TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to a combination of natural components and thickeners for preparation of an iced dessert or ice cream.

Moreover, this invention relates to a method for preparing an iced dessert or an ice cream which uses this combination of natural components and thickeners.

Again, this invention relates to an iced dessert or an ice cream, obtained by implementing this method and with the above-mentioned combination.

The invention applies mainly to the food industry sector .

BACKGROUND ART

The process for preparing a traditional artisan ice cream is normally performed hot, using a pasteurisation machine and a machine for whisking the product. A neutral, base is prepared at the start of the process, substantially formed from cow's milk and cream, and the base is pasteurised by heating which brings the base to a temperature of between 65°C and 85°C. After maturing for a length of time generally of between 4 and 10 hours, the neutral base obtained in this way is normally aromatised with certain aromatising or flavouring products. Lastly, the mixture is whisked, bringing it to a solid state, stirring and cooling it simultaneously.

For setting up a process which leads to the production of an acceptable product, the prior art teaches the use of stabilisers, for example to obtain a particular softness of the product, and to prevent the formation of ice crystals during the storing of the ice cream, as well as emulsifiers which allow micro-bubbles of air to be obtained which are distributed uniformly in the finished product.

Combinations of stabilisers and emulsifiers for preparing ice cream are already known in the prior art, but in the majority of cases these are basically products of a chemical and animal origin, whilst the general trend in the food industry is moving increasingly towards the use of biological and/or natural and/or plant products.

In effect, a force in this sector can be felt in some prior art documents. For example, patent applications EP-A-153870, EP-A-1563744 and EP-A-480665 describe ice creams or compositions to obtain ice creams which comprise starch from rice and plant fibres.

Moreover, document EP 2025240 Bl describes a system for stabilising natural ingredients for use in the preparation of frozen confectionery products comprising native rice starch, egg yolk as natural emulsifier and citrus pulp. In any case, the process which implements this system comprises the preparation of a mixture, pasteurization of the mixture, homogenizing the ice cream mixture in a first step at a pressure of 150-250 bar, and in a second step at a pressure of between 10 and 80 bar, and the final freezing the mixture. DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The aim of this invention is to provide a composition of components and thickeners of a completely biological and/or natural and/or plant origin which provides a process for preparing ice cream which does not use any of the lengthy and expensive traditional processes for pasteurizing, maturing and whisking.

This is achieved by means of a composition having the characteristics described in claim 1. Claim 2 describes the use of a composition according to the invention .

Moreover, the aim of this invention is to provide a new process or method, carried out completely in a cold state, for preparing an ice cream using a composition of components and thickeners of a completely biological and/or natural and/or plant origin. The process or method is described under claim 3 and under the claims dependent thereon .

Lastly, the aim of this invention is to provide a frozen food product, in particular an iced dessert or ice cream, obtained starting from a composition of components and thickeners of a completely biological and/or natural and/or plant origin. The frozen food is described under claim 7 and under the claims dependent thereon.

With reference to the invention, the composition used as base for the preparation of the frozen food product, in this instance ice cream, consists of vegetable proteins supported by maltodextrin and inulin. These elements are present in nature and are used in the market of high level cosmetics. Surprisingly, the Applicants have ascertained that these elements, where suitably mixed in predetermined quantities, may form the base for preparing a nutraceutical , prebiotic, vegetable ice cream without added fats, without gluten and lactose, which is completely natural and biological.

Still more surprisingly, the Applicants have ascertained that, by using acacia gum and inulin inside the composition, it is possible to emulsify the very small parts of vegetable fat contained in many vegetables. Therefore, thanks to the balancing of maltodextrin, acacia gum and inulin and the presence of small percentages of vegetable fat present in the vegetables, it is possible to emulsify a compound formed by fruit, vegetables and water obtaining an ice cream with equal, if not better, scoopability , density and creaminess as an ice cream containing milk, whipped cream, cream and eggs .

DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a combination of vegetable proteins supported by maltodextrin and inulin for forming a base for preparing a frozen food product, in this instance for preparing ice cream according to a completely cold process.

The term "combination" as used here means a mixture of ingredients which contribute to the stability of the frozen product, preventing the formation of ice crystals, provide a very dense and creamy end product, slow down the kinetic melting of the ice cream, which make it possible to re-balance the intestinal bacterial flora, the combination being free of fats and chemical emulsifiers . According to the invention, the components of the combination consist of:

a) maltodextrin, which is a complex water soluble carbohydrate that can be obtained by means of hydrolysis processes mainly by the breakdown of tubers;

b) natural inulin fibre (fibrulin), which is a soluble vegetable fibre contained in nature in some plants as a reserve substance. It is soluble, and belongs chemically to the family of fructans, polysaccharides formed by linear chains of fructose. It has been ascertained that the consumption of inulin results in a sharp increase in the intestines of the presence of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli (milk enzymes which are extremely important for correct digestion and for the health of the colon) and a simultaneous and massive reduction in the number of bacteria considered to be harmful. Moreover, inulin possesses an excellent prebiotic action, where the term "prebiotic" means a non-digestible food ingredient, which brings benefits to the organism thanks to the selective stimulation of growth and/or activation of one or more bacteria present in the intestines and which make it possible to re-balance the bacterial flora;

c) acacia gum, which makes it possible to emulsify the ice cream by replacing the emulsifier known as E471 which is normally used in the preparation of ice creams. Combined with the others base substances, the presence of acacia makes it possible to obtain a good peak and a high viscosity of the product despite the absence of fats. Moreover, the acacia maintains the product for a long period of time and allows resistance to sensorial aging. Acacia gum, combined with the other elements, also allows the kinetics of the melting of the ice cream to be slowed down and to maintain unchanged the internal and external characteristics of the ice cream over time, increasing by up to three times the average melting time compared with an ice cream obtained by traditional methods.

From the above description it is possible to deduce that the maltodextrin, acacia gum and inulin are not used according to their normal functions as stabilisers and emulsifiers. They are used in a balanced manner, as described below, for specifically emulsifying minimal quantities of fats present in the vegetables.

The composition according to this invention further comprises thickeners and, in particular:

d) tara gum (E417), which is an odourless and tasteless powder obtained from the endosperm of Cesalpinia Spinosa, a leguminous plant;

e) xanthan gum (E415), which is a thickening element in the form of powder obtained by the fermentation in pure culture of a carbohydrate by natural strains of the Xanthomonas Campestris bacteria and which is normally used for thickening gluten-free products;

f) guar gum (E412), obtained from the milling of the endosperm of Cyamopsis tetragonoloba guar seeds, an herbaceous leguminous plant the seeds of which have been used for centuries for food purposes in India and Pakistan.

It may be noted that none of the above-mentioned elements contain gluten, nor undergo any contamination by products containing gluten.

The composition for performing the process for preparing an iced dessert or an ice cream according to this invention is then completed with the addition of a predetermined quantity of sugar, advantageously organic sugar cane, and/or its natural replacement with a glycaemic index equal to zero.

With reference to the invention, the composition for obtaining 1 kg of ice cream or iced dessert has a weight of 230 g, of which 12 g consists of elements a)-f) described above which constitute the base preparation and 218 g consists of sugar, advantageously organic sugar cane and/or a natural replacement. For this reason, the base preparation is present in a quant ity/percentage weight of 1.2% relative to the weight of the end product.

More specifically, according to a particularly advantageous of the invention, the base is formed as follows :

Experiments have shown that, with the total quantity of 12 g for the basic preparation, each of the elements may vary by ± 5% compared with that shown in the table whilst still obtaining a basic preparation according to this invention.

For example, the table below shows the general composition of 100 g of carrot, from which it may be observed that there is a quantity, even though minimal, of fats:

Thanks to the balancing of maltodextrin, acacia gum, inulin, tara gum, xanthan gum and guar gum, the composition according to this invention is able to stabilise, emulsify and transform water, fresh fruit and vegetables into ice cream.

A typical recipe for preparing 1 kg of ice cream or iced dessert therefore comprises 23% of solids (composition formed by basic preparation 1.2% and sugar 21.8%), to which is added approximately 30% of liquids (for example mineral water or any type of milk or other liquids or juices or infused liquids, even alcoholic) and approximately 47% of raw fruit/vegetables/seeds/spices or any other type of ingredient /product .

The following table shows some examples, which do not limit the invention, of recipes which can be obtained by implementing this invention. Strawberries tomatoes and rocket g

Water 300

Base 230

Strawberries 350

Tomatoes 100

Rocket 20

TOTAL 1000

Hemp apple g

Hemp milk 300

Base 230

Green apple 300

Celery 80

Spinach 55

Mint 15

TOTAL 1000

It may be seen from the above tables that, thanks to the combination of natural stabilisers, emulsifiers and thickeners, according to the invention, and its use, it is possible to create numerous recipes using any type of fruit, vegetable and supporting liquid, by means of a completely cold process.

In this context, it is possible to use seeds, super foods, mushrooms, dried pulses, fresh vegetables and aromatic herbs, fresh and dried fruit in the recipes.

It is also possible to use, as supporting liquid, not just water, but also vegetable milk (from rice, hemp, millet etc.), alcoholic liquids, juices and infused 1 iquids .

The method according to the invention for making the iced dessert or ice cream with a weight of 1 kg is extremely simple and comprises the following steps:

cutting fruit/vegetables/seeds/spices or other ingredients/products to obtain approximately 470 g of product;

blending the product together with approximately 300 g of mineral water or other suitable liquid of any type, for example, vegetable milk and 230 g of composition, according to the invention;

cooling the blended composition to a temperature of

-18°C;

- inserting the frozen product in a blender (in particular it is advisable to use a pressure blender to guarantee excellent quality and production times) and blending again for a short period, that is to say, approximately 1 minute.

The process described can be carried out in much shorter times than that necessary for preparing ice cream.

It should be noted how, thanks to the process according to this invention, the nutritional properties of all the ingredients used can be maintained, which makes the iced dessert / ice cream nutraceutical .

Again, is useful to note how, thanks to the base composition according to this invention, it is possible to prepare iced desserts or ice creams which use raw, fresh, local and seasonal ingredients, thus being able to make an almost infinite list of recipes which take into account nutritional and/or geographical needs. Lastly, it should also be noted that even though the above-mentioned description has placed particular stress on the possibility of making an iced dessert/ice cream which is completely biological, kosher and free of gluten, it is also possible, on the basis of the composition according to the invention always with a percentage of 23% of total solids, to prepare iced desserts or ice creams in which the water is replaced by other types of liquid such as, for example, hemp milk, sunflower milk, millet milk, spelt milk, alcohol, juices, infusions, tea, herbal teas, extracts, smoothies, soft drinks etc., and the fruit / vegetables is combined with other components such as, for example, chocolate, vanilla, various kinds of spices etc.