fresh milk based on evaporation of raw milk

and preparation method thereof

Description

The invention relates to pasteurized ready-to-drink refrigerated fresh milks based on evaporation of raw cow's milk, making said milk products notably thicker, creamier, richer in taste, and more nutrient dense.

The invention also relates to a method for preparing said milks.

Background of the Invention

The average composition of fresh whole cow's fresh milk is 87% water, 3.0-3.6% milk fat, and 8.7% Solids-Not-Fat (SNF).

While 8.25% SNF is the minimum required by federal standards, the vast majority of fresh milk produced in the U.S. exceeds this level.

SNF typically contains about 4.8-5.0% carbohydrate (lactose), 3.0- 3.3% protein, and 0.7% ash (minerals).

Other primary types of cow's fresh milk sold in stores are: 2% fat, 1 % fat, and 0.5% or less fat. All fresh milk fat varieties have about the same SNF percent as fresh whole milk.

Fresh milks can be fortified with supplements such as calcium, vitamin A or vitamin D.

Fresh milks are sold as refrigerated dairy beverages, which can be pasteurized using HTST (High Temperature, Short Time) processing, or ESL (extended shelf life) processing that gives them longer shelf- life than HTST.

All fresh milks have a characteristic taste, readily recognized by the consumer.

Fresh milk flavor is of primary importance to consumers.

Thus, knowledge of a richer fresh milk flavor is indispensable in the production of fresh milk that is consistently satisfactory to consumers.

It is generally assumed that fresh milk fat is one of the most important constituents in contributing to the desirable flavor of fresh milk, and little attention has been given to the contribution of SN F to fresh milk's flavor.

Academic studies conducted in the 1950s and 1960s in the U .S, showed consumers prefer the taste of fresh milk with higher SNF.

United Dairy Industry Association publication "Effects of Varying Nonfat Solids and Fat on Consumer Acceptance of Milk Beverages" by J.E. Devero, found that an increase of SNF had a greater taste impact compared to additional fat, and fresh milks with added SNF were preferred to average fresh milks products.

The following quotes are taken from the "Research review" of that publication:

"In 1953, Jenks showed additions of SNF to low-fat milk (2.0% fat) changed the texture and flavor sufficiently to result in preferences for the modified milk (1.50% SNF added) over standard milk."

"Wahid-UI-Hamid and Manus observed that the addition of SNF to lower fat milks (2.0 and 3.0%) increased consumer acceptance.

When milks of 2.0% fat and 1 1 .0% SNF, 3 and 1 1 , 2 and 12, and 3 and 12 were compared with the regular university milk of 3.7% fat and 9.2% SNF, the regular milk was consistently criticized as being thin or watery." "Stull and Hillman reported that "many people can differentiate between milk beverages with variations in fat and SNF of 0.5 and 1 .0 respectively." The addition of 1.0% SNF to whole, low-fat, and skim milks increased consumer acceptance."

"Pangborn and Dunkley noted that additions of SNF are more important in sensory discrimination than fat, and additions of as little as 0.5% SNF can be detected two-thirds of the time in skim milks of various fat contents."

"Janzen later undertook a household study to determine acceptance of whole milk enriched with 1.0% SNF. Control products were 4.0 and 8.5 and 3.5% fat and 8.5% SNF with total solids of 12.5 and 12.0%. Among 2,165 consumers, the enriched products were preferred. In each instance the enriched product, whether 3.5 or 4.0% fat with 1 .0% SNF added, when compared to the control, was significantly preferred."

In the "Discussion of Results" from that publication, it was concluded that: "The outstanding fact of the completed research is that additions of SNF improve flavor and acceptability of beverage milks. As a corollary, additions of SNF are more easily detected than fat

additions, and SNF additions have a greater influence on consumer acceptance than fat additions."

Improved nutrition is another primary reason to increase SNF in fresh milk, as it serves as delicious product to help people of all ages consume essential vitamins and nutrients important for health.

Being one of the most nutrient-dense beverages, fresh milk contains nine essential nutrients, e.g. Protein, Calcium, Potassium,

Phosphorus, vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin B12, Riboflavin and Niacin. Generally, as known in prior art, patents have been granted for creating milks based on evaporation of milk.

US patent US20010026825 describes a packaged UHT sterilized liquid milk concentrate for mixing with water, to provide a

reconstituted milk beverage.

Such prior art was trying to produce a non-refrigerated packaged UHT sterilized milk concentrate based on evaporation of milk.

The uniqueness and novelty of the current invention focuses on ready-to-drink refrigerated non-sterilized fresh milk based on evaporation of raw milk, improving nutrition and broad range of health characteristics, while providing vast improvements in taste, texture, and creaminess consumers seek in fresh milk.

Additionally, such prior art packaged UHT milk concentrate contains ingredients such as stabilizers, preventing the benefits of current invention ready-to-drink refrigerated fresh milk which is free of such food additives.

US patent US6599552 describes a grain based dairy beverage which includes sugar, evaporated milk, rice flour, chocolate milk powder and water.

The grain based dairy beverage described in such prior art does not include a fundamental improvement in taste, thickness and

creaminess of the beverage, nor that is improve nutritional values, and the utilization of evaporated milk and condensed milk in the beverage recipe serves to keep long shelf life and stability after preparation. Also, such prior art generally describes mixing evaporated milk and concentrated milk for use in the grain based dairy beverage, but discloses no particulars on how such evaporated milk or condensed milk are manufactured.

The current invention manufacturing process describes heating raw milk for the purpose of evaporation, as an essential process for the preparation of refrigerated ready-to-drink fresh milk.

Furthermore, the present invention describes the preparation of refrigerated ready-to-drink fresh milk that is not based on rice flour as described in prior art.

Detailed Description of the Invention

It has now been discovered in accordance with the present invention, that fresh milk based on evaporation of raw milk is a much thicker and fuller product, offering a richer more full-bodied taste with added creaminess, and significantly improving flavor intensity and overall taste in comparison with current fresh milk that is more watery and flat in taste.

According to the present invention, it has also been found that flavor improvement is noticeable in fresh milk based on evaporation of raw milk comprising between 47 to 77% by weight water, representing between 1 1 to 46% water removal from regular fresh milk.

A fresh milk based on evaporation of raw milk as described in the present invention differ distinctly and appreciably from current fresh milk in its method of preparation, its unique rich pleasing taste, and its nutritional values. The richness and creaminess of fresh milk based on evaporation of raw milk as described in the prevent invention, is the result of the significant increase in SNF obtained by the removal of water.

Along with improved taste, the evaporation process as described in the prevent invention, concentrates the nutritive part of the fresh milk, offering better nutritionby providing higher levels of protein, calcium and other various vitamins to consumers.

Compared to traditional fresh milk, the present invention fresh milk has an advantage of 30-120% in SNF, while maintaining the same fat level.

According to the present invention, the method of producing

pasteurized ready-to-drink refrigerated fresh milk based on

evaporation of raw milk, being defined for the purposes of the present invention is:

1 . The milk on receipt for the preparation of the present invention is clarified or filtered raw milk, which has been standardized to between 0-3.6% by weight fat level.

2. Said milk is then evaporated to between 47 to 77% by weight water, preferably through the process of vacuum evaporation

(exposing a liquid to a pressure lower than atmospheric pressure) where the boiling point of the milk is lowered to between 40 to 45°C.

3. The milk is then pasteurized either by HTST method typically at 72°C for about 15 seconds, or by ESL method typically at 120-134°C for 1 -10 seconds. The milk is then homogenized, and rapidly cooled to 3-9°C, preferably to 4°C.

4. Said milk is then evaporated to between 47 to 77% by weight water, either after step 1 or after step 2, preferably through the process of vacuum evaporation (exposing a liquid to a pressure lower than atmospheric pressure) where the boiling point of the milk is lowered to between 40 to 45°C.

5. The final product is bottled and shipped to the consumer, under refrigerated conditions, having a refrigeration shelf life of up to 40 days at temperatures of 1 -8°C.

These examples illustrate the preparation of some of the inventive fresh milks of the present invention.

Example 1

Pasteurized ready-to-drink refrigerated fresh milk based on evaporation of raw milk comprising 77% by weight water, with 3.25% by weight fat level, providing an improved taste, texture, creaminess and nutrition.

Example 2

Pasteurized ready-to-drink refrigerated fresh milk based on evaporation of raw milk comprising 47% by weight water, with 2.0% by weight fat level, providing an improved taste, texture, creaminess and nutrition.

It will be evident to those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the details of the foregoing illustrative embodiments and examples, and that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof. It is therefore desired that the present embodiments be considered in all aspects as illustrative and not restrictive, reference being made to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing description, in which it is intended to claim all modifications coming within the scope and spirit of the invention. Brief Description of the Drawings

Figure 1 shows the process of preparation of the present invention.

Figure 2 shows a composition chart comparing regular fresh milk SNF percent, and the present invention fresh milk SNF percent.

Figure 3 shows triple-effect vacuum evaporator diagram, where water content of the raw milk is reduced from 87% by weight water, to between 47-77% by weight water.