The invention pertains to a cream having a reduced fat content and to a process of preparing such cream.

Background Cream or whipped cream is appreciated all over the world as an indulgent food, either as an attractive "finish" on or in foodstuffs like desserts, fruits, drinks, ice cream, cake, pastry and the like, or to be consumed as such. Whipped cream can be considered as a fat-based foamed food product. Firmness, mouthfeel, (foam) stability and whipping ability are some of the important properties that determine the quality of the whipped product. It is known that these properties are highly dependent of the fat level of cream, which is normally around 35-40 % w/w fat for industrially produced dairy cream types. Whipping of cream types having this fat level mostly results in a satisfactory stability, mouthfeel and overrun of the whipped product.

For various reasons (e.g. health concerns, cost price issues) the need developed for a cream type with a lower milk fat level. In the art, to meet these requirements, whipping creams were developed in which a part of the milk fat is replaced by vegetable fat, and/or in which the milk fat level was lowered to some extent. However, this cannot be done easily without compromising the functional and organoleptic properties of the final, whipped cream product. GB 2211393 describes a whipped cream having a slightly reduced (milk) fat content of 25-30%, and containing 0.15 wt.% to 0.33 wt.% of an emulsifier of the saturated mono- glyceride and diglyceride types, in particular a glycerol monolactate-monostearate.

WO 95/06413 (US 6,497,914) discloses a whipped cream containing 15-30% fat, and low levels (<1%) of emulsifiers such as diacetyl- tartrate monoglyceride or other (saturated) emulsifiers. The fat is a mixture of lauric fat and 2-unsaturated-l,3-di-saturated (SUS) triglycerides.

WO 85/02979 (US 4,647,465) discloses whippable cream having a fat content between 20 and 30% of fat and 0.2-0.4% of an emulsifier mixture. In particular, this document discloses a cream containing 25% fat en 0.3% of an emulsifier consisting of 80% of distilled monoglycerides and 20% of hydrogenated soya oil, wherein the emulsifier contains 71% of saturated and 29% of unsaturated fatty acids.

US 3,370,955 discloses a coagulating cream win which a mixture of stabilisers and emulsifiers is incorporated prior to coagulation using an acid. In an example, 0.25 % of a mixture of unspecified mono- and diglycerides of unsaturated fatty acids was used in a raw cream of 18% or more butterfat.

Lowering the fat level (more specifically the milk fat level) even further, normally results in insufficient performance of the cream with respect to stability and mouthfeel.

WO 02/058477 discloses a foamable cream based on pure milk fat and containing about 1% of saturated emulsifier and about 0.015% of an unsaturated monoglyceride emulsifier for a 10.6% fat cream, and containing about 2.5% saturated emulsifier and about 0.05% of an unsaturated monoglyceride emulsifier for a 30% fat cream. The cream is intended to be whipped by the consumer and to be pourable, e.g. as a milk shake or for a cappuccino, and is not suitable as a firm cream for decoration purposes.

So far, no solution is available to prepare a whippable cream type with a very low fat content, which equals the physical and/or organoleptic properties of medium- or high fat creams, wherein the whipped cream remains stable during prolonged storage times.

Description of the invention

It was found that the fat content of whipped cream can be lowered by using a specific unsaturated emulsifier in the cream composition, while maintaining storage stability of the whipped cream. Hence, the invention pertains to a cream composition having a fat content of between 10 and 20 wt.% and containing a mono- and/or di-glyceride emulsifier. The cream contains between 0.1 and 2.0 wt.% of a mono- and/or di-glyceride containing at least one unsaturated fatty acid group.

The emulsifier The emulsifier to be used according to the invention is an organic compound having at least one unsaturated fatty acid group, and at least one free hydroxyl group. The hydroxyl group may be a polyolic (e.g. glycerolic) hydroxyl group, or a hydroxyl group as a fatty acid substituent, such as a lactate or tartrate group. The unsaturated fatty acid group has at least 12, preferably at least 16 carbon atoms and can be selected from common unsaturated fatty acids such as palmitoleic (16:1), oleic (18:1), linoleic (18:2), linolenic (18:3), gadoleic (20:1), etc. and the isomeric, conjugated and/or trans-isomeric analogues and higher homologues. Although cis unsaturated fatty acids are preferred, trans fatty acids may also be present in the unsaturated emulsifiers. Several types of emulsifiers are effective for the purpose of the invention, however, it is preferred that the emulsifier is of an essentially non-ionic type. In particular, ionic emulsifiers of the phosphatidyl types (phosphatidyl choline and the like), which are major components in lecithins, are not preferred.

Preferably, the emulsifier is a monoglyceride, i.e. glycerol in which one hydroxyl group is esterified with an unsaturated fatty acid as described above. It may also be a monoglyceride derivative, in which one of the free hydroxyl groups is esterified with a small and/or relatively polar carboxylic acid such as acetic acid or lactic acid, or di- or tricarboxylic acid such as tartaric acid or citric acid and derivatives thereof such as diacetyl tartaric acid. Such monoglyceride derivatives are comprised in the definition of monoglycerides for the

purpose of the invention. The lactic acid esters were found to be very suitable according to the invention.

Although less preferentially, the emulsifier may also be a diglyceride, i.e. glycerol in which two hydroxyl groups are esterified with unsaturated fatty acids as described above, or with one saturated and one unsaturated fatty acid.

Thus, a very suitable group of glycerol-derived emulsifiers of the invention is a derivative wherein one glycerolic hydroxyl function (Fl) is esterified with an unsaturated Cl 2+ acyl group, one glycerolic hydroxyl function (F2) is free or etherified or esterified with any organic group, and the third glycerolic hydroxyl function (F3) is free. Herein, the group at F2 may be long-chain (C16 or higher), medium-chain (C9-C15) or short-chain (C8 or lower), saturated or unsaturated, non-substituted or substituted with hydroxyl, carboxyl, acyl, etc. Preferred ones are those having a free hydroxyl group at F2, or are esterified at F2 with a long-chain unsaturated or a short-chain hydroxyl-substituted (such as lactyl) acyl group. A second group is a derivative wherein Fl is esterified with an unsaturated Cl 2+ acyl group, F2 is etherified or esterified with any organic group as described above, and F3 is esterified with a short-chain hydroxyl-substituted group, such as lactyl or citryl.

It is noted that Fl, F2, and F3 do not denote specific positions of the glycerol moiety, e.g. Fl may be in a terminal or a central position. Instead of or in addition to glycerol-derived emulsifiers, other polyol-derived emulsifiers can be used, such as those derived from propylene glycol, erythritol, threitol, penta- erythritol, xylitol, sorbitol, sorbitan, etc. and their isomers. Mixtures of different unsaturated emulsifier compounds are also suitable.

The amount of unsaturated emulsifier, i.e. emulsifier containing at least one unsaturated Cl 2+ group, is between 0.06 and 2.0 wt.%, or between 0.06 and 1.0 or between 1.0 and 2.0 of the total cream composition. A preferred minimum is from 0.1%, more preferred from 0.15% upwards or above, even more preferred at least 0.2 wt.%. Amounts above 2.0 wt.% do not present additional advantages, and a preferred upper limit is 1.5 wt.%, more preferred up to 1.0 wt.%, most preferably up to 0.8 wt.%. Best overall results are obtained with amounts from 0.25 up to 0.6 wt.% or even 0.8 wt.% for (non-lactylated) mono- glycerides and from 0.15 up to 0.4 wt.% or even up to 0.6 wt.% for lactylated mono- glycerides.

In addition to the unsaturated emulsifiers, saturated emulsifiers may also be present, e.g. glycerol derivatives containing a saturated Cl 2+ fatty acid group at Fl, any saturated group or a free hydroxyl at F2 and a hydroxyl at F3. The amount of such saturated emulsifiers may be from 0 to 1.5 wt.% of the composition, e.g. from 0.1 to 1.0 wt.%. Higher amounts are not excluded, but these do not contribute to the desired emulsifying effect.

Mixtures can comprise mono- and diglycerides, saturated and unsaturated fatty acid glycerides. It is preferred, however, that mixtures consist for at least 50% of mono- glycerides, as distinct from diglycerides, more preferably at least 70% by weight. It is also preferred that the mixtures contain at least 30%, preferably at least 45% of unsaturated fatty acid residues on the weight basis of the total fatty acid content of the emulsifier.

For the purpose of the invention, the amounts of emulsifier to be used are based on 100% of the fatty acid residues of 12 or more carbon atoms being unsaturated. Thus, an emulsifier mixture in which the fatty acid residues of 12 and more carbon atoms comprise 75% unsaturated fatty acid residues and 25% saturated fatty acid residues, should be used in an amount of 100/75 times the amount specified.

Suitable emulsifiers are commercially available, such as Dimodan® P Pel/B, RT-T/B, UP/Bb, U/J, MO 90, Grindsted PS 217, Lactem R 100 or R 110, Acetem, all from Danisco, DK, and Myverol 18-35, 18-50, 18-92 of Quest (Kerry IE).

Thefat The fat of the cream can be milk fat or a mixture of milk fat and vegetable fat or oil. Milk fat from cow, sheep, goat, buffalo and the like can be used. Vegetable fat or oil of the following types may be used: coconut fat, palm fat, palmkernel fat, mixtures thereof, all may be unhardened (natural), partially or totally hardened. It is preferred that milk fat constitutes at least 5 wt.% of the total composition, more preferably at least 8 wt.%, up to 20 wt.%. Preferably, at least 40% of the total fat is milk fat, more preferably at least half is milk fat and especially between 60% and 100%. The total fat content of the cream is between 10 and 20 wt.%, preferably between 11 and 18 wt.%, more preferably between 12 and 17 wt.%

Further components The cream composition further contains conventional components making up a cream.

These may or may not include sweeteners (sucrose, glucose, glucose syrup, lactose, artificial sweeteners), milk components (lactose, milk proteins, minerals), structuring aids such as hydrocolloids (thickeners), such as gelatine and carrageenan, water-binding agents such as guar gum, locust bean gum or other polysaccharides, vitamins, colorants, flavours etc. Proteins (milk proteins, e.g. casein, caseinates and or whey proteins; gelatine, etc.), 0.5-5 wt.%. Caseinates, e.g. sodium or potassium caseinates, are a preferred component for attaining desired structural properties, and these can advantageously be used at a level of between 0.02 and 1 wt.% of the total composition, especially between 0.04 and 0.6 wt.%. Polysaccharides (guar or other gums, carrageenans, xanthan, gellan, fibres, maltodextrins) can be used at total levels of e.g. 0.1-3 wt.% of the composition. A preferred ingredient blend which can be combined with a fat and optional further constituents to produce a cream contains at least the unsaturated emulsifier, polysaccharides such as guar, carrageenans, xanthan and/or gellan, and proteins, such as milk proteins and gelatine, and

constitutes an embodiment of the invention. Preferred ranges for the weight ratio of unsaturated mono- and/or diglyceride to polysaccharides to gelatine to other proteins are 1 : 0.2-5 : 0.5-10 : 0.2-10, more preferred 1 : 0.5-2 : 1-5 : 1-5. If desired, 0.2-2 weight parts of saturated emulsifier per part of unsaturated emulsifier can be added, and optionally 0.2-5 weight parts of triglycerides.

Production process

The cream can be produced in a manner known per se. For example, the dry ingredients are blended. Alternatively, some of the dry ingredients can be combined first into an "ingredient" blend in order to facilitate the handling of e.g. certain emulsifiers. The dry ingredients are added to the milk and cream mixture and dispersed using a mixer, e.g. a Becomixer.

A heating step can be carried out to hydrate and dissolve the dry components. Heating temperatures of between 65 and 85 °C can be used. Heating times up to 2 hours are normally sufficient. The mixture can be homogenised at a temperature between 65 and 85° C, at a pressure of e.g. about 100/20 bar. Homogenisation can be done upstream or downstream; upstream means homogenisation before heat treatment, downstream means homogenisation after heat treatment. Applied heat treatment includes pasteurisation or UHT treatment.

As a homogeniser, any homogeniser can be used, but preferably a single or double stage valve homogeniser is used (e.g. Rannie). The homogenised mixture is subsequently cooled to a temperature of between 2 and 10 °C, preferably about 7°C, in order to achieve a proper crystallisation of the fat, in particular the milk fat. Optionally, the mixture is stored overnight for 30 minutes to 48 hours preferably at a temperature between 1° and 7° C.

The cream mix is then whipped using an aerator to an overrun of 100 - 200 %; 120 - 180, preferably 140 — 160 %. The aerator can be of the type of a continuous aerator, which is commonly used in the continuous preparation of aerated products. Examples are e.g. a Mondomix (Mondomix, The Netherlands) or a Colette. Suitable gas types for whipping are nitrogen or air or mixtures of these gases. Whipping takes place at temperatures between 5 and 15 °C. Whipping conditions can be adjusted by the skilled person to obtain the desired overrun. The cream thus obtained can be applied directly on or in the food product to be decorated.

Uses

The cream can be used as a decorative cream on desserts, fruits, drinks, ice cream, cake, pastry. The cream may by used as a decoration on top of a product, but may also be incorporated in e.g. a dessert in the form of a spiral, a swirl, a compartment, several (alternating) layers in a horizontal, vertical or angular mode, etc to obtain an attractive appearance. In such composite food products, the cream thus preferably constitutes a distinct phase and preferably comprises between 5 and 80 wt.%, especially between 10 and

60%, more preferably between 30 and 50 % of the total food product, the remainder being any food product, usually non-creamy (non-aerated), preferably having a different colour. The food product will usually be packaged in single portions (about 100-200 g) or multiple portions (about 200-1000 g). The creams are particularly useful for the manufacture of ready-to-eat (RTE) food products.

Examples

Example I: Milk-based cream

The experiments were carried out on 10 litre scale. The components summarised in Table 1, other than the milk and cream, were dry blended. The blend was then thoroughly mixed with the milk and cream and the mixture homogenised at 80°C and 100/20 bar, pasteurised at 90 °C, cooled to 7 °C, stored overnight at 7 °C and whipped to an overrun of 150 % using a Mondomix type A 05.

Table 1

(1) Lactem P 22 contains approximately 98 % saturated lactylated emulsifier.

(2) P Pel B is a monoglyceride which contains approximately 50 % cis-unsaturated emulsifier and 50 % saturated emulsifier.

(3) Lactem R 100 contains about 80 % unsaturated lactylated emulsifier.

From table 1 it can be concluded that lowering the fat content to 15 % and using a saturated emulsifier does not result in a stable whipped cream product. In contrast, an unsaturated emulsifier leads to a stable creamy product. A too low amount of unsaturated mono/diglycerides results in an unstable product with low creaminess and insufficient mouthfeel. The lactylated unsaturated emulsifier can be used at lower levels with the same effect. Furthermore it was noticed that the cream products were stable for at least 4 weeks at a maximum temperature of 7 °C.

Example II: Mixed milk-based and vegetable fat cream

The components summarised in Table 2, other than the milk and cream, were dry blended. The blend was then thoroughly mixed with the milk and cream and the mixture homogenised at 80°C and 100/20 bar, pasteurised at 90°, cooled to 7°C, stored overnight at 7 °C and whipped to an overrun of 150% using a Mondomix (type A 05).

Table 2

The results as shown in table 2 are comparable to those of example 1. The stability of the creams appeared to be at least 4 weeks at a maximum keeping temperature of 7 °C.

The experiments show that the amount of milk fat can be decreased substantially while maintaining stable cream properties, by using small amounts of unsaturated emulsifiers.