Beverage thickener system, beverage and method
AssigneeTropicana Products, Inc.
InventorsJeanette Stephen, Renee Mellican, Bryan Hitchcock, Kristin Parshall, Nicholas Shields
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Abstract
The present invention relates to an improved beverage thickener system and beverage which achieve desired perceived viscosity levels and mouthfeel with reduced amounts of thickener while improving the mouthfeel characteristics of the beverage. The beverage and beverage thickener system comprise a thickener, preferably modified food starch, and a thickener adjuvant that is not a thickener. The weight ratio of modified food starch to thickener adjuvant typically is in the range of from about 40:1 to about 10:1.
Claims23
A beverage thickener system comprising:
- a thickener comprising at least one component selected from the group consisting of flours, gums, modified food starches, and mixtures thereof;
- and
- a thickener adjuvant, present in an amount effective to permit achieving a perceived viscosity in a beverage with less thickener compared to the amount of thickener needed to achieve that perceived viscosity without the presence of the thickener adjuvant.
A beverage comprising:
- a thickener component comprising at least one component selected from the group consisting of flours, gums, modified food starches, and mixtures thereof;
- and
- a thickener adjuvant, present in an amount effective to permit achieving a perceived viscosity in a beverage with less thickener compared to the amount of thickener needed to achieve that perceived viscosity without the presence of the thickener adjuvant.
A method of reducing the amount of a thickener needed to provide a specified increase in perceived viscosity in a beverage, comprising:
- incorporating into the beverage a thickener and a thickener adjuvant selected from the group consisting of citrus flavor, citrus oil, citrus peel, and combinations thereof.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.