METHOD FOR PRODUCING GHEE

Abstract

A method for producing ghee involves churning cream to form butter and buttermilk, which is melted and heated to a temperature of 45° C. and 90° C. Phase inversion by shearing is performed to form an oil, which is concentrated by centrifugal separation into an oil fraction and a serum fraction. The oil faction is boiled and at least one milk product is supplied. The boiled oil is clarified to produce ghee having a fat content of at least 99.0 wt. %.

Claims

1-17. (canceled)

18. A method for producing ghee, the method comprising: a. providing cream; b. churning the cream to form butter and buttermilk; c. melting the butter and heating the melted butter to a temperature of 45 and 90° C.; d. performing phase inversion of the melted butter by shearing to form a serum-containing oil; e. concentrating the serum-containing oil by centrifugal separation into an oil fraction as an intermediate product having a milk fat content less than 99.0 wt. % and a serum fraction; f. boiling the oil faction; g. supplying at least one milk product to the oil faction; and h. clarifying the boiled oil faction with the at least one milk product to produce ghee having a fat content of at least 99.0 wt. %.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the provision of cream in step a) involves providing whole or raw milk having 2-10 wt. % fat to cream and separating the whole or raw milk at a temperature of 4-65° C. to form the cream, which has 25-45 wt. % fat.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein in step b) the churning is performed by a churning machine at a temperature of 8-20° C.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein step c) the melting of the butter takes place in a plate heat exchanger, a tube heater, or a scraped heat exchanger.

22. The method of claim 18, wherein the butter melted in step c) is fed to the shearing in step d) via a container with agitator as intermediate buffer.

23. The method of claim 18, wherein the boiling in step e) is performed in a tube or a boiling kettle at a temperature between 100-130° C.

24. The method of claim 18, wherein immediately before, during, or immediately after the concentrating in step e) or the boiling in f), the at least one milk product is supplied to adjust solids-non-fat content, wherein the at least one milk product is a serum fraction, buttermilk, skim milk, alpha-serum, yogurt, or acidified milk.

25. The method of claim 18, wherein after concentrating in step e) or boiling in f), sediment is drained from a boiling kettle.

26. The method of claim 18, wherein the supplying of the at least one milk product is performed immediately before or during the boiling of the oil faction with an amount of 0.5-10 wt. % of the at least one milk product to set a defined solids-non-fat content, wherein the at least one milk product is previously separated skim milk, alpha serum, serum fraction, buttermilk, or of one or more further milk products.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein supplying the at least one milk product involves feeding serum fraction, buttermilk, skim milk, or alpha serum, which is previously separated by the steps of the method.

28. The method of claim 18, wherein the clarification in step h) is performed by a centrifuge.

29. The method of claim 18, wherein the steps a-g or a-h are performed successively, wherein execution of the steps is performed in a plant having a plurality of machine elements, wherein the plurality of machine elements are connected to one another to form a production line, such that the method steps a-g or a-h are carried out in the production line.

30. A method for producing ghee, the method comprising: a. providing cream; b. concentrating the cream to form a concentrated cream having a fat content of 65-85 wt. %; c. performing phase inversion of concentrated cream by shearing to form a serum-containing oil; d. concentrating the serum-containing oil by centrifugal separation into an oil fraction as an intermediate product having a milk fat content of less than 99.0 wt. % and a serum fraction; e. boiling the oil faction; f. supplying at least one milk product to the oil faction; and g. clarifying the boiled oil with the at least one milk product to produce ghee having a fat content of at least 99.0 wt. %.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the provision of cream in step a) involves providing whole or raw milk having 2-10 wt. % fat to cream and separating the whole or raw milk at a temperature of 4-65° C. to form the cream, which has 25-45 wt. % fat.

32. The method of claim 30, wherein the boiling in step e) is performed in a tube or a boiling kettle at a temperature between 100-130° C.

33. The method of claim 30, wherein immediately before, during, or immediately after the concentrating in step e) or the boiling in f), the at least one milk product is supplied to adjust solids-non-fat content, wherein the at least one milk product is a serum fraction, buttermilk, skim milk, alpha-serum, yogurt, or acidified milk.

34. The method of claim 30, wherein after concentrating in step e) or boiling in f), sediment is drained from a boiling kettle.

35. The method of claim 30, wherein the concentration of the cream in step b) is performed at a temperature of 45-95° C.

36. The method of claim 30, wherein the concentration of the cream in step b) is performed starting from milk with a fat content of 2-10 wt. % to cream having a fat content of 65-85 wt. %.

37. The method of claim 30, wherein the shearing of step c) is performed by a homogenizer or a shear pump.

38. The method of claim 30, wherein the supplying of the at least one milk product is performed immediately before or during the boiling of the oil faction with an amount of 0.5-10 wt. % of the at least one milk product to set a defined solids-non-fat content, wherein the at least one milk product is previously separated skim milk, alpha serum, serum fraction, buttermilk, or of one or more further milk products.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein supplying the at least one milk product involves feeding serum fraction, buttermilk, skim milk, or alpha serum, which is previously separated by the steps of the method.

40. The method of claim 30, wherein the clarification in step h) is performed by a centrifuge.

41. The method of claim 30, wherein the steps a-g or a-h are performed successively, wherein execution of the steps is performed in a plant having a plurality of machine elements, wherein the plurality of machine elements are connected to one another to form a production line, such that the method steps a-g or a-h are carried out in the production line.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

[0053] Further advantages, features and details of the invention will be apparent from the following description, in which several exemplary embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The person skilled in the art will conveniently also consider the features disclosed in combination in the drawings, the description, and the claims individually and combine them to form useful further combinations, wherein:

[0054] FIG. 1 shows a flow diagram for a first variant of a method according to the invention for the production of ghee starting from cream; and

[0055] FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram for a second variant of a method according to the invention for the production of ghee starting from whole milk.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0056] FIG. 1 shows a first method variant for the production of ghee 1. The starting material in the production is cream 2. However, an intermediate product mentioned below, such as butter 3, can also be used as a starting material.

[0057] Cream 2 typically comprises fat from 25 to 45 wt. %.

[0058] The cream 2 is first divided into butter 3 and buttermilk 6 in a churning process 100. Butter 3 has a fat content of 70 to 85 wt. %. The butter 3 is then processed further.

[0059] The butter is then melted at a temperature of between 45-90° C., ideally between 55-65° C. The melted butter is then fed inline or via a feed tank with agitator to a device for shearing the melted butter, preferably a homogenizer. In method step 800, the molten butter can then be sheared with phase transformation.

[0060] The serum-containing oil fraction thus obtained can be fed to a separator for centrifugal separation 300. In particular, the separator may be a disk separator. The terms oil and oil fraction are used synonymously in the context of the present invention.

[0061] In separation 300, the phase-converted melted butter 3, or serum-containing oil, is separated into an oil fraction 4 and a serum fraction 5. The oil fraction 4 contains between 65- to less than 99.0 wt. % fat and the serum fraction 5 between 0.5-50 wt. % fat and a high proportion of SNF (solids-non-fat).

[0062] The oil fraction 4 can be further heated up to 100° C. The terms “oil” and “oil fraction” are used synonymously in the context of the present invention.

[0063] In a subsequent boiling process 400, residual water is evaporated at a temperature between 100-130° C. and the SNF particles are boiled in a defined way, so that a specific coloration and flavor formation occurs.

[0064] In order to ensure a consistent quality of the final product, i.e., the milk fat/ghee 1 or to adapt it to different tastes, it is possible to add buttermilk 6 and/or serum fraction 5 or other milk products 7 in a concentration of 0.5-10 wt. % to the oil fraction 4 before or during boiling 400 by admixing or feeding 600.

[0065] Thus, a defined SNF content can be set, which influences the color and flavor formation. The more SNF is contained in oil fraction 4, the more color or flavor formation is perceptible in terms of taste. At this point, the flavor-enriched oil can already be called ghee.

[0066] After the boiling process 400, which can last between 30-180 min, the sediment produced during boiling is drained from the boiling kettle.

[0067] Then the clarification 500 of the milk fat is carried out by means of a filtration and/or a sieving device and/or a centrifuge, preferably a 2-phase separator, with separation of impurities 13, e.g., burnt or denatured ingredients. It is also possible to clarify the ghee directly without draining the solids.

[0068] After clarification, ghee with a fat content of at least 99.0 wt. % is then available.

[0069] FIG. 2 shows a method variant of the method according to the invention. In this case, the starting material for the production of ghee 1 with a high milk fat content of at least 99.0 wt. % is whole milk 10 or alternatively raw milk. This has a milk fat content of between 2-10 wt. % fat. In a separation process 1000, for example in a centrifugal separation process, the whole milk or raw milk is concentrated to form cream 2 with a fat content of 25-45 wt. % fat. This separation 1000 takes place at a temperature between 4-65° C. with separation of skim milk 9.

[0070] The resulting cream 2 is further concentrated by a further separation 900, preferably by means of a centrifugal separator, to a fat content of 65-85 wt. % fat with separation of a first heavy phase 8, the alpha serum. The highly concentrated cream 11 is converted from a fat-in-water emulsion to a water-in-fat emulsion by means of shearing 800, preferably in a homogenizer and/or by a shear pump. The resulting oil is then subjected to a separation process 300 inline or via a feed tank with agitator.

[0071] There, the phase-converted cream is divided into an oil fraction 12 and a serum fraction 5. The oil fraction contains between 65- to less than 99.0 wt. % fat and the serum fraction between 0.5-50 wt. % fat and a high proportion of SNF (solids-non-fat). The serum fraction 5 can be introduced into the cream by recycling 700 preferably.

[0072] The oil fraction 12 can then be further heated up to 100° C. In a subsequent boiling process 400, residual water is evaporated at a temperature between 100-130° C. and the SNF particles are boiled in a defined manner so that specific coloring and flavor formation occurs.

[0073] In order to ensure a consistent quality of the final product, i.e., a high-fat ghee 1, and/or to adapt it to different tastes, it is possible to add previously separated alpha serum 8 and/or serum 5 or another milk product 7 in a concentration of 0.5-10 wt. % to the oil fraction 12 before or during boiling 400 by admixing 600.

[0074] Thus, a defined SNF content can be set, which influences the color and flavor formation. The higher the SNF content, the more color and flavor formation occurs.

[0075] After the boiling process 400, which may last between 30-180 min, the sediment formed during boiling is drained from the boiling kettle. Then the clarification 500 of the milk fat is carried out with separation of impurities 13, in particular solids, by means of a filtration and/or sieving device and/or by means of a centrifuge, preferably a 2-phase separator. It is also possible without draining the solids to directly clarify the fraction to the final product, the ghee 1.

[0076] After clarification, ghee 1, having a fat content of at least 99.0 wt. % fat, is then present.

[0077] Since clarifiers (2-phase separator) are currently used for the ghee process and 3-phase separators are used as polishing stage for the butter oil process, a 3-phase separator can also be used for clarification in the ghee process to increase the flexibility of the process design. In this case, the heavy phase can be returned to the feed, while in the production of butter oil/AMF, the heavy phase is fed out of the process.

[0078] Thus, it is possible to polish butter oil/AMF as well as clarify ghee with one machine. In this way, both products can be produced with one process line without having to purchase a second type of machine.

[0079] Although the invention has been illustrated and described in detail by way of preferred embodiments, the invention is not limited by the examples disclosed, and other variations can be derived from these by the person skilled in the art without leaving the scope of the invention. It is therefore clear that there is a plurality of possible variations. It is also clear that embodiments stated by way of example are only really examples that are not to be seen as limiting the scope, application possibilities or configuration of the invention in any way. In fact, the preceding description and the description of the figures enable the person skilled in the art to implement the exemplary embodiments in concrete manner, wherein, with the knowledge of the disclosed inventive concept, the person skilled in the art is able to undertake various changes, for example, with regard to the functioning or arrangement of individual elements stated in an exemplary embodiment without leaving the scope of the invention, which is defined by the claims and their legal equivalents, such as further explanations in the description.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0080] 1 Ghee [0081] 2 Cream [0082] 3 Butter [0083] 4 Oil fraction [0084] 5 Serum fraction [0085] 6 Buttermilk [0086] 7 Dairy products [0087] 8 Alpha Serum [0088] 9 Skim milk [0089] 10 Whole milk [0090] 11 Concentrated cream [0091] 12 Oil fraction [0092] 13 Impurities [0093] 100 Churning [0094] 200 Melting [0095] 300 Separating [0096] 400 Boiling [0097] 500 Clarifying [0098] 600 Admixing/feeding [0099] 700 Recycling [0100] 800 Shearing [0101] 900 Separating [0102] 1000 Separating