WO1996039048A1

WO1996039048A1 - Dry mix texture modified beverage using gellan gum

Info

Publication number: WO1996039048A1
Application number: PCT/US1996/008053
Authority: WO
Inventors: William F. Chalupa
Original assignee: The Nutrasweet Company
Priority date: 1995-06-06
Filing date: 1996-05-30
Publication date: 1996-12-12
Also published as: AU5955496A; AR002318A1

Abstract

The present invention is a dry powder mix for unique gelled beverages and fluidized foods consisting of minor amounts of gellan gum (400-800 ppm), a sequestrant, sugar and a number of excipients. The dry mix is a complete blend, shelf stable and immediately hydratable upon the addition of water. The fluidized gel formed imparts an extremely pleasant and lubricous mouthfeel upon consumption.

Description

DRY MIX TEXTURE MODIFIED BEVERAGE

USING GELLAN GUM

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to stabilized dry food and beverage powdered mixes which when hydrated produce a palatable beverage, salad dressing, gravy and the like. More specifically, the present invention relates to a dry beverage mix which, when added to water produces a fun to drink, fluidized gel beverage.

Background of the Invention There are many commercially available dry powdered mixes which when mixed in water or other solvent yield numerous beverage, salad dressing, gravy and other fluidized comestible compositions. These diy mix products have been known for years and afford the benefits of long term shelf life and package stability, minimal space requirements compared to the finished, hydrated product and comparable taste, flavor and mouthfeel characteristics to those products manufactured and sold ready-to-eat or drink- In the past, hydrocolloids such as gum arabic, xanthan gum, alginates, pectin, starch, carrageenan, modified starch, and carboxymethylcellulose have been used to stabilize beverages and dry powder mixes used to make these beverages. Relatively large quantities of these materials are required in order to achieve an effective degree of stabilization. Moreover, while stabilizing the beverage, these materials unfortunately affect beverage flavor and mouthfeel. Sometimes, as with xanthan gum, the beverage stabilizing material reacts with other beverage components, including proteins (such as milk proteins or beer proteins), affecting beverage flavor and stabilizer efficacy. Gellan gum beverages have unique mouthfeel, body, and flavor release properties and profiles which are distinct from the mouthfeel, body and flavor release properties obtained with beverages prepared with non-gelling hydrocolloids such as carboxymethylcellulose, xanthan gum, and polyethylene glycol alginates. Such non-gelling hydrocolloids are thickeners which linger in the mouth longer than a shattered gellan gum gel matrix. Beverages which can be prepared with gellan gum include lemonade beverages, fruit beverages, alcohol beverages, and coffee beverages. Gellan gum beverages can be prepared from concentrated flavor systems such as apple, orange, pineapple, daiquiri, or highly concentrated shelf stable flavor systems containing gellan gum.

Beverages containing blends of gellan gum display rheological properties of a weak gel system when measured using dynamic viscoelastic measurements. One characteristic of a gelled system is a constant elastic

(storage) modulus over a range of strain values up to a critical strain value, at which critical strain value the modulus drops significantly.

None of the known prior art powdered food and beverage dry mix compositions used to prepare beverages and other fluidized comestible have successfully utilized gellan gum in a stabilized ready to use composi¬ tion. None of the prior art has presented or disclosed a powdered dry mix containing minor amounts of gellan gum which, when hydrated, form a fluidized gel beverage or food product which has superior mouthfeel and taste characteristics as well as being aesthetically appealing.

Summary of the Invention The present invention is a dry powder mix for unique gelled beverages and fluidized foods consisting of minor amounts of gellan gum (400-800 ppm), a sequestrant, sugar and a number of excipients. The dry mix is a complete blend, shelf stable and immediately hydratable upon the addition of water. The fluidized gel formed imparts an extremely pleasant and lubricous mouthfeel upon consumption. Detailed Description of the Invention

The present invention comprises a gellan gum based dry mix for the preparation of a texture modified beverage. The gellan gum based mix may also be tailored or modified to serve as a dry mix for salad dressings, gravies, fluidized desserts and the like. Surprisingly, very small amounts of the gum and other excipients are needed to produce a unique and flavorful beverage or fluidized comestible.

Gellan gum is a heteropolysaccharide prepared by the fermentation ol Pseudomonas elodea ATCC 31461. Gellan gum is available from Kelco Division of Monsanto, San Diego, CA, under various names, including KELCOGEL, KELCOGEL PC, and KELCOGEL F. Processes for preparing gellan gum include those described in United States Patents

4,326,052 and 4,326,053 to Kang et al. which are hereby incorporated by reference. It is useful for a variety of gelling, texturizing, stabilizing and film forming applications, particularly as a gelling agent in foods, personal care products and industrial applications. Gellan gum can be used to prepare fluid gels which are pourable fluid masses with a very short flowable texture.

By varying the gellan gum concentration, the shear rate, temperature, ion types and levels, different textures and flow properties can be obtained.

The gellan gum formulation of the present invention is a dry mix blend which can be added to cold or hot water and subsequently becomes a fluidized gelled beverage that can be eaten with a spoon or straw. The beverage dry mix is comprised primarily of a sweetener such as sugar in an amount of from about 95.0% to about 97.0% of the total weight of the composition. Conceivably, a low calorie beverage mix could be formulated using a high intensity sweetener such as aspartame, acesulfame-K or saccharin and the like together with a low calorie bulking agent but for the purposes of the present invention sugar is most preferred.

Gellan gum will comprise a minor amount of the dry beverage mix such as from about 0.5 to 1.5 wt percent Preferably this will be about 1.0% of the total weight of the mix. One or more acidulents su _* ch as fumaric acid, citric acid, malic acid, adipic acid, tartaric acid and mixtures thereof may be added to enhance any fruit flavor that is chosen for the drink. Again, these acids are added in relatively minor amounts of from about 1.0% to about 1.2%. A sequestering agent such as powdered sodium tripolyphosph- ate, FMC Corp., Philadelphia, PA, is added as a chelating agent which aids in gum hydration. Furthermore, it can also provide for the stabilization of the flavor, color and texture ingredients once the dry mix is dissolved in water. The sequestrant is added in an amount of from about 1.0% to about 1.5% and preferably in an amount of 1.125%.

An alkaline salt such as calcium carbonate provides a source of calcium ions for gelation and further adds body and texture ot the gelled beverage when mixed with water. In this manner it functions as a gelling salt For a gelled beverage from a dry mix to be commercially successful, it must be stable in the concentrated and diluted finished beverage solutions.

When gellan gum is used as a gelling agent, it is of paramount importance that the initial ionic concentration of the dry mix be balanced with the final drink formulation. In fruit beverages this balance is achieved with insoluble calcium and a slowly soluble acid (at neutral pH) such as fumaric acid pH. The concentrated fluid gel should be formulated such that upon dilution in a finished beverage, the gel remains homogeneous and not aggregated to become a "particle gel".

Optionally, and preferably, a calcium salt is also added to the mix. Suitable calcium salts useful in the practice of the present invention are characterized by the fact that they are insoluble in solutions at neutral pH and are soluble in solutions that possess an acidic pH. Particularly suitable calcium salts useful in the practice of the present invention comprise dicalcium phosphate dihydrate, calcium carbonate and mixtures thereof. The salt is added to the mixture in an amount of approximately 24% to about 40% by weight of the total weight of the concentrated texture modifier and suspension agent composition. Other carbonate salts may also be used but calcium carbonate is most preferred. The carbonate salt is added to the dry mix in powdered form in amounts of from about 0.05% to about 0.15% by weight and most preferably in an amount of about 0.10%. Other excipients such as clouding agents, flavors and coloring agents may be added to the mix depending on the type and flavor of beverage desired. For example, cherry or fruit punch flavors will incorpo¬ rate a red food dye coloring. Clouding agents such as Beatreme #3579 (Beatrice Foods, Chicago, EL) are added in order to give the visual appearance of the cellular constituents characteristically found in natural fruit juices.

The following examples are provided to more specifically teach and disclose that which Applicants claim to be their invention. They are for illustrative purposes only however, and it is recognized that there are many minor changes and variations that may be made with respect to the formulations that are not recited herein. It is to be understood that to the extent that any such variations do not materially alter or change the final product so conceived, such variations fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention as recited by the claims that follow: Example 1

The dry mix gelled beverage composition was prepared using the following formulation to prepare a lemonade flavored gelled beverage.

All the ingredients were thoroughly mixed in dry or powdered form insuring that no lumps were formed and a uniform blend is achieved. The mbc (3-4 teaspoons) was then added to 8 ounces of hot or cold water and stirred for about 2-3 minutes. The beverage was then cooled at about 40°F. in a refrigerator for thirty minutes at which time a fluidized gel formed which was consumable with a spoon, straw or straight from the glass.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A one step dry mix for the preparation of a fluidized gel comprising from about 0.5% to about 2.0% gellan gum.

2. The dry mix of claim 1 for the preparation of a fluidized gel comprising from about 0.75% to about 1.5% gellan gum.

3. The dry mix of claim 2 further comprising one or more sequestrants, gelling salts, sweeteners, flavors, acidυlents, stabilizers and colorants.

4. The dry mix of claim 3 wherein said sequestrant is selected from the group comprising sodium tripolyphosphate, sodium citrate, sodium hexametaphosphate and mixtures thereof.

5. The diy mix of claim 4 wherein said acidulent is selected from the group comprising fumaric acid, citric acid, malic acid, adipic acid and mixtures thereof.

6. The dry mix of claim 5 wherein said fluidized gel is a beverage prepared by the addition of said dry mix to water.

7. The dry mbc of claim 6 wherein said water is cold.

8. The dry mbc of claim 6 wherein said water is hot

9. A fluidized gelled beverage prepared from a dry mix comprising from about 0.5% to about 2.0% gellan gum.

10. The fluidized gelled beverage of claim 9 wherein said gellan gum comprises from about 0.75% to about 1.5% of said dry mbc.

11. The fluidized gelled beverage of claim 10 wherein said dry mix further comprises one or more sequestrants, sweeteners, acidulants stabilizers and colorants.

12. A salad dressing prepared from the dry mbc of claim 1.

13. A gravy prepared from the dry mbc of claim 1.