Dairy product and process
AssigneeFonterra Co-Operative Group Limited
InventorsAiqian Ye, Stephen Murray Taylor
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Abstract
The invention is a method of preparing a gel. The method comprises forming an oil-in-water emulsion by mixing oil or fat with an aqueous medium. The mixture comprises 2% to 12% (w/w) of a heat-settable protein and 5% to 40% (w/w) oil or fat or a mixture of oil and fat. The mixture is homogenised at a pressure in the range 100 to 2000 bar. The homogenised emulsion is heated to 50° C. to 200° C. for a period sufficient to denature the proteins without allowing a gel to form. A gel is formed by adding a salt or by acidifying. The proteins used include whey protein and soy protein.
Claims22
A method of preparing a gel comprising:
- (a) forming an oil-in-water emulsion by mixing oil or fat with an aqueous medium wherein the mixture comprises 2% to 12% (w/w) of a heat-settable protein and 5% to 40% (w/w) oil or fat or a mixture of oil and fat, and homogenising at a pressure in the range 100 to 2000 bar;
- (b) heating the homogenised emulsion to 50° C. to 200° C. for a period sufficient to denature the proteins without allowing a gel to form;
- (c) optionally cooling;
- (d) adding a salt to the heat-treated emulsion or acidifying the heat-treated emulsion by addition of acid, or acid-forming products or fermentation to form the gel.
A method of preparing a food comprising:
- (a) forming an oil-in-water emulsion by mixing oil or fat with an aqueous medium wherein the mixture comprises 2% to 12% (w/w) of a heat-settable protein and 5% to 40% (w/w) oil or fat or a mixture of oil and fat, and homogenising at a pressure in the range 100 to 2000 bar;
- (b) heating the homogenised emulsion to 50° C. to 200° C. for a period sufficient to denature the proteins without allowing a gel to form;
- (c) drying the heat-treated emulsion;
- and
- (d) including the dried emulsion as an ingredient in a food as a thickening agent.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.