Evaporated milk with improved mouth feel, process of making it, products containing said milk and use for food or beverage production

Abstract

The present invention relates to evaporated milks and methods of producing evaporated milks comprising protein aggregates which contribute to the improvement of creaminess, mouthfeel and texture. Especially, the invention concerns an evaporated milk comprising caseins and whey proteins in the ratio of 90:10 to 60:40 and having a total solids content of at least 10 wt % and of less than 30 wt %, based on the total weight of the evaporated milk, wherein the caseins/whey protein aggregates have a volume-based mean diameter d(4,3) of 1-80 pm as measured by laser diffraction. Furthermore, the process for preparing an evaporated milk comprises the steps of: a) providing a liquid evaporated milk at a temperature below 25° C., said evaporated milk comprising caseins and whey proteins in the ratio of 90:10 to 60:40 and having a total solids content of at least 10 wt % and of less than 30 wt %, based on the total weight of the evaporated milk; b) adjusting pH of the evaporated milk provided in step a) in the range of 5.7 to 6.4; c) subjecting the evaporated milk obtained in step b) to a heat sterilization treatment at a temperature above 100° C.; d) cooling the evaporated milk obtained in step c) below 70° C. A food or beverage containing the milk as well as the use of the milk for producing a food or beverage are also disclosed.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.