CONCENTRATE FOR MILKY BEVERAGES, BEVERAGE CAPSULE AND METHOD OF MAKING BEVERAGE WITH CAPSULE

Abstract

The present invention provides a method of producing a liquid dairy concentrate, the method comprising: mixing cream and micro-filtered milk to form a liquid dairy ingredient, wherein the liquid dairy ingredient has a fat content of at least 30 wt % and a fat to protein ratio of from 5:1 to 15:1 by weight; concentrating the liquid dairy ingredient by ultrafiltration and, optionally, diafiltration to obtain a concentrated liquid dairy ingredient as a retentate; adding sucrose and/or trisodium citrate to form a modified retentate; adding one or more further ingredients to the modified retentate to form a liquid dairy concentrate; cooling the liquid dairy concentrate to at most 8? C.; filling the cooled liquid dairy concentrate into a beverage container; and sealing and retorting the liquid dairy concentrate in the beverage container.

Claims

1: A method of producing a liquid dairy concentrate, the method comprising: mixing cream and micro-filtered milk to form a liquid dairy ingredient, wherein the liquid dairy ingredient has a fat content of at least 30 wt % and a fat to protein ratio of from 5:1 to 15:1 by weight, concentrating the liquid dairy ingredient by ultrafiltration and, optionally, diafiltration to obtain a concentrated liquid dairy ingredient as a retentate; adding sucrose and/or trisodium citrate to form a modified retentate; adding one or more further ingredients to the modified retentate to form a liquid dairy concentrate; cooling the liquid dairy concentrate to at most 8? C., filling the cooled liquid dairy concentrate into a beverage container, and sealing and retorting the liquid dairy concentrate in the beverage container.

2: A method according to claim 1, wherein the liquid dairy ingredient has a fat to protein ratio of from 8:1 to 12:1, and preferably about 10:1.

3: A method according to claim 1, wherein the step of concentrating the liquid dairy ingredient by ultrafiltration and, optionally, diafiltration, and/or the step of adding sucrose and/or trisodium citrate to form a modified retentate, is conducted at a temperature of at least 50? C., preferably from 50 to 55? C.

4: A method according to claim 1, wherein the step of adding one or more further ingredients to the modified retentate to form a liquid dairy concentrate is conducted at a temperature of at least 70? C., preferably from 75 to 79? C.

5: The method according to claim 1, wherein the liquid dairy concentrate is stored after cooling and before filling at a temperature of at most 8? C. for at least 2 minutes and, preferably, for less than 24 hours.

6: A method according to claim 1, wherein after adding sucrose and/or trisodium citrate to form a modified retentate and before adding one or more further ingredients to the modified retentate to form a liquid dairy concentrate, the modified retentate is cooled to a temperature of at most 8? C.

7: A method according to claim 6 of producing two or more liquid dairy concentrates having different flavours, wherein, in the step of adding one or more further ingredients to the modified retentate to form a liquid dairy concentrate, two or more portions of the modified retentate are treated separately to obtain liquid dairy concentrates with different flavours, wherein the liquid dairy concentrates are then separately subjected to the cooling, filling, sealing and retorting steps.

8: The method according to claim 6, wherein the modified retentate is stored at a temperature of at most 8? C. for at least 2 minutes and, preferably, for less than 24 hours.

9: A method according to claim 1, wherein the beverage container is a capsule for use in a beverage preparation machine.

10: The method according to claim 1, wherein the one or more further ingredients are selected from buffers, stabilisers, flavourings, minerals and casein.

11: The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of adding one or more further ingredients to the modified retentate to form a liquid dairy concentrate further comprises homogenising the liquid dairy concentrate, preferably a two-stage high-pressure homogenisation.

12: The method according to any claim 1, wherein the retentate has from 40 to 50 wt % solids, and/or at least 38 wt % fat and/or less than 1 wt % lactose.

13: The method according to claim 1, wherein sucrose is added, preferably in granulated form, in an amount of from 10 to 40 wt %.

14: A sealed beverage container containing liquid dairy concentrate obtainable by the method of claim 1.

15: A method of preparing a beverage, the method comprising introducing water into the sealed beverage container of claim 14 to dilute the liquid dairy concentrate to form a beverage and dispensing the beverage from the container.

Description

[0083] The invention will now be described in relation to the following non-limiting figures, in which:

[0084] FIG. 1 shows a coffee beverage preparation system (1).

[0085] FIG. 2 shows an example of the process steps of a prior art method.

[0086] FIG. 3 shows an example of the process steps of the prior art method of PCT/IB2015/000750.

[0087] FIG. 4 shows an example of the process steps according to the method described herein.

[0088] In FIG. 2, the flow chart boxes are as follows: [0089] Asupply of milk [0090] BUltrafiltration processing [0091] CHomogenisation (2 stage) [0092] DCooling to less than 12? C. [0093] EStorage for less than 72 Hours at less than 8? C. [0094] FA mixing step for adding water, salt and stabilisers (Etc.) [0095] GStorage for less than 12 Hours at less than 12? C. [0096] HCapsule filling [0097] IPasteurisation at 124? C. for 13 minutes

[0098] In FIG. 3, the flow chart boxes are as follows (like reference numerals have been used for clarity): [0099] Asupply of cream with about 40% fat [0100] BUltrafiltration and diafiltration processing, with the removal of lactose.

[0101] Step B results in a concentrate having about 50% solids, 2-3% protein, 44%+fat and less than 1% lactose.

[0102] After step B, sucrose is added in step J. [0103] DCooling to less than 12? C. [0104] EStorage for less than 72 Hours at less than 8? C. [0105] FA mixing step for adding water, salt and casein (Etc.) [0106] C Homogenisation (2 stage) [0107] GStorage for less than 12 Hours at less than 12? C. [0108] HCapsule filling [0109] IPasteurisation at 124? C. for 13 minutes

[0110] In FIG. 4, the flow chart boxes are as follows (like reference numerals have been used for clarity): [0111] Asupply of cream with about 40% fat [0112] Ksupply of MF milk and mixing with the cream to a desired F/P ratio [0113] BUltrafiltration and diafiltration processing, with the removal of lactose. [0114] JAdding sucrose [0115] DCooling to less than 8? C. [0116] EStorage for less than 72 Hours at less than 8? C. [0117] FA mixing step for adding water, salt and flavours (Etc.) [0118] C Homogenisation (2 stage) [0119] GStorage for less than 12 Hours at less than 12? C. [0120] HCapsule filling and sealing [0121] ISterilisation at 124? C. for 13 minutes

EXAMPLES

[0122] The invention will now be described in relation to the following non-limiting examples.

Example 1

[0123] A cream-based concentrate was prepared and filled into beverage capsules. The concentrate was then sterilized. The recipe for the trial formulation was as follows:

TABLE-US-00001 Ingredient Wt % Ultrafiltrated and diafiltrated cream/MF 58.415 concentrate Salt-Sodium Chloride 1.173 Sugar, Fine, Category 2 25.51 DAIRY MINERALS 1.531 STABILISER 0.663 Trisodium Citrate Dihydrate 0.187 Water 12.52 Total 100.0

[0124] The composition of Example 1 was produced as follows. A cream ingredient having a fat content of about 40 wt % was blended with a Casein Enriched Skim Milk concentrate and subjected to ultrafiltration and diafiltration to achieve a total solids of approximately 50 wt % and a low lactose content. These filtration steps were conducted at approximately 50? C.

[0125] The retentate was stored at 8? C. for up to 72 hours. The retentate was then mixed in a mixer with powders according to above formulas at 73? C. for a minimum mixing time of at least 7 minutes.

[0126] The mixture was then passed to a homogenizer and maintained at 73? C. It was homogenised at 200/20 bar in the 2 stages.

[0127] The mixture was then cooled and filled into beverage capsules at a temperature of 73? C.<x<50? C. at 26.0 g fill weights. The closed capsules were then retorted at 126? C. for 13 minutes.

[0128] As demonstrated in this Example, with reference to Comparative Examples 1 and 2 (below), the inclusion of the microfiltered milk before the concentration step reduced the final lactose content and led to a fresher taste with lower cooked flavours.

Comparative Example 1

[0129] A cream-based concentrates were prepared in accordance with the method of PCT/IB2015/000750 and filled into beverage capsules. The concentrate was then pasteurised. The recipes for the trial formulation was as follows:

TABLE-US-00002 Ingredient Wt % Ultrafiltrated and diafiltrated cream 37.43 concentrate Salt-Sodium Chloride 1.2 Sugar, Fine, Category 2 17.0 DAIRY MINERALS 2.2 STABILISER 0.88 Trisodium Citrate Dihydrate 0.175 Flavouring 0.1 Casein Enriched Skim Milk concentrate 10 Water 31.03 Total 100.0

[0130] The composition of Comparative Example 1 was produced as follows. A cream ingredient having a fat content of about 40 wt % was subjected to ultrafiltration and diafiltration to achieve a total solids of approximately 50 wt % and a low lactose content. These filtration steps were conducted at approximately 50? C.

[0131] The retentate was stored at 60? C. for up to 6 hours. The retentate was then mixed in a mixer with powders and flavour according to above formulas at 65? C. for a minimum mixing time of at least 7 minutes.

[0132] The mixture was then passed to a homogenizer and maintained at 65? C. It was homogenised at 142/20 bar in the 2 stages.

[0133] The mixture was then cooled to <10? C. in a wide gap plate and frame heat exchangers, and then filled into beverage capsules at a temperature of 5? C.<x<10? C. at 26.5 g fill weights. The closed capsules were then retorted at 124? C. for 11 to 14 minutes.

Comparative Example 2

[0134] A cream-based concentrates were prepared in accordance with the method of PCT/IB2015/000750 and filled into beverage capsules. The concentrate was then pasteurised. The recipes for the trial formulation was as follows:

TABLE-US-00003 Ingredient Wt % Ultrafiltrated and diafiltrated cream 56.6 concentrate Salt-Sodium Chloride 1 Sugar, Fine, Category 2 25 DAIRY MINERALS 1.5 STABILISER 0.65 Trisodium Citrate Dihydrate 0.242 Casein Enriched Skim Milk concentrate 15 Water 0 Total 100.0

[0135] The composition of Comparative Example 2 was produced as follows. A cream ingredient having a fat content of about 40 wt % was subjected to ultrafiltration and diafiltration to achieve a total solids of approximately 50 wt % and a low lactose content. These filtration steps were conducted at approximately 50? C.

[0136] The retentate was then mixed with the sugar and trisodium citrate and cooled to a temperature of less than 8? C. for up to 72 hours.

[0137] The retentate was then reheated and mixed in a mixer with the remaining powders and flavour according to above formulas at 65? C. for a minimum mixing time of at least 7 minutes.

[0138] The mixture was then passed to a homogenizer and maintained at 65? C. It was homogenised at 142/20 bar in the 2 stages.

[0139] The mixture was then cooled to <10? C. in a wide gap plate and frame heat exchangers, and then filled into beverage capsules at a temperature of 5? C.<x<10? C. at 26.5 g fill weights. The closed capsules were then retorted at 124? C. for 11 to 14 minutes.

Comparative Example 3

[0140] The composition was produced as follows. A cream ingredient having a fat content of about 40 wt % was subjected to ultrafiltration and diafiltration to achieve a total solids of approximately 50 wt % and a low lactose content. These filtration steps were conducted at approximately 50? C.

[0141] The retentate was supplemented with microfiltrated milk concentrate and then passed to a homogenizer and maintained at 65? C. It was homogenised at 142/20 bar in the 2 stages.

[0142] The homogenised retentate was stored at 8? C. for 72 hours.

[0143] The retentate was then to be mixed in a mixer with powders and flavourings. However, the concentrate had formed a butter during storage.

Comparative Example 4

[0144] The composition was produced as follows. A cream ingredient having a fat content of about 40 wt % was subjected to ultrafiltration and diafiltration to achieve a total solids of approximately 50 wt % and a low lactose content. These filtration steps were conducted at approximately 50? C.

[0145] The retentate was passed to a homogenizer and maintained at 65? C. It was homogenised at 142/20 bar in the 2 stages.

[0146] The homogenised retentate was stored at 8? C. for 72 hours.

[0147] The retentate was then to be mixed in a mixer with powders and flavourings. However, the concentrate had formed a butter during storage.

Comparative Example 5

[0148] The composition was produced as follows. A cream ingredient having a fat content of about 40 wt % was subjected to ultrafiltration and diafiltration to achieve a total solids of approximately 50 wt % and a low lactose content. These filtration steps were conducted at approximately 50? C.

[0149] The retentate was then mixed with the sugar (sucrose) and trisodium citrate and cooled to a temperature of less than 8? C. for up to 72 hours.

[0150] The retentate was then mixed (at 50? C.) in a mixer with the remaining powders and flavour according to above formulas for a minimum mixing time of at least 7 minutes.

[0151] The mixture was then passed to a homogenizer. It was homogenised at 142/20 bar in the 2 stages.

[0152] The mixture was then cooled to <10? C. in a wide gap plate and frame heat exchangers, and then filled into beverage capsules at a temperature of 5? C.<x<10? C. at 26.5 g fill weights. The closed capsules were then retorted at 124? C. for 11 to 14 minutes.

[0153] In this example, some failure was seen in the process as the finished goods were slightly darker and more coffee intense.

[0154] Although preferred embodiments of the invention have been described herein in detail, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that variations may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the invention or of the appended claims.