"Vegetable oils based dressing gel sauce and relative production process"

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The present invention relates to a vegetable oils based dressing gel sauce.

The present invention also relates to a process for producing a vegetable oils based dressing gel sauce.

As is known, dressing sauces are a product widely used in the food industry and are normally used for flavoring or garnishing dishes. Different dressing sauces are commercially available, most of which are produced by means of emulsification processes, resulting in sauces characterized by the presence of an oily phase and an aqueous phase. Additional ingredients are added to these emulsified sauces to make the emulsion stable hindering the separation between the two phases, aqueous and oily, which naturally tend to separate.

Some examples of these known solutions are described for example in the patent application US2011/0045125 published on February 24 ^th , 2011 on behalf of LIPID NUTRITION BV, and in the patent application WO2009002371 published on December 31, 2008 on behalf of Magliba Cecille . These known solutions suffer of the problems of including a wide range of ingredients, such as thickeners and/or gelling of the aqueous phase, preservatives and stabilizers and of not being able to be distributed uniformly on the dish to be dressed.

To overcome these problems and improve the distribution of sauces, a solution is to use gel sauces.

Some oil transformation techniques from liquid to gel phase are known. These techniques consist in using structuring molecules, called gelators, currently used in the food industry as emulsifiers, capable of forming a network conferring structure to vegetable oils, even at temperatures higher to room temperature. In this way it is possible to vary the physical structure of the original oils without altering their chemical characteristics. An organogel, or oleogel, is in fact characterized by the presence of a crystal lattice formed by molecules of the gelator in which drops of oil get trapped. In this way, the original oil, usually liquid at room temperature, takes the consistency of a gel.

An oleogel production technique is disclosed in the patent application WO2014004018 published on January 3 ^rd , 2014 by Dow Global Technologies LLC. This known solution provides the use of ethyl-cellulose as specific organogelator, which is a synthetic polymer.

Thus, this disclosed technique involves the use of non-natural substances, which reduce the properties and healthiness of the product. Furthermore, the production process shown in this known solution does not guarantee the attainment of the gel phase and involves a hand-inspection phase, difficult to apply industrially, and decisive for the effective formation of the gel phase.

Furthermore, the ethyl-cellulose, although having emulsifier and preservative properties, is not suitable for alimentary use, especially in the weaning of babies, because it causes intestinal problems when taken in high concentration .

The organogelation technique is also used in a product, being an emulsion of water in oil, described in the patent application WO2013111058, De Cindio Bruno et al . , published on August 1 ^st 2013. In this known solution, the organogelation technique is used to increase the consistency of the oily phase, in such a way to obtain the final emulsion as an alternative to margarines that are now commercially available.

However, all these solutions and commercially known dressing sauces are not products primarily based on vegetable oils. In fact, in these products, the content of vegetable oils is less than 90%. Therefore, these known products whilst conferring a gel structure to oils, cannot be defined completely natural, containing the additional ingredients that change the characteristic of naturalness.

Moreover, when the known products are emulsions, the water content determines the need for preservatives and stabilizing substances, that reduce the percentage of oils and the quality of the obtained sauce.

Furthermore, known production processes of dressing gel sauces provide the achievement of high process temperatures, involving high energy costs and risk to damage the nutritive and organoleptic properties of the oils and of the components used.

Purpose of the present invention is to provide a vegetable oils based dressing gel sauce and the relative production process, which allow to obtain a high quality gel sauce devoid of water and practical to use, having therefore, characteristics such as to overcome the limits which still affect the existing dressing sauces with reference to the known technique.

Further purpose of the present invention is to provide a vegetable oils based dressing gel sauce which allows to reduce the specific volume to a minimum value, given the quantity of oils present and the capacity of dressing.

Furthermore, purpose of the present invention is to provide a vegetable oils based dressing gel sauce that is stable, storable for long periods in gel phase without needing the addition of chemical additives.

Furthermore, purpose of the present invention is to provide a production process for producing vegetable oils based dressing gel sauce that allows low energy costs and that is economical, simple and efficient.

Lastly, object of the present invention is to provide a process for producing vegetable oils based dressing gel sauce and gel sauce devoid of water, which can be easily industrialized and which allows a high yield.

According to the present invention, a process for producing vegetable oils based dressing gel sauce is provided, as defined in claim 1.

According to the present invention, a vegetable oils based dressing gel sauce is provided, as defined in claim 12.

For a better understanding of the present invention it is now described a preferred embodiment, purely by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: - Figure 1 shows a schematic view of a process for producing vegetable oils based dressing gel sauce, according to the invention;

Figure 2 shows a schematic view of a first embodiment of the process for producing vegetable oils based dressing gel sauce, according to the invention;

Figure 3 shows a schematic view of a second embodiment of the process for producing vegetable oils based dressing gel sauce, according to the invention;

- Figure 4 shows a schematic view of a third embodiment of the process for producing vegetable oils based dressing gel sauce, according to the invention.

With reference to these figures and, in particular, to Figure 1, a process for producing vegetable oils based dressing gel sauce is shown, according to the invention.

The process for producing vegetable oils based dressing gel sauce is made starting from alimentary oils, additives and spicy so as to obtain a varied and complete dressing, then transformed into gels using the physical process of organogelation.

More in detail, according to a first embodiment, the process for producing vegetable oils based dressing gel sauce comprises the steps: - 1 of forming a mixture of vegetable oils mixing the vegetable oils with an antioxidant substance and with at least one low molecular weight organogelator , having a melting temperature Tf, at a mixing temperature comprised in the range (Tf + 5° C) and (Tf + 20°C)

- 4 of cooling;

- 5 of maturing a gel from the mixture of vegetable oils;

- 6 of packaging.

According to an aspect of the invention, the step 1 comprises the step of mixing vegetable oils selected from: olive oil, rice oil and sunflower oil.

Advantageously according to the invention the vegetable oils based dressing gel sauce, according to a first embodiment of the invention, is devoid of solid vegetable fats which are known to be unhealthy and worsen the nutritional characteristics of the condiment.

According to an aspect of the invention, the low molecular weight organogelator is a monoglyceride or a mixture of monoglycerides.

In particular, according to an aspect of the invention, the monoglycerides can be a mixture of monostearin and monopalmitin (or glyceryl monostearate and glyceryl monopalmitate ) .

According to another aspect of the invention, the low molecular weight organogelator is policosanol.

According to an aspect of the invention, the antioxidant substance used in step 1 is the vitamin E.

According to an aspect of the invention, the low molecular weight organogelator used is a mixture of organogelator and the temperature in step 1 is comprised in the range (Tf+5°C) and (Tf+20°C) where Tf is, in that case, the melting point of the organogelator having higher melting point present in the mixture.

Advantageously, the temperature range used in step 1 allows do not oxidize and do not alter the chemical, organoleptic and nutritional characteristics of the sauce.

According to a first embodiment of the process, as shown in the figure 2, the process comprises a step 2 of first cooling, a step 3 of adding flavorings preceding a step 4 of second cooling.

According to an aspect of the invention, the step 2 comprises the step of lowering the temperature of the vegetable oils mixture to a value comprised between (Tg +5°C) and (Tg+10°C) where Tg is the gelation and / or crystallization temperature of the vegetable oils mixture itself .

Advantageously according to the invention, the addition of flavorings or spices after the step 2 prevents to damage any flavorings composed of thermolabile molecules .

According to another aspect of the invention, the mixture 1 obtained in step 1 comprises a quantity of vegetable oils comprised between 90% and 99.9% by weight, a quantity of low molecular weight organogelator comprised between 0.1% and 10% by weight, a quantity of antioxidants comprised between 0% and 0.1% by weight and a quantity of flavorings and / or spices between 0 and 2% by weight.

According to a second embodiment of the invention, as shown in figure 3, if the quantity of flavorings and / or spices is equal to 0%, the production process comprises the steps :

- 1' of forming a mixture of vegetable oils with an antioxidant substance and with at least a low molecular weight organogelator, having a melting temperature Tf, at a mixing temperature comprised in the range (Tf + 5° C) and (Tf + 20°C) ;

- 4 ' of cooling; - 5' of maturing a gel from the mixture of vegetable oils; and

- 6' of packaging.

According to a third embodiment of the invention, as shown in figure 4, in the case the low molecular weight organogelator having high gelation temperature, near to the temperature of forming a vegetable oils mixture, the production process comprises:

- 1'' of forming a mixture of vegetable oils and an antioxidant substance and low molecular weight organogelator, having a melting temperature Tf, at a mixing temperature comprised in the range (Tf + 5° C) and (Tf + 20°C) ;

- 3'' of adding flavorings;

- 4 ' ' of cooling;

- 5'' of maturing a gel from the mixture of vegetable oils;

- 6'' of packaging.

According to an aspect of the invention, the temperature of the steps 1' and 1'' is equal to the temperature of the step 1.

According to another aspect of the invention, the step 3 comprises adding spices. According to an aspect of the invention, the steps 4, 4' and 4'' comprise subjecting the vegetable oils mixture obtained in the previous step to a sudden cooling, or quenching, at a process temperature comprised between 4° C and 25° C.

According to another aspect of the invention, the step of cooling, or quenching, can be achieved by immersion of the vegetable oils mixture in a thermostated fluid at the selected process temperature, in the range comprised between 4° C and 25° C.

According to another aspect of the invention, the step of cooling, or quenching, is realized within cold stores at a temperature comprised between 4° C and 10° C.

Advantageously according to the invention, the step of cooling, or quenching, allows the formation of aggregates which constitute the gel.

According to an aspect of the invention, the step 5 comprises the step of maturing the gel at a temperature of 25° C, for a period of time comprised between 24 and 72 hours .

According to another aspect of the invention, the duration of the step of maturing the gel varies as a function of the quantity and type of low molecular weight organogelator present in the initial mixture of oils and in function of the quantity of dressing gel sauce to be prepared .

According to an aspect of the invention, the step 6 may precede the step 4, so as to start the formation of gel directly inside the packing of the final sauce produced.

The process described is, in all its steps, necessary and functional for the obtainment of the gel dressing sauce of the present invention.

The general formulation of the dressing sauces, according to the invention, with the relative composition ranges of the ingredients is given below:

A first example of embodiment of the invention is: Extra virgin

olive oil 96.4

Organic gelation

substance

(monoglycerides

of fatty acids) 3.5

antioxidants 0.1

A second example of embodiment of the invention is:

A third example of embodiment of the invention is: Extra virgin

olive oil 84.9

Rice Oil 10

oregano flavor 1

Organogelator

(monoglycerides

of fatty acids) 4

antioxidants 0.1

Finally, a fourth example of embodiment of the invention is

Advantageously according to the invention, the vegetable oils based dressing gel sauce can be varied starting from the simple formulation of the gel oil and reaching to multiple variants by means of different types of flavorings and their combinations. For example, vegetable oils different from the original mixture of vegetable oils can be added, in order to adjust the consistency of the product and to expand the possible applications .

Advantageously according to the invention, the gel structure of the sauce according to the invention allows the addition of nutraceuticals additives reaching to the production of sauces in gels as functional foods.

Advantageously according to the invention, the transformations that are performed during the process are physical, therefore they do not alter the quality of the raw materials used.

The Applicant has carried out laboratory tests and rheological measurements which shows that on a sample of 100 oleogel prepared according to the process reported in the patent application WO2014004018, only 71 specimens have actually reached a gel consistency, while 100 specimens of 100 of vegetable oils based dressing gel sauce according to the present invention, using organic gelation substances with low molecular weight (monoglycerides of fatty acids) and prepared according to the production process of the present invention, showed final consistency of a gel type (phase angle less than 45° from rheological measurements on small amplitude oscillatory regime) .

Advantageously, the production process of the dressing gel sauce of the present invention is easily industrializable and ensures the obtaining of the final product .

The Applicant has carried out an evaluation of the quantity of vegetable oils based dressing gel sauce according to the invention to be used to season a dish, for example a salad. It has, thus, been able to verify that, with respect to 12 g of seasoning present in known single- dose sachets used for seasoning, it is sufficient to employ a quantity of 8 g of the present vegetable oils based dressing gel sauce, according to the invention.

Advantageously, the vegetable oils based dressing gel sauce according to the invention, is uniformly distributed on the foods with known seasoning sauces accumulate on the bottom of the food container.

The Applicant has also estimated experimentally that the vegetable oils based dressing gel sauce according to the invention has a lower specific volume of 7-10% with compared to the specific volume of vegetable oils in liquid phase used for its production. Advantageously, the reduction of the specific volume of a dressing sauce for the same quantity of food, and hence the same content of oils, allows to reduce the costs related to the transport and to the production of dressing sauce according to the invention.

Moreover, the Applicant has verified that the high consistency of the produced sauce does not hinder the seasoning of foods, as the physical bonds present in the structure of the product can be easily broken by mechanical stirring, for example for mixing, or by heating, for example using the heat of the hot food to be seasoned. Experimental tests conducted by the Applicant shows that the rheological behavior of the gel dressing sauce according to the invention is characterized by dynamic moduli G' and G" greater than those observed in samples of commercial known sauces. In particular, by means of time cure test, with increasing and decreasing of the temperature in the range 25°C - 60°C, it was shown that commercial known sauces have values of G' and G" that remain constant with varying temperature, respectively with values of about lOOOOPa and lOOOPa. Instead, the vegetable oils based gel dressing sauce according to the invention presents values of G' and G" close to 5000Pa and 50000 Pa up to temperature of 50°C. Above this temperature the rheological behavior of the gel dressing sauce changes and G' , G" values rapidly decrease.

Advantageously, the gel dressing sauce according to the present invention maintain gel phase at room temperature while, when in use is poured on a hot dish, its viscosity decrease allowing optimal dressing of the food.

Advantageously according to the invention, the vegetable oils based dressing gel sauce returns to the liquid state in use, by mixing or heating, allowing the uniform distribution of the seasoning on the food.

Still advantageously, the mechanical agitation resulting for example from shipping and warming to room temperature and up to 50° C, are not sufficient to break the physical bonds present in the gel structure of the sauce according to the invention, which remains permanently as a gel until used.

With the vegetable oils based dressing gel sauce according to the invention a not emulsified product is obtained, which does not contain any amount of water, and consisting entirely of vegetable oils aggregates in gel form and stable in terms of texture even at room temperature .

The stability over time is optimized thanks to the composition of the sauce and to the production process according to the invention. The stability was verified by the Applicant, by means of rheological and microbiological tests .

Advantageously according to the invention, the absence of water in the dressing gel sauce allows to obtain a stable and safe product, without the need to add preservatives or stabilizers.

The Applicant has performed experiments proofing the antioxidant effect obtained by adding the E vitamin to pure olive oil. Experimental results show how peroxides number (PV) varies with time in samples containing vitamin E and samples of pure olive oil. A stationary value is reached for both types of samples after about 60 minutes. This stationary value for the sample of pure oil, after 2.5 hours at 70°C, is higher that the value, of 20meq of active oxygen per kg of oil, allowed by European Law [Reg. CEE 2568/91] .

Advantageously, using the E vitamin as antioxidant substance it's possible to stabilize the dressing gel sauce and the oils contained in the sauce.

Furthermore, with the vegetable oils based dressing sauce and the relative production process according to the invention a complete and uniform seasoning is obtained, employing seasoning quantities lower than those commonly used, thus minimizing the waste.

Another advantage of vegetable oils based dressing sauce and the relative production process according to the invention is that it allows the use also by people with celiac disease and vegans, thanks to the content of 100% vegetable substances.

A further advantage of the vegetable oils based dressing sauce and the relative production process according to the invention is to be easily industrialized and allow high yields. In that regard, studies carried out by the Applicant on samples of gel sauces produced according to the process of the present invention and samples produced according to different procedures and employing structuring substances as ethyl-cellulose, are reported .

Advantageously, the 100% of samples produced by the production process according to the invention, shows rheological behavior of a gel, promoting the industrialization of the process. Instead, samples produced using ethyl-cellulose needs a hand-verification of gelation, resulting difficult to apply industrially and showing 71% yield, lower than the 100% showed by the production process according to the invention. Advantageously, with the vegetable oils based dressing sauce and the relative production process according to the invention a reduced specific volume product is obtained with high ability to uniformly season the food that appears to be, also thanks to the single-dose packaging, particularly advantageous in catering, such as fast food and canteens, and in a variety of restoration circuits on transport lines, such as planes, trains, space supply.

Finally, it is clear that the vegetable oils based dressing sauce and the relative production process described and illustrated herein can be modified without departing from the scope of the present invention, as defined in the appended claims.