fills from the bottom (or tip) of the cone to the top thereof. Fig. 1c shows a composite product (7) produced in this way. The product (7) comprises a coated cone (3) filled with a frozen aerated confection (5) and has a wrinkled top consisting of ridges (8) and grooves (9). The crumpled structure may be achieved by extruding the frozen confection through a dispensing nozzle (5) having a star-shaped opening or having an opening with intersecting slits radiating from its centre. Such apertures extrude the frozen confection in a flow having a substantially star-shaped cross-section, thereby creating a crumpled shape of the extruded frozen confection. It should be appreciated that other nozzle shapes may be used to create different configurations. For example, if the dispensing nozzle comprises an extruded plate as described in WO 2013/149899A1, the product may comprise a surface structure of thin walls (ridges) of aerated frozen confection, which are separated from each other by grooves, and the structure presents the appearance of a spiral, rose or tulip.
As described above, the composite confectionery product may comprise a plurality of stacked layers of confectionery, wherein at least one layer is an aerated frozen confection. Figure 2 shows a schematic of the preparation of such a composite product-in this schematic, the composite confectionery product comprises five layers of aerated frozen confection (two of which are wavy layers and three of which are substantially planar layers) and one layer of additional confectionery material (such as a fat-based coating or cowy Qu Qiao gram force).
The first aerated frozen confection (20) is extruded from a first slit extrusion outlet (21) onto a moving conveyor belt (22). Arrow a indicates the direction of movement of the conveyor belt. A second aerated frozen confection (23) is extruded from a second slit extrusion outlet (24). The second aerated frozen confection (23) has a faster extrusion rate than the conveyor belt (22), causing it to fold upon itself, forming a wavy layer, i.e. a layer with a structure comprising ridges and grooves. A third aerated frozen confection (25) is extruded from a third slit extrusion outlet (26). The extrusion rate of the third aerated frozen confection (25) is matched to the speed of the conveyor belt (22). Thus, the third aerated frozen confection (25) is extruded as a substantially planar layer. The spraying means (27) partially covers the newly laid third aerated frozen confection (25) layer with a thin layer of additional confection material (28). A fourth aerated frozen confection (29) is extruded from a fourth slit extrusion outlet (30). The extrusion rate of the fourth aerated frozen confection (29) is matched to the speed of the conveyor belt (22). Thus, the fourth aerated frozen confection (29) is extruded as a substantially planar layer. Finally, a fifth aerated frozen confection (31) is extruded from a fifth slit extrusion outlet (32). The fifth aerated frozen confection (31) has a faster extrusion rate than the conveyor belt (22), resulting in folding upon itself, forming a wavy layer, i.e. a layer having a structure comprising ridges and grooves. This layer therefore means that the upper surface of the composite confectionery product has a structure comprising ridges (33) and grooves (34).
Examples
These examples are intended to illustrate the invention and not to limit the invention to the examples alone.
Example 1
Aerated frozen confections were prepared in which all milk proteins were replaced with plant-based proteins. The formulation and properties of these frozen confections are summarized in table 1.
Briefly, the ingredients (excluding oil) were combined and mixed with heat (60 ℃ to 75 ℃) and then the oil was added and further mixed. The mixture was homogenized and pasteurized, then aged at 4 ℃ for 24 hours, after which it was frozen and aerated in a scraped surface heat exchanger.
TABLE 1 plant based aerated frozen confection formulation
To determine if an aerated frozen confection is capable of retaining a structured structure, the aerated frozen confection is extruded from a slit extrusion outlet onto a moving conveyor belt to create a wavy layer. The extrusion temperature was-6 ℃ to-7 ℃, the extrusion rate was 70 liters/hour, and the conveyor speed was 2 meters/minute. As shown in fig. 3a, sample 1 (expansion ratio=100%) had a poor structure, and the aerated frozen confection produced waves that were uneven and blurred in profile (ill-defined). In contrast, sample 2 (expansion=102%), sample 3 (expansion=110%) and sample 4 (expansion=118%) all had a good structure, consisting of regular and well-defined waves (see fig. 3b, 3c and 3 d).
Example 2
Aerated frozen confections were prepared in which part of the milk protein was replaced by a vegetable-based protein. The formulation and properties of these frozen confections are summarized in table 2.
Briefly, the ingredients (excluding oil) were combined and mixed with heat (60 ℃ to 75 ℃) and then the oil was added and further mixed. The mixture was homogenized and pasteurized, then aged at 4 ℃ for 24 hours, after which it was frozen and aerated in a scraped surface heat exchanger.
TABLE 2 aerated frozen confection formulation
To determine if an aerated frozen confection is capable of retaining a structured structure, the aerated frozen confection is extruded from a slit extrusion outlet onto a moving conveyor belt to create a wavy layer. The extrusion temperature was-6 ℃ to-7 ℃, the extrusion rate was 70 liters/hour, and the conveyor speed was 2 meters/minute. Both sample 5 and sample 6 had good structure, consisting of regular and well-defined waves (see fig. 4a and 4 b).
Sample 7 and sample 8 were extruded through a tube and collected in a container. The extrusion temperature was-6℃and the extrusion rate was 60 liters/hour. These samples were evaluated to determine if the gas phase was stable (i.e., the bubbles did not collapse or collapse). The results determined that both samples had excellent processability and that the gas phase exhibited good stability in each case.