PEARL SUGAR; PROCESS FOR PREPARING PEARL SUGAR

Abstract

Disclosed is pearl sugar, having a biggest dimension between 5.6 and 8.0 mm, and a dissolution time at 20 C. lying between 3 minutes and 8 minutes, or a biggest dimension of smaller than 5.6, and a dissolution time at 20 C. lying between 1 minute and 3 minutes and 30 seconds. The invention further relates to a process for the preparation of pearl sugar, using a sugar-containing raw material which is brought to a moisture content lying between 0.5 and 4.0 wt. %, an average size of between 0.40 and 1.20 mm, and whereby at most 2 wt. % of particles have a size of at most 0.20 mm.

Claims

1. Pearl sugar characterized by having a biggest dimension lying between 5.6 and 8.0 mm and a dissolution time at 20 C. lying between 3 minutes and 8 minutes.

2. Pearl sugar characterized by a biggest dimension smaller than 5.6 mm, and a dissolution time at 20 lying between 1 minute and 3 minutes and 30 seconds.

3. Pearl sugar according to claim 1, wherein the sugar in the pearl sugar consists essentially of sucrose and/or isomaltulose.

4. Pearl sugar according to claim 1, having a bulk density lying between 600 and 700 kg/m.sup.3.

5. Pearl sugar according to claim 1, having a pore radius of at least 10 m.

6. Pearl sugar according to claim 1, having a pore volume of between 120 mm.sup.3/g and 155 mm.sup.3/g.

7. A process for the preparation of pearl sugar, comprising: a preparatory step, in which a raw material containing sugar is brought to a moisture content lying between 0.5 and 4.0 wt. %, whereby the raw material has or is brought to an average size of between 0.40 and 1.20 mm and contains or is brought to contain at most 2 wt. % of particles having a size of at most 0.20 mm; a pressing step, wherein the raw material is pressed into briquettes; a drying step, wherein the briquettes are pre-dried; a maturation step, wherein the pre-dried briquettes are subjected to the action of air having relative humidity between 30 and 70% and a temperature between 15 and 35 C. for a residence time of at least 12 hours, to form dried briquettes; and a breaking step, wherein the dried briquettes are milled or broken to form pearl sugar; and optionally a sieving step, wherein the pearl sugar is brought to a defined range of particle sizes.

8. The process according to claim 7, wherein the raw material consists essentially of sucrose and/or isomaltulose.

9. The process according to claim 7 wherein the standard deviation of the average size of the particles, expressed as percentage of the average size, is at most 40%, and/or wherein the raw material contains at most 1 wt. % of particles having a size of at most 0.20 mm.

10. The process according to claim 7, wherein in the preparatory step the raw material is brought to a moisture content lying between 0.8 and 1.6 wt. %.

11. The process according to claim 7, further comprising a recirculation step wherein a portion of a side stream, comprising raw material which was not converted into briquettes during the pressing step, is used again in the preparatory step by mixing the portion of the side stream with the raw material to form a feeding mixture, whereby in the pressing step the feeding mixture is pressed into briquettes.

12. The process according to claim 7, wherein the drying step is executed in an infrared oven or in a microwave oven.

13. The process according to claim 7, wherein the preparatory step, pressing step, drying step, and maturation step are executed such that the pre-dried briquettes have a hardness lying between 150 N and 350 N.

14. The process according to claim 7, wherein the maturation step is executed with air having a relative humidity between 40 and 60% and a temperature between 20 and 30 C.

15. Pearl sugar according to claim 1, in a food product.

16. Pearl sugar according to claim 2, wherein the sugar in the pearl sugar consists essentially of sucrose and/or isomaltulose.

17. Pearl sugar according to claim 2, having a bulk density lying between 600 and 700 kg/m.sup.3.

18. Pearl sugar according to claim 2, having a pore radius of at least 10 m.

19. Pearl sugar according to claim 2, having a pore volume of between 120 mm.sup.3/g and 155 mm.sup.3/g.

20. Pearl sugar according to claim 2, in a food product.

Description

[0064] In the figures,

[0065] FIG. 1 shows an scanning electron microscope (SEM) picture of a section of a pearl sugar according to the invention;

[0066] FIG. 2 shows a SEM picture of a section of a known pearl sugar, namely pearl sugar type P4 (supplier: Tiense Suikerraffinaderij NV); compared to the pearl sugar of the invention, the known pearl sugar shows a significant higher degree of very fine particles and also significantly more breakdown of the main crystal structures;

[0067] FIG. 3 shows a briquette according to the invention.

[0068] The invention will be illustrated by means of the following Examples and Comparative Experiments, without being limited to it.

EXAMPLE 1

[0069] A raw material consisting of sucrose having an MA of 0.67 mm, a CV of 29%, 0.3 wt. % of particles of at most 0.20 mm, and 0.03 wt. % moisture was brought to a moisture content of 1.2 wt. %. The raw material was pressed in a roll press to briquettes having an average weight of 13.5 grams. The briquettes were pre-dried in a microwave oven to a moisture content of 0.6 wt. %, immediately after which they were leftin a relaxation stepin ambient air and at room temperature for about 20 minutes, leading to a further reduction of the moisture content to 0.35 wt. %. At that point, the hardness of the briquettes was on average 90 N. The pre-dried briquettes were now subjected to the maturation step, in which the briquettes were exposed to air of 25 C. and having a relative humidity of 50% during 7 days, after which the moisture content of the dried briquettes was 0.05 wt. % and their hardness was 225 N. The dried briquettes (see FIG. 3) were then subjected to a breaking step in a lump breaker, whereby pearl sugar was formed. The pearl sugar had a dissolution time in Test A of 5 minutes and 45 seconds, a pore radius of 28 m, a pore volume of 149 mm.sup.3/g, a bulk density of 670 kg/m.sup.3, and a grain density of 1.27 g/cm.sup.3. A SEM-picture of part of one individual pearl sugar is shown in FIG. 1.

Comparative Experiment A

[0070] Measurements were done on commercially available pearl sugar of type P4 (Tiense Suikerraffinaderij). The known pearl sugar had a dissolution time in Test A of 10 minutes and 30 seconds, a pore volume of 104 mm.sup.3/g, a pore radius of 7 m, a bulk density of 730 kg/m.sup.3, and a grain density of 1.36 g/cm.sup.3.

[0071] A measurement was furthermore done on a dried briquette, made not according to the invention and leading to the known P4-type of pearl sugar. The known briquette had a hardness of 413 N.

[0072] From Example 1 and Comparative Experiment A it follows that the pearl sugar according to the invention exhibits significantly different properties as compared to the known pearl sugar.

EXAMPLE 2

[0073] The pearl sugar as prepared in Example 1 was sieved to the size specifications of pearl sugar type P4 (Tiense Suikerraffinaderij), i.e.: at least 70 wt. % is between 5.6 mm and 8 mm, at most 20 wt. % is smaller than 5.6 mm, and at most 15 wt. % is bigger than 8 mm. This portion was used to prepare Lige Waffels. The following ingredients were used:

TABLE-US-00001 Ingredient Amount Pastry flour 750 g Milk (lukewarm) 270 ml Fresh yeast 70 g Eggs 3 Egg yolks 2 Vanilla sugar 4 g Butter 400 g Pearl sugar 500 g Salt a pinch of salt

[0074] All ingredients except for the butter and the pearl sugar were mixed together to form a dough. The dough was left to rest for 30 minutes. The butter and pearl sugar were then kneaded into the dough: first the butter, then the pearl sugar. The dough was divided into portions of about 100 grams; these portions were left to rest for 15 minutes, after which waffles were baked in a standard electrical waffle iron. The baking time was three minutes.

[0075] The waffles were evaluated by slicing them in two (along the plane surface) and determining how many of the pearl sugars were hard or soft. A pearl sugar in a Lige waffle was considered hard when it exhibited a brittle-crunchy behaviour when probed with a toothpick and only a very small degree of melting. A pearl sugar in a Lige waffle was considered soft when it had melted somewhat but still showed some crunchy behaviour.

[0076] Of the pearl sugars in the waffles, 41% was considered to be hard, while 59% was considered to be soft. No pearls had melted away completely.

Comparative Experiment B

[0077] Lige waffles were prepared according to the method as described in Example 2, with however the difference that the pearl sugar used was not pearl sugar according to the invention but was pearl sugar type P4 (supplier: Tiense Suikerraffinaderij). Upon evaluation of the waffles, 60% of the pearls sugars were considered to be hard, while 40% were considered to be soft. No pearls had melted away completely.

[0078] From Example 2 and Comparative Experiment B it follows that the pearl sugar according to the invention can exhibit a significantly different behaviour in use as compared to the known pearl sugar.

EXAMPLE 3

[0079] During preparation of the pearl sugar as given in Example 1, the breaking step led also to a fraction S of pearl sugar having smaller dimensions. The S fraction pearl sugar met the size requirements of the P1 pearl sugar product from Tiense Suikerraffinaderij NV, and was thus suitable as such for Test B. Fraction S was submitted to Test B. The resulting dissolution time was 2 minutes and 23 seconds.