Short texture caramel

Abstract

The present invention relates to short texture caramel containing bimodal carbohydrates ingredients that combine high molecular weight polysaccharides and at least one monosaccharide.

Claims

1. Short texture caramel, comprising: a total carbohydrate composition comprised of high molecular weight polysaccharides having a molecular weight (MW) ranging from 2500 to 6000 Da and at least one monosaccharide, wherein the high molecular weight polysaccharides are branched maltodextrins, and wherein the at least one monosaccharide is chosen from the group consisting of D-psicose and fructose, and excludes dextrose.

2. Short texture caramel of claim 1, wherein the high molecular weight polysaccharides have less than 20% in weight of DP2 and DP3 (disaccharides+trisaccharides).

3. Short texture caramel of claim 1, wherein the monosaccharide is in a range from 30% to 70% in weight (expressed on dryness) of the total carbohydrate composition.

4. Short texture caramel of claim 2, wherein the monosaccharide is in a range from 30% to 70% in weight (expressed on dryness) of the total carbohydrate composition.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(1) By “short texture caramel” is intended to refer to a caramel that is soft and of low stringiness.

(2) By “caramel” is intended to refer to confectioneries prepared by cooking of sugar, of glucose (or invert sugar), of food fat content (butyric grease, vegetable fat and/or animal grease) and of dairy proteins.

(3) Currently, to make a caramel with a short texture that machines and deposits easily requires either the inclusion of additional fat or the presence of insoluble crystals (i.e. crystallized caramel).

(4) With the growing concern for the number of overweight and obese individuals and the associated health problems, it is advantageous to limit the amount of fat added to foods.

(5) Therefore, in the case of the caramel with additional fat, the disadvantage is the high fat and high caloric content.

(6) With the need to maintain the high quality mouthfeel and taste desired by the consumer, the grained caramel is disadvantageous.

(7) In addition, the graining (=uncontrolled spontaneous crystallization or uncontrolled crystallization continuing) from the presence of insoluble crystals only occurs after cooling. Therefore, this provides no advantage for facile depositing.

(8) This invention is an improvement over standard short textured caramels in that the inclusion of additional fat is not required and the high quality mouthfeel and taste are retained.

(9) The solution proposed by the present invention is so to combine a particular DP1 sugar or a mixture of particular DP1 sugars with a relatively higher molecular weight MW carbohydrate (i.e. ranging from 2500 to 6000 Da) to create a short texture without the inclusion of additional fat or the insoluble crystals.

(10) The present invention relates to a short texture caramel comprising at least one monosaccharide and high molecular weight polysaccharides.

(11) The at least one monosaccharide is preferably selected in the group consisting of D-psicose, fructose, glucose, tagatose, xylose, mannose, arabinose, sorbose, ribose and a combination thereof. Preferably, the at least one monosaccharide is more particularly D-psicose or fructose.

(12) Preferably, the monosaccharide is in a range from 30% to 70% in weight (expressed on dryness) of the total carbohydrate composition, preferably from 40% to 60%, still more preferably from 45% to 55%.

(13) Preferably, the short texture caramel comprises less than 30% of DP2 and DP3 disaccharides, more preferably less than 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 4, 3, 2 or 1% of DP2 in dry weight of the total carbohydrate composition.

(14) Preferably, the high molecular weight polysaccharides have a molecular weight (MW) ranging from 2500 to 6000 Da.

(15) Preferably, they comprise less than 20%, 15%, 10% or 5% in weight of DP2 and DP3 (disaccharides+trisaccharides).

(16) The high molecular weight polysaccharides can be chosen in the group consisting of maltodextrins, branched maltodextrins, indigestible dextrin, maltooligosaccharides resistant dextrin and a combination thereof, and are more particularly branched maltodextrins.

(17) For instance, the high molecular weight polysaccharides can be a maltodextrin having a DE comprised in the range of 12 and 19.

(18) Alternatively, the high molecular weight polysaccharides can be a branched maltodextrin.

(19) In one embodiment, the short texture caramel comprises one, several or all the following features: a residual moisture of 7 to 12%; a fat content of 1 to 15% in weight; a lactose content of 1 to 6% in weight; a content of dairy protein of 0.75 to 15% in weight; a carbohydrate content of 30 to 60% in weight.

(20) To study the effect on the texture of caramels, of: DP1 sweeteners, it was chosen D-psicose or fructose, and high molecular weight polysaccharide, it was chosen a soluble fiber (branched maltodextrins).

(21) The expression “branched maltodextrins” is understood to mean, for the purposes of the present invention, the maltodextrins described in the document EP-A-1,006,128 and in its US counterpart (U.S. Ser. No. 09/455,009), of which the assignee is proprietor.

(22) The entire content of U.S. Ser. No. 09/455,009 is herein incorporated by reference.

(23) These branched maltodextrins have an indigestibility character which has the consequence of reducing their calorific value, by preventing their assimilation in the small intestine.

(24) Their low content of molecules having a low degree of polymerization (“DP”) also contributes to their low calorific value.

(25) Their high content of 1.fwdarw.6 glucoside linkages has the consequence of reducing their cariogenic power by reducing their assimilation by the microorganisms of the buccal cavity.

(26) This high level of 1.fwdarw.6 linkages also confers quite special prebiotic properties on them: it has indeed appeared that the bacteria of the caecum and of the colon in humans and animals, such as butyrogenic, lactic or propionic bacteria, metabolize highly branched compounds.

(27) Moreover, these branched maltodextrins promote the development of bifidogenic bacteria to the detriment of undesirable bacteria. This results in properties which are quite beneficial to the health of the consumer.

(28) As controls, it was chosen to analyze the texture of caramel that: combine D-psicose or fructose with standard maltodextrin. combine sucrose (DP2) and standard maltodextrin;

(29) As maltodextrin, it was chosen two products commercialized by ROQUETTE FRERES under the named GLUCIDEX® 12 and GLUCIDEX® 19.

(30) As fructose, it was chosen fructose syrup like: High Fructose Corn Syrup 42 (HFCS-mixture of DP1 and DP2: ˜94% (42.5% fructose and 51.5% dextrose)+3% DP2), or High Fructose Corn Syrup 55 (HFCS). The composition of HFCS-55 was ˜95% DP1 fructose and dextrose.

(31) This invention will be better understood in light of the following example which are given for illustrative purposes only and do not intend to limit the scope of the invention, which is defined by the attached claims.

EXAMPLES

(32) Methods:

(33) Stringiness is measured by scooping caramel with a 5 mL spoon and measuring the lengths of the string formed before the breaking point.

(34) The measurements were given as a number on a scale ranging from 0 to 9.

(35) The control, which was neither short nor long, was given a number 6.

(36) Long texture caramels were classified as higher than 6 (between 7 and 9), while short texture caramels were classified as much lower than 6, (preferably between 1 and 3).

(37) Stickiness was determined by puncturing the sample with a glass rod and assigning a stickiness value using a 0-9 scale.

(38) Water activity was measured with an Aqua LAB 4TE Decagon Services meter.

Example 1. Texture of Caramels Comprised of DP1 and/or DP2 Sugars and High Molecular Weight Bulking Agents

(39) The general formulation used for the experiments is given by the table 1.

(40) As high molecular weight polysaccharide, it was chosen the branched maltodextrin commercialized by ROQUETTE FRERES under the name NUTRIOSE® FM 06.

(41) TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Formulation for DP1, DP2, and DP1 + DP2 studies with NUTRIOSE ® FM 06 Ingredient (%) w/w Heavy Cream 27 NUTRIOSE ® FM06 26.8 HFCS 42/or Sucrose/or Dextrose 23.75 Evaporated Milk (w/fat) 8 Water 7.5 Butter 5.6 Lecithin 0.2 Salt 0.1 Vanilla (2x) 1 Sodium Bicarbonate 0.05 HFCS 42 is corn syrup which contains 42% of fructose.

(42) The results obtained are given by the table 2.

(43) TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Water activity, stringiness and stickiness scale Formu- Aw @ Stringiness Stickiness lation # Sweetener, Fiber 25° C. Scale Scale C1- Corn syrup solids, 0.59 6 6 Control sucrose, dextrose, without high molecular weight polysaccharide C2 HFCS 42 (DP1 + DP2) + 0.61 2 3 NUTRIOSE ® FM 06 C3 Sucrose (DP2) + 0.63 5 8 NUTRIOSE ® FM 06 C4 Dextrose (DP1) + 0.61 2 5 NUTRIOSE ® FM 06 C5 HFCS 42 (DP1 + DP2) + 0.65 1 8 GLUCIDEX ® 12 C6 HFCS 42 (DP1 + DP2) + 0.62 2 6 GLUCIDEX ® 19

(44) Conclusions:

(45) Caramels containing DP1 sweetener and NUTRIOSE® FM 06, such as those comprised by HFCS 42 and NUTRIOSE® FM 06 (C2), and dextrose and NUTRIOSE® FM 06 (C4) have low stringiness and stickiness when compared to a caramel control (C1), and similar composition containing sucrose (DP2) and NUTRIOSE FM 06 (C3).

(46) Caramels containing DP1 Sweetener (HFCS 42) and GLUCIDEX® 12 (C5) or GLUCIDEX® 19 (C6) had lower stringiness than control, and similar stringiness than DP1 sweeteners with NUTRIOSE FM 06 (C4). However, the stickiness of the formulations containing GLUCIDEX® and DP1 was equal or higher than control.

(47) Therefore, DP1 plus NUTRIOSE® FM 06 is preferred for stickiness and stringiness over DP1 and GLUCIDEX® formulations.

Example 2. Texture of Allulose or Fructose Caramels and Higher Molecular Weight Bulking Agents

(48) Various caramel compositions containing DP1 sugars and soluble corn fiber NUTRIOSE® FM® 06 were studied. Besides fiber, the main ingredients used were allulose (DP1), and High Fructose Corn Syrup 55 (HFCS). The composition of HFCS-55 was ˜95% DP1 fructose and dextrose.

(49) Table 3 shows the composition of four different formulations for caramel. One formulation is HFCS-55 based and has no fiber.

(50) This formulation was also performed replacing HFCS-55 by allulose syrup 5.

(51) Both of these formulations yielded caramels of long texture (stringiness ranging between 7 and 9 in the stringiness scale).

(52) The remaining formulations had either HFCS 55 or allulose in combination with NUTRIOSE® FM 06. These caramels had short texture (stringiness ranging between 1 and 3).

(53) TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Caramel formulations using HFCS-55, allulose, and/or NUTRIOSE ® FM 06 at constant fat content Ingredient Percentage.sup.a (%) in Formulation Allulose HFCS-55 + Allulose + Caramel Formulation HFCS-55 Syrup FM06 FM06.sup.c Heavy Cream 27.00 27.00 27.00 27.00 Evaporated Milk 8.00 8.00 8.00 8.00 (w/fat) HFCS-55 53.60 — 25.20 — Allulose Syrup — 52.00 — 24.40 NUTRIOSE ® FM06 — — 23.10 23.10 Butter 5.60 5.60 5.60 5.60 Salt 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10 Water 4.50 6.10 9.75 10.55 Lecithin 0.20 0.20 0.20 0.20 Sodium Bicarbonate — — 0.05 0.05 Vanilla (2x) 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 Total 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 Nutritional Data.sup.b per 30 g serving size: Calories (kcal) 136.10 99.90 117.90 100.90 Total 17.33 18.82 18.10 18.80 Carbohydrates (g) Sugar alcohols (g) 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Sugars (g) 16.54 18.51 8.03 8.94 Fiber (g) 0.00 0.00 8.13 8.13 Protein (g) 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 Total Fat (g) 6.68 6.68 6.68 6.69 Texture.sup.c long long Non-grained, Non-grained, (7-9) (7-9) Short (1-3) short (1-3) .sup.aCommercial basis .sup.bNutritional content calculated from ingredient specifications and/or from the USDA's National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference Release 27, when specifications were not available .sup.cSame capital letter in the same row indicates textures that were found not to be different from each other

(54) Conclusions:

(55) At constant fat content, DP1 Sweetener (allulose or HFCS-55) yields short texture caramel in the presence of NUTRIOSE® FM 06.

(56) The opposite (long texture) is achieved if NUTRIOSE® FM 06 is removed from the formulation.