Technical Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a functional snack produced by cold gelling technique, in which organic pectin, xanthan gum, and locust bean gum are used together as fruit concentrate and gelling agents, and to the production method thereof. The snack that is the subject of the invention is a Turkish delight-like snack and does not contain refined sugar.

State of the Art

It is necessary to significantly reduce energy consumption and environmental waste emissions in order to ensure sustainability in the snack production and food industry. Particularly confectionery products have different processes depending on the type of sugar; however, all production lines include the syrup cooking step as a conventional critical point. This stage is performed with conventional machinery and equipment and causes high energy consumption. In many countries, hot water and boiler systems are operated with fossil energy sources (coal, oil, natural gas, and secondary fuels) that offers environmental disadvantages such as high carbon footprint.

Turkish delight, which is one of the most consumed snacks, is defined as "The product prepared in accordance with its technique by adding seasonings, dry and/or dried fruits and similar substances to the Turkish delight mass prepared with sugar, starch, potable water, and citric acid, or tartaric acid, or potassium bi tartrate." in Turkish Food Codex Turkish Delight Notification, and the seasonings it may contain, product features, types of Turkish delight, and additives that can be used in production are also specified. In the production of Turkish delight, various seasonings, some herbs, or plant essences are used. The most preferred ones are chewing gum, cocoa, chocolate, dried fruits such as hazelnut-pistachio- walnut, fruit candies, rose petals and/or essences.

Turkish delight and other sugar-containing snacks produced by the conventional method are produced by adding starch milk after dissolving sugar in water. After setting a temperature of 40°C, 30 g of citric acid is added, and cooking process is performed at 125°C. Cooking systems vary between 2-2.5 hours in an open boiler and 30-40 minutes in a pressurized system. The hot Turkish delight liquid is transferred to starched molds and left to ripen for 24 hours at room temperature. The cooking time and the high temperature applied create an important problem in the production of snacks in terms of economy and energy consumption. The syrup cooking and drying steps in the preparation of the mixtures are the steps that cause the main energy consumption of the production line in the production lines of traditional Turkish delight and snacks produced as an alternative to Turkish delight, and the cooking step is responsible for the highest energy requirement of the entire line.

It is known that Turkish delight prepared only from starch has a risk of syneresis, also known as expulsion of liquid. In addition, since the outer surface of the delights dries when no material is coated thereon, gelling agents such as agar and low methoxyl pectin can be added to the formulation as an excipient. Whether the type of starch (corn, wheat, rice etc.) used is natural or modified changes the quality of Turkish delight. Added sugar decreases the water activity and reduces the plasticizing effect of water, thereby extending its transition to gel form. Since starch is insoluble in cold, heat application is required for increasing solubility and viscosity. Heat application, on the other hand, increases the energy consumption.

In the production of snacks, the gel structure is determined by the gelling agent, and ionotropic gelation, cold setting or thermosetting gelation may occur. The most common hydrocolloids used in confectionery formulations are starch, pectin, agar, and gelatin. All of these ingredients require heating for sugar gelling, which is usually performed during the syrup cooking stage. Some hydrocolloids may gelate without the need of heating. Pectin, a hydrocolloid, has the ability to form sticky meshes at pH 3.4-3.8 at room temperature. However, the application of pectin in commercial confectionery production has not yet been discovered. Bioactive compound content of fruit concentrates cannot be sufficiently preserved in Turkish delight or sweet snacks obtained by conventional methods, and heat application adversely affects bioactive components. Bioactive components are secondary metabolites that provide positive effects on health by means of affecting physiological and cellular activities. For example, apple juice concentrate contains phenolic compounds and procyanidins, however, the phenolic compounds and procyanidins in the apple cannot be sufficiently preserved in snacks where heat application is used.

In recent years, along with the increasing importance given to the relation between the food that consumed daily and health of consumers, the interest shown in functional foods is also increased. When the structures of traditionally consumed foods are examined, the beneficial ingredients contained in these foods were discovered over time, and new functional foods began to be produced by enriching these beneficial ingredients. One of these functional foods is healthy functional snacks, and R&D studies on snacks with high nutritional value and enriched with functional properties still continue. Today, functional foods and snacks that use fruit ingredients have begun to be produced with the increasing interest in functional foods. However, especially in the production of snacks such as Turkish delight and confectionery where heat treatment is applied, functional additives and bioactive components in the product cannot be sufficiently maintained.

The cold gelling technique is a technique of obtaining gel by combining certain hydrocolloids under certain conditions without heating. This technique offers applicability in the industrial processing of temperature sensitive products with low thermal stability. For example, a temperature sensitive product such as linseed oxidizes at high temperatures, and makes it difficult to produce products containing linseed.

In a study conducted by Avelar et al. in the prior art, the use of cold gelling method in confectionery production is disclosed [1 ]. It is stated that there is an increase in the sensory acceptance such as appearance and texture with the method used here, and candies that suggest sustainable marketing potential are obtained by using the cold gelation method. However, the functional ingredients added here are insufficient to produce a functional snack that can be considered healthy.

There is a need to develop production methods that do not require long cooking times and heat treatment, that enables the production of functional snacks in which the bioactive compound content of the fruit concentrates is preserved, and to develop functional snacks produced by these methods, having a high content of bioactive compounds and high nutritional value due to the fact that the methods in the state of the art require long cooking time and high temperature, and that the bioactive compound content of the fruit concentrates in the obtained snacks cannot be sufficiently preserved.

Brief Description of the Invention

The present invention discloses a functional snack product produced by the cold gelling technique and the production method thereof. The snack according to the invention is a Turkish delight-like snack and does not contain refined sugar.

The first object of the present invention is to produce snacks by using gelling agents without the need of cooking and heating the mixtures that forms the snacks. Snacks are obtained without the need of heating instead of cooking the mixtures prepared with starch, sugar, water, and citric acid compared to the traditional Turkish delight in the previous art by means of the present invention, and fruit concentrate and organic pectin, xanthan gum, and locust bean gum are used together as gelling agents. Sugar gel is obtained without cooking with the cold gelling technique; thus, energy requirement and energy consumption are reduced in the production of snacks. Furthermore, a sustainable use is offered for the Turkish delight processing industry since the CO2 emissions are low compared to the prior art by means of the use of the method according to the present invention. The use of electricity in the syrup mixing process in cold gelling instead of the gas released during the syrup cooking stage in the traditional method in the prior art contributes to the reduction of environmental gas emissions. In addition, In the method according to the present invention, a “clean process” is aimed in the production of cold-setting sugar with the consumption of electricity produced from low-level carbon sources. Thus, Turkish delight and/or snacks that set in cold, namely, produced by cold gelling, are valuable in terms of sustainability.

Another object of the present invention is to produce a functional snack with high nutritional value. A functional snack that is beneficial and having high nutritional value is obtained by means of the functional additives such as vitamin C, vitamin B2, vitamin B12, acerola powder, ginseng, chlorella, and/or collagen added to the content in the method that is the subject of the present invention. Temperature sensitive additions with low thermal stability such as vitamin C, B12, and B2 can be easily made in cold gels with the cold gelling method used in the present invention.

Another object of the present is to provide a method and snack in which the bioactive compound content (ascorbic acid and total phenolic content) of fruit concentrates used as raw materials is better preserved in the product. In coldsetting products, the bioactive compound content of fruit concentrates is better preserved than the conventional methods. With the present invention, the content of bioactive compounds is preserved by eliminating the effect of temperature on bioactive compounds, thereby providing snacks having high amount of beneficial and bioactive components.

By means of the present invention, it is provided that a production method that does not require long cooking time and heat treatment, that enables the production of functional snack products in which the bioactive compound content of the fruit concentrates is preserved, and a functional snack that is produced by these methods, having a high content of bioactive compounds and high nutritional value.

Detailed Description of the Invention

The present invention relates to a functional snack produced by cold gelling technique, in which organic pectin, xanthan gum, and locust bean gum are used together as fruit concentrate and gelling agents, and the production method thereof. The functional snack, which is a Turkish delight-like snack, does not contain refined sugar in its content.

With the present invention, a jelly candy that sets in cold is formed without the need of heat, and organic pectin, locust bean gum, and xantham gum are used as gelling agents in the product content. Xanthan gum and locust bean gum, which are included in the snack content of the present invention, are gelling agents, and when used together with pectin, they interact at pH 2.8-4 and increases gelling capabilities thereof, thereby obtaining the desired textural properties.

In addition, at least one of the groups containing vitamin C, vitamin B2, vitamin B12, acerola powder, probiotic (Lactobacillus plantarum and/or Bacillus coagulans), ginseng, chlorella, and collagen is selected and added to the mixture content of the present invention in order to add functionality to the product content and to provide a beneficial product with high nutritional value. There is no cooking step or heat treatment application step in the snack production method according to the present invention. Since the functional components added here are temperature sensitive components and cold gelling technique is used in the present invention, there is a loss in these components. In the invention, no sugar/refined sugar addition is made other than the sugar from the fruit concentrate.

The formulation of the snack according to the present invention comprises;

• 20-85% of organic fruit concentrate by weight (w/w) relative to the final product,

• 5-15% of organic pectin by weight relative to the final product or 3% non- organic pectin by weight relative to the final product,

• 1 -2% of locust bean gum by weight relative to the final product,

• 1 -3% of xanthan gum by weight relative to the final product,

• linseed, poppy, walnut, cinnamon, organic gluten-free ground oatmeal, and at least one coating material selected from locust bean coating materials, • linseed, poppy, walnut, cinnamon, organic gluten-free ground oatmeal, and at least one coating material selected from locust bean coating materials,

• Vitamin C, organic chlorella, vitamin B2 or vitamin B12, probiotics, acerola powder, collagen, and at least one functional additive selected from collagen and ginseng extract.

All said percentages are given relatively to the final product. Fruit concentrates are used in the snack content of the present invention, and the content percentages change as the concentrate brix changes according to the fruit used. Dried nuts can be added to the aforementioned snack content.

In the snack formulation according to the present invention, a single type of fruit concentrate can be used as fruit concentrate or different fruit concentrates can be used together in the content of 20-85% of organic fruit concentrate by weight. In an embodiment of the present invention, the snack preferably comprises 20- 70% of apple concentrate by weight, and/or 20-65% of cherry concentrate by weight, and/or 20-65% of pomegranate concentrate by weight, relative to the final product. In an embodiment of the present invention, in case using one type of fruit concentrate, said 20-85% of organic fruit concentrate by weight preferably comprises 70-85% of apple concentrate by weight, or 45-65% of cherry concentrate by weight, or 45-65% of pomegranate concentrate by weight, relative to the final product.

Another embodiment of the present invention comprises, relative to the final product;

• 45-65% of organic fruit concentrate by weight,

• 10% of organic pectin by weight, or 3% non-organic pectin by weight,

• 1 % of locust bean gum by weight,

• 1 .5% of xanthan gum by weight,

• 1.5% of linseed, poppy, walnut, cinnamon, organic gluten-free ground oatmeal, and at least one coating material selected from locust bean coating materials by weight, • 0.29-0.39% of vitamin C by weight, 0.4% of organic chlorella by weight, 0.01 % of vitamin B2 or vitamin B12 by weight, 0.09-0.28% of probiotics by weight, 0.33% of acerola powder by weight, 16.67% of collagen by weight, and 0.3% of at least one functional additive selected from collagen and ginseng extract by weight.

Snack containing dry nuts, which is another embodiment of the present invention comprises, relative to the final product;

• 20-65% of organic fruit concentrate by weight,

• 10% of organic pectin by weight, or 3% non-organic pectin by weight,

• 1 % of locust bean gum by weight,

• 1 .5% of xanthan gum by weight,

• 1 ,5% of linseed, poppy, walnut, cinnamon, organic gluten-free ground oatmeal, and at least one coating material selected from locust bean coating materials by weight,

• 0.29-0.39% of vitamin C by weight, 0.4% of organic chlorella by weight, 0.01 % of vitamin B2 or vitamin B12 by weight, 0.09-0.28% of probiotics by weight, 0.33% of acerola powder by weight, 16.67% of collagen by weight, and 0.3% of at least one functional additive selected from collagen and ginseng extract by weight,

• dried nuts.

In the snack containing dry nuts, 45-65% of apple concentrate by weight is used individually as fruit concentrate, or when other fruit concentrates are used in addition to the apple concentrate, 20-30% of apple concentrate by weight, and 20-30% of pomegranate concentrate or cherry concentrate by weight are used. As dried nuts, preferably linseed, cut dried apricots, almond kernels, sliced almonds and/or poppy (outer coat) are used.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the snack comprises, relative to the final product;

22.35% of pomegranate concentrate by weight, • 22.35% of apple concentrate by weight,

• 3% of non-organic pectin by weight,

• 1 .50% of xanthan gum by weight,

• 1 % of locust bean gum by weight,

• 0.09% of probiotics by weight,

• 16.67% of linseed by weight,

• 16.67% of cut dried apricot by weight,

• 9.33% of almond kernel by weight,

• 3.50% of sliced almond by weight,

• 3.52% of poppy by weight.

The ingredients and percentages used in an embodiment of the present invention containing dried nuts are given in the following table.

Table 1 Product content and percentages.

Another embodiment of the present invention comprises, relative to the final product;

• 45-85% of organic fruit concentrate by weight,

• 10% of organic pectin by weight, or 3% of non-organic pectin by weight,

• 1 % of locust bean gum by weight,

• 1 .5% of xanthan gum by weight, • Oat flour in the range of 1 -10% by weight,

• 1 ,5% of linseed, poppy, walnut, cinnamon, organic gluten-free ground oatmeal, and at least one coating material selected from locust bean coating materials by weight,

• 0.29-0.39% of vitamin C by weight, 0.4% of organic chlorella by weight, 0.01 % of vitamin B2 or vitamin B12 by weight, 0.09-0.28% of probiotics by weight, 0.33% of acerola powder by weight, 16.67% of collagen by weight, and 0.3% of at least one functional additive selected from collagen and ginseng extract by weight.

Since oat content contains beta glucan, oat content also contributes to the functionality of the product.

The production method of the snacks according to the present invention comprises the following process steps:

• In the step of preparing the mixture, by using cold gelling technique; 20- 85% of fruit concentrate by weight relative to the final product and functional additives are mixed for 10-15 minutes in the range of pH 2.8-4, preferably pH 3, at a room temperature (between 25-35°C) in order to ensure solubility. Then, 5-15%, preferably 10% of organic pectin by weight, or 3% of inorganic pectin by weight as gelling agent; 1% of locust bean gum by weight, 1 .5% of xanthan gum by weight are added to the mixture and it is mixed for 10-15 minutes, and a homogeneous structure is obtained.

• In the pouring and molding step, the mixture poured into the pans is coated with at least one of the linseed, poppy, walnut, cinnamon, organic gluten- free ground oatmeal, and locust bean coating materials.

• In the drying step, the process of resting the mixture is performed. Drying process is carried out between 25-35°C, preferably at 30°C for 72 hours. Resting times vary according to the product coating material.

In the step of cutting, packaging, and storing, the snack product obtained is taken to the cutting tables and after being cut in 1 .5-3.5 cm dimensions, the glass packages are filled. By passing through a metal detector, capping, labeling, boxing, barcoding, packing, and storing processes are applied respectively.

By means of the method according to the present invention, the bioactive compound content (ascorbic acid and total phenolic content) of fruit concentrates used as raw materials is better preserved compared to the conventional methods used in the aforementioned production of Turkish delight in the prior art. The cold gelling production method, which is an environmentally sustainable method, allows for reducing energy consumption since it does not require high temperature during production.

Snack mixtures similar to Turkish delight are obtained at room temperature with the cold gelling (cold-setting process) used in the present invention. It is observed that the production of snacks by cold gelling consumes much less energy than the heating/cooking process when the energy consumed by the sugar syrup mixtures prepared with the conventional process including said cooking step in the previous art is compared with the energy consumed in the method according to the present invention.

References

1. Matheus Henrique Mariz de Avelar, Guilherme de Castilho Queiroz, Priscilla Efraim, Sustainable performance of cold-set gelation in the confectionery manufacturing and its effects on perception of sensory quality of jelly candies, Cleaner Engineering and Technology, Volume 1 ,2020, 100005, ISSN 2666-7908, https://doi.Org/10.1016/j.clet.2020.100005.