SPREADABLE FOOD PRODUCT AND ITS PRODUCTION METHOD FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a spreadable food product consisting of at least honey as a raw material. PRIOR ART

Honey, which is a food product, has many benefits to the human body. For example, as an antioxidant, honey has a preventive effect against various diseases such as cancer, coronary diseases, inflammatory diseases, neurological degeneration, and aging. It is put forward in the book by Molan P.C., titled Usage of Honey in Modern Medicine, that honey has positive effects for the treatment of up to 500 diseases such as ulcers and other gastrointestinal disorders, heart failure, tachycardia, bone diseases, cough, allergy, bronchitis, anemia, sore throat, nerve diseases, certain dermatological disorders, and nervous system diseases. It is also known that it has a laxative and vasodilator effect, and it regulates blood circulation and strengthens the heart functions, as well as being a digester of fats, and therapeutic for burns. Moreover, honey comprises fructose, glucose, sucrose, and malt-sugar together. Namely, honey naturally contains all types of sugars. The glucose and fructose contained within the honey is separated by the enzyme that is added into the honey by the bee during the process of making honey, and it consists of almost 31 % glucose and 38.2% fructose depending on the type of honey. For that reason, digestion of honey is easier than sugar. Honey has much more functional properties because it consists of 25 different oligosaccharides, vitamins, antioxidants, analgesic, and antimicrobial substances.

There are spreadable products in the food sector, particularly preferred at breakfast, and honey can be used as the raw material of said spreadable products. Various additives are used in spreadable products for thickening and sweetening purposes. In general, sugar and glucose syrups are used as flavorings and such flavorings result in diseases such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and cancer. Also, an emulsifier is used for preventing the release of fat in the product and these emulsifiers are generally lecithin-based and have many harmful effects on the human body.

The patent application with No. 201 1 /01513 discloses spreadable product based on honey and milk and the production method in relating thereto. A spreadable product is generally comprised of honey between 60-90% by mass and milk-based material.

Finally, the above-mentioned problems have required the development of an invention in the relevant technical field.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a spreadable food product, and the method for production of said product in order to eliminate the above-mentioned disadvantages and offer new advantages for the relevant technical field. The main purpose of the invention is to disclose a spreadable food product that is not harmful to the human body and a method for the production of said product.

Another purpose of the invention is to disclose a spreadable food product that is not subject to crystallization during the life time and a method for the production of said product.

One other purpose of the invention is to disclose a spreadable food product that is not subject to oxidation during the life time and a method for the production of said product.

The said invention, which aims to realize the above-mentioned purposes as well as the ones to be obtained from the following detailed description, is a spreadable food product consisting of at least honey as a raw material. According to this, the said invention comprises of at least one flavoring raw material, vegetable fat, milk powder and vanilla; the honey is provided at least 20% by weight in the spreadable food product and its ratio to total fat content in the spreadable food product is at least 1 . The preferred embodiment of the invention is that the invert sugar structure of honey consists of glucose between 22-32% by weight.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is that the ratio of raw materials consists of 20-70% honey, 8-25% flavoring raw material, 5-20% vegetable fat, 2- 8% milk powder and 0.1 -1 % vanilla by weight.

One other embodiment of the invention is to select at least one of the following purees as the flavoring raw material: hazelnut puree, peanut puree and almond puree.

Another preferred embodiment of the said invention is that it consists of tahini.

The preferred embodiment of the said invention is that tahini is provided between 5-20% by weight within the spreadable food product.

The preferred embodiment of the said invention is that the total fat content is provided above 20% by weight within the spreadable food product.

Another preferred embodiment of the said invention is to use skimmed milk powder.

The said invention also relates to a method for the production of the spreadable food product consisting of honey, at least one flavoring raw material, vegetable fat, milk powder and vanilla. As an innovative step, it occurs under the existence of nitrogen gas and it includes the following steps: a) heating the honey, heating of honey up to the pre-calculated temperature in a raw honey tank

b) stirring of raw material mixture up to the temperature between 40-65°C by adding vegetable fat and flavoring raw material into the process tank in the first stirring step c) firstly, adding of the milk powder gradually into the process tank and stirring with the raw material mixture at the temperature between 40- 65°C, in a second stirring step; heating of raw material mixture up to the pre-calculated temperature and pasteurizing the mixture for a period of 15-20 min.

d) stirring the raw material mixture by adding the vanilla into the process tank in a third stirring step

e) to add the honey, transferring the honey in the raw honey tank to the process tank and then stirring the mixture

f) stirring the raw material mixture after transferring all the honey content into the process tank in a fourth stirring step

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the honey is heated up to temperature between 40-60°C in the honey heating step.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the temperature of the raw material is heated up to 60-75°C in the second stirring step.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the raw material mixture is pasteurized by keeping it at the temperature between 60-75°C for 15 minutes between the second stirring step and third stirring step.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the raw material mixture is stirred at the temperature between 60-75°C for 10-20 minutes in the third stirring step.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the stirring process is performed for 15 minutes.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the honey is sucked into the process tank with a suction rate between 70-90 kg/m at the honey adding step.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the stirring process continues in the process tank during the honey adding step and the spreadable food product reaches a temperature of between 45-70°C. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the spreadable food product is conveyed to the product tank after the fourth stirring step and then the spreadable food product is intermittently stirred in the product tank. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the spreadable food product is stirred for a period of 45-90 seconds every 20-40 seconds.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the spreadable food product is stirred for a period of 1 minute every 30 seconds.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the stirring speed is 12 rpm.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the stirring process in the process tank is performed by a paddle agitator and homogenizer mixer. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the spreadable food product in the product tank is conveyed to the filling line and it is filled into a package at the filling step.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the filling temperature of the spreadable food product is between 45-70°C.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 shows the representative view of the plant in which the spreadable food product according to said invention is produced.

Figure 2a shows the representative view of the steps of the production methods of the spreadable food product according to said invention. Figure 2b shows a representative view of the stirring step.

REFERENCE NUMBERS INDICATED ON FIGURES

10 Raw honey tank

20 Process tank 21 Paddle agitator

22 Homogenizer mixer

30 Product tank

40 Filling line

50 Honey heating step

60 Stirring step

61 First stirring step

62 Second stirring step

62.1 Adding step

63 Third stirring step

70 Final product step

71 Honey adding step

72 Fourth stirring step

80 Product conveying step

90 Filling step

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The said invention relating to the spreadable food product and the process for the production of said product is described in detail herein in order to better understand the technical field of the invention with the samples and examples that have no restriction on it.

The invention is generally a spreadable food product consisting of honey. The spreadable food product is comprised of natural raw materials. The said raw materials include honey, flavoring raw material, vegetable fat, milk powder, and vanilla. Apart from these raw materials, tahini can also be used as one of the raw material of the spreadable food product. Apart from the said raw materials, various raw materials can also be added to change the flavor of the spreadable food product. Hazelnut puree can be used as a flavoring raw material. Peanut puree or almond puree can be used as flavoring raw materials instead of hazelnut puree. The content of the honey in the spreadable food product is above 20% by weight. It benefits from the retention characteristic of the honey in order to prevent the fat from releasing on the spreadable food product. Moreover, time -temperature relation is regulated for the process used for the production of the spreadable food product. The ratio of honey content to total fat content is at least 1 , thereby preventing the release of fat on the spreadable food product. In the preferred application, the ratio of raw materials by weight is as follows: 20-70% honey, 8-25% flavoring raw material, 5-20% tahini, 5-20% vegetable fat, 2-8% milk powder and 0.1 -1 % vanilla. While it is possible to add hazelnut puree into the spreadable food product at 8-25%, the said ratio may rise if peanut puree is used. Raw materials and their ratios may change the flavor of the spreadable food product as well as having effects on the consistency and spreadability of the product. Skimmed milk powder is used. The total fat ratio is above 20%. The spreadable food product contains additives such as sugar, glucose syrup, flavoring agent, protecting agent, coloring agent, and artificial flavors. Honey serves as a flavoring agent. The spreadable food product has a texture and consistency that allows it to be spread and/or eaten with a spoon.

Crystallization that may naturally happen in honey is directly related to the invert sugar structure of the honey. For that reason, the invert sugar structure of the honey preferred for the spreadable food product contains 22-32% glucose by weight. Thanks to the preferred honey raw material, the spreadable food product can be stored without being subject to crystallization for its life time.

The production method of the spreadable food product, whose characteristic features are mentioned above, is as follows: Firstly, in the honey heating step (50), honey is taken into the raw honey tank (10) and it is heated up to the temperature between 40-60°C thereby increasing the fluidity of the honey. During this process, the honey obtains the characteristic of fat retention. In the meantime, the other raw materials except for the honey are added into the process tank (20) and stirring and pasteurization processes are performed in the stirring step (60). Then the honey is added into the process tank (20) and the spreadable product food comes into existence, and the stirring process continues. During the stirring processes, a paddle agitator (21 ) and homogenizer mixers (22) are used. The speed of the paddle agitator (21 ) during the stirring process is 45 rpm. The speed of the homogenizer mixer (22) is adjusted to 1 ,460 rpm. During the first stirring step (61 ), firstly the fat and flavoring raw material are added into the process tank (20). In case one of the raw materials of the spreadable food product is tahini, it is added into the process tank (20) in the first stirring step (61 ). The said raw materials are the raw materials with fat content. The said stirring process is kept going until the temperature of the raw materials rises between 40- 65°C. The stirring process lasts between 5-10 minutes. In case that mixture does not become homogeneous, the stirring process is kept going until homogeneity is achieved. Following the first stirring step (61 ), the second stirring step (62) is performed in the process tank (20). For the second stirring step (62), the milk powder is added into the process tank (20) during an adding step (621 ). The milk powder is gradually added at this stage and so agglomeration of raw mixture is prevented. It is important that the milk powder should be added when the temperature of the mixture of the raw material with fat content is between 40-65°C. During an adding step (62.1 ), the paddle agitator (21 ) is kept closed while the homogenizer mixer (22) is being operated. During the second stirring step (62), the temperature of the mixture of the raw material is raised to between 60-75°C. In the meantime, the mixture of the raw material has also been pasteurized. When the mixture of the raw material reaches the desired temperature, it is kept at the said temperature for 15 minutes. In a third stirring step (63), the vanilla is added into the mixture of the raw material and said mixture is stirred again. During the third stirring step (63), the stirring process of 10-20 minutes continues in the process tank (20). 15 minutes of stirring continues in the third stirring step (63). Temperature of the mixture of the raw material is kept between 60-75°C. In case the mixture of the raw material does not become homogeneous, the stirring process under the same temperatures continues until homogeneity is achieved.

At the end of the third stirring step (63) when the mixture of the raw material becomes homogeneous, the final product step (70) is performed. The final product step (70) includes a honey adding step (71 ) and the fourth stirring step (72). In the honey adding step (71 ), the honey is sucked from the raw honey tank (10) to the process tank (20). In the said honey adding step (71 ), the suction rate is adjusted between 70-90 kg/min. In the preferred application, the honey is sucked into the process tank (20) with the suction rate of 85 kg/min. During the process of adding the honey into the process tank (20), the stirring process is performed. During this process, the temperature of honey is between 40-60°C.

After adding the honey into the process tank (20), the fourth stirring step (72) is performed. In the fourth stirring step (72), the stirring process continues until the temperature of the spreadable food product consisting of honey and other raw materials reaches between 45-70°C. The stirring process in the fourth stirring step (72) continues for a period of 10-20 minutes. During the fourth stirring step (72), only the paddle agitator (21 ) is operating, and the homogenizer mixer (22) is not operational. In the preferred application, the stirring process is performed at a temperature between 60-75°C for 15 minutes. The product in the process tank (20) is conveyed to the product tank (30) in the product conveying step (80). The temperature of the product tank (30) is adjusted between 45-70°C like the product temperature. During the process when the spreadable food product is taken from the process tank (20) and is conveyed to the product tank (30), the spreadable food product in the product tank (30) is stirred for a period of 45-90 seconds every 20-40 seconds. In a preferred application of the invention, the spreadable food product is stirred for a period of 45-90 seconds every 20-40 seconds. In a more preferred application of the invention, the spreadable food product is stirred for a period of 1 minute every 30 seconds. The stirring speed in the product tank (30) is adjusted to 12 rpm. The spreadable food product is kept within the product tank (30) at a temperature between 45-70°C. The spreadable food product is finally conveyed to the filling line (40) and it is filled into a package in the filling step (90). Filling temperature of the spreadable food product is between 45-70°C.

Because the spreadable food product contains more than 20% fat by weight in total, it is sensitive to oxidation. The process tank (20) operates under the existence of nitrogen gas. Therefore, the air is removed from inside the process tank (20) and an inert medium is provided. Therefore, oxidation and the change of flavor that may occur in the product over time resulting from the bubbles both on the surface area and the inner part of the product due to 20.9% of the oxygen content in the air, is avoided. Thanks to this process, a spreadable food product, which has a spreadable characteristic and viscosity values of 600.000 mpas at 30°C and 105,000 mpas at 45°C, and an 18-month life-time under the environmental conditions without releasing any fat content is produced.

Due to the fact that honey is used as flavoring instead of sugar in the spreadable food product, all and any kind of harmful effect of sugar on the human body is prevented. Because of the fact that it is not required to use an emulsifier in order to prevent fat release, the harmful effects of the emulsifier on the human body, which are known in the art, are prevented.

The scope of the protection of the invention is indicated on the attached claims and it cannot be limited to matters exemplified throughout the detailed description. However, it is clear that an expert in the technical field can introduce similar configurations under the light of the above-mentioned issues within the limitations of the main scope of the invention.