The invention relates to a system for aerating a liquid food product, wherein the system comprises a bubble generator (5) for generating bubbles in a liquid food product flow. The bubble generator (5) comprises a wall (23) having gas transmissive pores, which wall separates an air supply space (24) from the liquid food product flow, wherein an air supply (4) is provided for supplying air to the air supply space (24). The air supply (4) comprises an air drying device (7) for drying air, preferably dehumidifying air, to be supplied to the air supply space (24) and/or a container (8) containing pre-dried air, said container (8) being arranged for supplying dried air to the air supply space.

The invention relates to a powder composition for preparing a food product, to a method for preparing said powder composition, to a method for preparing a food product from said powder composition, to a food product obtainable by said method, and to a method for keeping gas bubbles in bulk liquid.

Disclosed is a process in which a viscous initial product having both a temperature of between 5 C. and 70 C. and a viscosity greater than 100 mPa.Math.s is provided, by way of a pump provided upstream of at least one aerator, the viscous initial product is transferred as it is to the at least one aerator in which the viscous initial product is mixed with a gas, injected into the aerator, so as to obtain a liquid foam continuously exiting the aerator, andthe liquid foam continuously exiting the at least one aerator is continuously pushed into the inlet of a treatment device which continuously divides and then dries this liquid foam so as to obtain a powdered porous product which has a solids content greater than 90%.

A beverage supply apparatus 100 includes milk tank 3, milk flow path L3, pump 7 for delivering a beverage, air flow path L6, pump 9 for supplying air configured to be capable of changing the discharge flow rate, release path L7 for discharging air flowing through air flow path L6 to the outside, on-off valve V7, first throttle part 16, and second throttle part 17. One end of release path L7 is connected to release point Z8 in air flow path L6, and the other end is open to the outside. On-off valve V7 is disposed in a flow path extending between release point Z8 and pump 9 in air flow path L6, and opens and closes this flow path. Throttle part 16 is disposed in a flow path extending downstream of release point Z8 in air flow path L6, and throttle part 17 is disposed in release path L7.

The present invention relates to a method for preparing a spray-dried dairy powder for forming a milk beverage when dissolved in a beverage medium, the method comprising: forming a dairy composition by: (i) adding a sugar composition to a dairy liquid; or (ii) blending a sugar solution with a dairy liquid, and spray-drying the dairy composition to form a spray-dried dairy powder comprising amorphous sugar, wherein the sugar composition or the sugar solution provides from 10 to 40 wt. % sugar by weight of the spray-dried dairy powder and wherein the sugar is selected from sucrose, lactose and a mixture thereof.

With a method for heating in particular milk or milk foam, in which the milk or the milk/air mixture is conveyed through a passage opening and hot steam is conveyed through at least one steam line transversely into this passage opening. The passage opening and the at least one inlet opening opening transversely into the steam line, the steam pressure in this and the pressure and the pressure in the passage opening with flowing milk or milk/air mixture are so coordinated that the hot steam at the at least one transverse inlet opening condenses in the passage opening directly on contact with the milk or the milk/air mixture. Consequently the additional energy produced by the phase change from steam to condensate water is transmitted directly as heat to the heat in the milk or the milk/air mixture.

Using a steam lance, the water vapor and compressed air are supplied to the milk via two pipelines which are separated from one another up to the outlet from the steam lance, wherein only steam is supplied through the outer pipeline at a vapor velocity necessary for breaking up the protein molecules of the milk, whereas a steam-air mixture is supplied through the inner pipeline to enrich the milk with the necessary air proportion, and is only mixed with the steam from the outer pipeline in the milk to be frothed. The steam lance includes the two pipelines arranged coaxially to one another, and an end piece which separates them from one another in the outlet area and has outlet openings for the two media, the steam and the steam-air mixture, designed as radial nozzles which are inclined horizontally and also relative to one another.

The present invention relates to a beverage composition comprising a beverage mix component and a milk powder, wherein at least part of the milk powder comprises caseins and whey proteins wherein the milk powder has a mean diameter value Dv50 of at least 1 pm as measured by laser diffraction. The invention also relates to a process for producing and dispensing such a beverage composition. A capsule holding such a composition is also taught.

A method for producing different types of milk-air emulsions with a milk-air emulsion generating device, comprising: producing the milk-air emulsions in dependence on at least one determined physical material characteristic of the milk-air emulsion.

A device for producing milk foam uses Couette flow and a high shear stress that is accordingly applied to a milk-air mixture between two concentrically arranged cylinders. The cylinders are rotated relatively to another. The high shear stress leads to an emulsion of the milk and the air, which is the basis for a foaming effect, once the emulsion flows out of a gap between the two cylinders and expands. The parameters of the device that mainly influence the foaming effect are the width of the gap and the relative rotation speed of the cylinders.