EDIBLE PULLULAN FILMS CONTAINING DAIRY PRODUCT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Edible films have been prepared with fruit or fruit-derived substances and one or more film-forming substances, such as pectin or alginates. Such edible films are sometimes referred to as "leathers." For example, Fruit Roll-Ups® snacks are a commercial snack food product that contains fruit concentrate.

There is a need for additional edible films that have one or more advantages in terms of convenience, nutrition, additional flavors, and the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One aspect of the present invention is an edible film that comprises at least one dairy product, pullulan, and at least one plasticizer. The plasticizer is present in an amount effective to prevent the film from becoming brittle. Pullulan is the major component of the film excluding the at least one dairy product; in other words, pullulan makes up a larger percentage of the product than any other ingredient, other than the dairy product or products.

DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

An edible film of the present invention is a solid, flexible material, which is sometimes referred to as a "leather." The thickness of the film can vary, depending on the desired properties of the product.

The film contains at least one dairy product, such as milk, sour cream, yogurt, cream, smoothies, kefir, or combinations of such products. The dairy product can be in liquid or other form (e.g., powdered milk). The dairy product optionally can be flavored, such as chocolate milk. Additional flavors can be added to a dairy base to achieve the desired flavor for the end product. Although the percentage of dairy product in the film can vary, in one embodiment of the invention it makes up about 50-95% by weight of the film.

The film also comprises pullulan. Other than the dairy product in the film, the pullulan will usually make up the largest percentage of the film's ingredients. In one embodiment, pullulan makes up about 2.5-25% by weight of the overall film.

The film can optionally also include one or more film forming substances other than pullulan. For example, the film can also contain one or more film-forming polymers such as pectin, alginates, carrageenans, xanthan gum, modified cellulose, polydextrose, starch or a

starch derivative (such as dextrin or maltodextrin), and combinations of two or more such materials. However, in some embodiments of the invention, no such film- forming polymers other than pullulan are included. In one embodiment, the film is substantially free of pectin and alginate (i.e., the concentration of each of those materials is less than about 0.1 wt %).

The film also contains at least one plasticizer in an amount sufficient to prevent the film from being brittle. In some embodiments of the invention, plasticizer makes up about 0.5-15% by weight of the film. Suitable plasticizers include, but are not limited to glycerol (glycerine), sorbitol, propylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, fructose, fruit juice, sucrose, maltodextrin, corn syrup solids, polydextrose, soluble fiber, and combinations of any of these materials. In one embodiment of the invention, the at least one plasticizer is selected from glycerol, propylene glycol, sorbitol, and polyethylene glycol. One commercially available polyethylene glycol that is suitable for use in the invention is polyethylene glycol molecular weight 200 (PEG 200). In another embodiment, the film comprises at least one of glycerol, fructose, and sorbitol. In yet another embodiment, the film comprises glycerol, fructose, and sorbitol.

The film optionally can also contain one or more additives that are suitable for use in foods, such as coloring agents, fillers, surfactants, stabilizers, and organic acids (such as citric acid).

The films can be formed by a variety of methods. For example, the ingredients can be combined and mixed into a homogenous or nearly homogenous aqueous composition, in which the water is provided as part of the dairy product and/or by adding water itself to the composition. The composition can be cast into a film on a flat surface, and then dried by application of heat over a period of time. In one embodiment of the invention, the film is not baked, so the drying temperature is kept below about 15O ⁰ F. After the desired drying is achieved (e.g., a final moisture content of about 0.1-25%), the film can be removed from the flat surface, cut into the desired shape and size, and packaged or used. The film will be flexible, but does not necessarily have to be flexible enough to be rolled up.

Because the films of the present invention can be cut into any shape and size, they are convenient to store and use. For example, an individual piece of film can be packaged as a snack food. As another example, a film can be packaged for use in combination with another food (e.g., a film containing sour cream that can be placed as a topping on a baked potato). The nutritional benefits of dairy products (e.g., calcium and protein content) can therefore be

provided to consumers in a new form. Also, the films generally have good shelf-stability due to their relatively low Aw (water activity; usually less than 0.5).

EXAMPLES Chocolate milk-based leathers were prepared with the following ingredients:

The chocolate milk contained less than 0.5% fat, and about 4% soluble corn fiber, an oligosaccharide-containing composition that was prepared as described in U.S. patent application 11/339,306, which was filed on January 25, 2006, and is hereby incorporated by reference.

The leathers were prepared by adding the glycerine to the chocolate milk base. Separately, the dry ingredients were combined, and were then added to the milk base using moderate shearing. The composition was mixed until homogeneous. At this point, a foam destabilizer can be added if desired. A thin layer was poured onto a non-stick silicon mat. The layer was heated via conduction on a pancake griddle at a temperature less than 13O ⁰ F to dry it. The drying time at 12O ⁰ F is approximately two hours. The film was then cooled, peeled off the mat, and stored with wax paper in a sealable plastic bag.

Other samples were prepared using different flavored milks and generally the same procedure described above:

Another sample was prepared, using the same general procedure, but with a cultured base instead of milk, to make a leather:

The preceding description of certain embodiments of the invention is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all possible embodiments. Persons skilled in this field will appreciate that modifications could be made to the specific embodiments described herein which would be within the scope of the following claims.