FROZEN CONFECTION

Abstract

A frozen confection comprising: 25 wt% to 40 wt% freezing point depressants having a number average molecular weight of 200 g mol.sup.-1 to 275 g mol.sup.-1; distilled monoglycerides in an amount of 0.04 wt% to 1 wt%; and soluble fibre in an amount of 1.4 wt% to 15 wt%.

Claims

1. A frozen confection comprising: freezing point depressants in an amount of 25 wt% to 40 wt%, wherein the number average molecular weight <M>.sub.n of the freezing point depressants is 200 g mol.sup.-1 to 275 g mol.sup.-1; distilled monoglycerides in an amount of 0.04 wt% to 1 wt%; and soluble fibre in an amount of 1.4 wt% to 15 wt%.

2. The frozen confection as claimed in claim 1 wherein the frozen confection comprises freezing point depressants in an amount of 27 wt% to 36 wt%.

3. The frozen confection as claimed in claim 1 wherein the number average molecular weight <M>.sub.n of the freezing point depressants is 204 g mol-.sup.1 to 245 g mol-.sup.1.

4. The frozen confection as claimed in claims 1 wherein the frozen confection comprises soluble fibre in an amount of 1.8 wt% to 12 wt%.

5. The frozen confection as claimed in claims 1 wherein the soluble fibre contains less than 10 wt% of saccharides.

6. The frozen confection as claimed in claims 1 wherein the soluble fibre is soluble corn fibre.

7. The frozen confection as claimed in claims 1 wherein the frozen confection comprises distilled monoglycerides in an amount of 0.05 wt% to 0.5 wt%.

8. The frozen confection as claimed in claims 1 comprising fat in an amount of 1 wt% to 15 wt%.

9. The frozen confection as claimed in claims 1 comprising protein in an amount of 0.5 wt% to 10 wt%.

10. The frozen confection as claimed in claim 9 wherein the protein comprises pulse protein and milk protein and the weight ratio of pulse protein to milk protein is preferably from 1:2 to 1:10.

11. The frozen confection as claimed in claim 10 wherein the pulse protein is selected from: bean protein, lentil protein, lupin protein, pea protein, soy protein, and mixtures thereof.

12. The frozen confection as claimed in claims 1 wherein the frozen confection additionally comprises an emulsifier selected from: acetic acid esters of mono- and/or diglycerides, lactic acid esters of mono- and/or diglycerides, sucrose esters, mono-diglycerides, and mixtures thereof, preferably in an amount of 0.05 wt% to 1 wt%.

13. A packaged frozen product wherein the frozen confection as claimed in claims 1 is packaged in a container comprising a product outlet and a moveable wall.

14. The packaged frozen product as claimed in claim 13 wherein the container has a volume of 100 ml to 500 ml.

15. The packaged frozen product as claimed in claim 13 wherein the frozen confection packed in the container has a mass of 50 g to 325 g.

Description

FIGURES

[0050] The cartridges that were used in the examples are as illustrated in the figures, in which:

[0051] FIG. 1a is a cross-sectional view of the cartridge; and

[0052] FIG. 1b is a view of the end of the cartridge comprising the aperture.

[0053] FIG. 1a shows the cartridge in cross section. The total length of the cartridge A-A is 97 mm. The length B-B is 90 mm (this is the length from the top of the cartridge to the point at which the begins to taper towards the aperture). The end of the cartridge comprising the aperture is 36 mm in diameter (C-C) and the internal diameter of the main body of the cartridge is 52 mm (D-D). The aperture is located at the bottom of the cartridge as orientated in FIG. 1a. FIG. 1b illustrates the shape of the aperture, which has the shape of a regular seven-pointed star, in which E-E is 25 mm and F-F is 9 mm.

EXAMPLES

[0054] The following examples are intended to illustrate the invention and are not intended to limit the invention to those examples per se.

Example 1

[0055] Four ice creams were made according to the formulations in Table 1. The ice cream samples differed from each other in that each one was formulated using a different emulsifier. The emulsifier in Sample 1 was distilled monoglycerides (supplied by DuPont Nutrition and Biosciences under the Dimodan® brand). The emulsifier in Sample 2 was ACETEM, the emulsifier in Sample 3 was CITREM, and the emulsifier in Sample 4 was LACTEM (all supplied by DuPont Nutrition and Biosciences under the Grinsted® brand).

TABLE-US-00001 ice cream formulations Ingredient Amount (wt%) Coconut oil 8.0 Skimmed milk powder 6.9 Dextrose monohydrate 13.0 Corn syrup (DE63, 78% solids) 15.5 Erythritol 3.0 Stabiliser 0.27 Emulsifier 0.4 Flavour 0.28 Colour 0.01 Water to 100 Freezing point depressants 30.4 wt% <M>.sub.n 213 g mol.sup.-1

[0056] Briefly, the ingredients (excluding coconut oil) were combined and mixed with heating (60° C. to 75° C.), followed by addition of the coconut oil and further mixing. The mixes were pasteurised and homogenised. The mixes were aged overnight at 4° C. and aerated in a scraped surface heat exchanger (standard ice cream freezer). The air input was controlled to give a target overrun of 100%, and freezing was controlled to give a target extrusion temperature of -9° C.

[0057] The frozen mixes were filled directly into pouches with flexible walls having a volume of 400 ml. The pouch wall was made of a laminate film comprising polyethylene terephthalate, orientated polyamide and polyethylene layers, and the shape of the pouch is as illustrated in FIG. 3 of WO 2018/224328 A1. The product outlet was a spout with an internal diameter of 22 mm. Approximately 230 g of ice cream was filled into each pouch through the spout and then a closure cap screwed in place. The ice cream was hardened by placing the pouches in a blast freezer.

Example 2

[0058] Pouches containing samples prepared in Example 1 were transferred to a domestic freezer (-18° C.) for several days before testing. The force required to dispense the products was measured, and the overrun of the extruded products was determined. The dispensing force was measured by squeezing each pouch between the plates of an Instron® universal testing machine. Overrun was measured by dispensing a set mass of product, hardening the product by cooling in a dry ice environment, and then determining the volume of the hardened product (by measuring the volume of water displaced when the hardened product was submerged in an iced water bath). The results are shown in Table 2.

TABLE-US-00002 physical assessment results Sample Emulsifier Dispensing force Overrun 1 Distilled monoglycerides 250 N 93 % 2 ACETEM 310 N 97 % 3 CITREM 360 N 92 % 4 LACTEM 280 N 96 %

[0059] The measured dispensing forces indicate that extrusion from the pouch by hand would be achievable for all four products (i.e. a dispensing force of less than 600 N). None of the samples showed a significant overrun loss on being dispensed.

Example 3

[0060] Ice cream samples were made according to the formulations in Tables 3a and 3b. Samples 5 and 9 did not contain any soluble fibre. Samples 6 and 10 contained 2 wt% soluble corn fibre (Promitor® 70 supplied by Tate & Lyle). Samples 7 and 11 contained 2 wt% maltodextrin (C*Dry MD 01958 supplied by Cargill). Samples 8 and 12 contained 1 wt% soluble corn fibre (Promitor® 70) and 1 wt% maltodextrin (C*Dry MD 01958).

TABLE-US-00003 ice cream formulations Ingredient (wt%) Sample 5 6 7 8 Coconut oil 8.0 8.0 8.0 8.0 Skimmed milk powder 6.8 6.8 6.8 6.8 Dextrose monohydrate 13.0 13.0 13.0 13.0 Corn syrup (DE63, 78% solids) 15.5 15.5 15.5 15.5 Erythritol 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 Soluble corn fibre - 2.0 - 1.0 Maltodextrin - - 2.0 1.0 Stabiliser 0.27 0.27 0.27 0.27 Emulsifier (LACTEM) 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 Flavour 0.28 0.28 0.28 0.28 Colour 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 Water to 100 to 100 to 100 to 100 Freezing point depressants (wt%) 30.3 30.3 30.3 30.3 <M>.sub.n (g mol.sup.-1) 213 213 213 213

TABLE-US-00004 ice cream formulations Ingredient (wt%) Sample 9 10 11 12 Coconut oil 8.0 8.0 8.0 8.0 Skimmed milk powder 6.8 6.8 6.8 6.8 Dextrose monohydrate 13.0 13.0 13.0 13.0 Corn syrup (DE63, 78% solids) 15.5 15.5 15.5 15.5 Erythritol 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 Soluble corn fibre - 2.0 - 1.0 Maltodextrin - - 2.0 1.0 Stabiliser 0.27 0.27 0.27 0.27 Emulsifier (LACTEM) 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 Flavour 0.42 0.35 0.35 0.42 Colour 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 Water to 100 to 100 to 100 to 100 Freezing point depressants (wt%) 30.3 30.3 30.3 30.3 <M>.sub.n (g mol.sup.-1) 213 213 213 213

[0061] Briefly, the ingredients (excluding coconut oil) were combined and mixed with heating (60° C. to 75° C.), followed by addition of the coconut oil and further mixing. The mixes were pasteurised and homogenised. The mixes were aged overnight at 4° C. and aerated in a scraped surface heat exchanger (standard ice cream freezer). The air input was controlled to give a target overrun of 100%, and freezing was controlled to give a target extrusion temperature of -10° C.

[0062] The frozen mixes were filled into cartridges (as illustrated in FIG. 1). After filling, the ice cream was hardened by placing the cartridges in a blast freezer.

Example 4

[0063] Cartridges containing the samples prepared in Example 3 were transferred to a domestic freezer for several days before testing. Filled cartridges were equilibrated to the appropriate temperature before the assessment, and the force required to dispense the products was measured. An Instron® was used (fitted with an adaptor to house the cartridge), with the plunger was lined up against the lid of the cartridge (shaped to correspond to the tapered portion of the cartridge). Samples were extruded through the cartridge aperture, and the force required to extrude the samples was measured. The results are shown in Table 4.

TABLE-US-00005 physical assessment results Sample Soluble fibre (wt %) Dispensing force (N) corn fibre maltodextrin -22° C. -20° C. -18° C. 5 - - -/- 94 76 6 2 - 153 -/- 71 7 - 2 183 -/- 83 8 1 1 -/- 81 68 9 - - 161 -/- 78 10 2 - -/- 110 105 11 - 2 -/- 89 84 12 1 1 -/- 88 63

[0064] The increase in dispensing force for extrusion at -20° C. compared to extrusion at -18° C. and/or the dispensing force for extrusion at -20° C. is smaller for samples comprising soluble fibre.

Example 5

[0065] Five ice creams were made according to the formulations in Table 5.

TABLE-US-00006 ice cream formulations Ingredient (wt%) Sample 13 14 15 16 17 Coconut oil 8.0 8.0 8.0 8.0 8.0 Skimmed milk powder 6.8 6.8 6.8 6.8 6.8 Dextrose monohydrate 13.0 13.0 13.0 13.0 13.0 Corn syrup (DE63, 78% solids) 15.5 15.5 15.5 15.5 15.5 Erythritol 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 Soluble corn fibre 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 Pea protein 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 Stabiliser 0.27 0.27 0.27 0.27 0.27 Distilled monoglycerides 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.08 0.08 Sucrose ester - 0.1 - - - LACTEM - - 0.1 - - Mono-diglycerides - - - 0.12 0.32 Flavour 0.35 0.35 0.35 0.35 0.35 Colour 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 Water to 100 to 100 to 100 to 100 to 100

[0066] All of the samples contained soluble corn fibre (Promitor® 70 supplied by Tate & Lyle), and distilled monoglycerides (supplied by DuPont Nutrition and Biosciences under the Dimodan® brand). Samples 14 to 17 contained an additional emulsifier in combination with distilled monoglycerides. For Sample 14 this was sucrose ester (S-1670 from Mitsubishi Chemicals). For Sample 14 this was LACTEM, and for Samples 15 and 16 this was mono-diglycerides (all supplied by DuPont Nutrition and Biosciences under the Grinsted® brand).

[0067] The ingredients were combined and frozen as described in Example 1. The frozen mixes were filled directly into pouches with flexible walls having a volume of 400 ml. The pouches were as described in Example 1.

Example 6

[0068] Pouches containing samples prepared in Example 5 were transferred to a domestic freezer for several days before testing. The force required to dispense the products at -18° C. and -22° C. was measured. Filled pouches were equilibrated at the appropriate temperature before the assessment. The dispensing force was measured by squeezing each pouch between the plates of an Instron® universal testing machine. The results are shown in Table 6.

TABLE-US-00007 physical assessment results Emulsifier system (wt%) Dispensing force (N) Sample Distilled monoglycerides Sucrose ester LACTEM Mono-diglycerides -22° C. -18° C. 13 0.1 - - - 406 150 14 0.1 0.1 - - 464 191 15 0.1 - 0.1 - 505 234 16 0.08 - - 0.12 442 211 17 0.08 - - 0.32 440 250

[0069] The measured dispensing forces indicate that extrusion from the pouch by hand would be achievable for all five products - even at a temperature of -22° C. (i.e. a dispensing force of less than 600 N). The use of an additional emulsifier (i.e. in addition to distilled monoglycerides) tends to increase the dispensing force required for extrusion. This may be desirable, since it may allow the consumer to more precisely control the portion size of the dispensed product.