Lyotropic composition of carbohydrates in fats, method for obtaining it and application thereof in the preparation of chocolate and substitutes

Abstract

The present invention belongs to the food industry field, and particularly to the chocolate industry field. More specifically, the invention consists of a lyotropic composition of carbohydrates in fats and the method for producing it. Moreover, the invention consists of different uses of said composition, particularly for the manufacture of chocolates and chocolate substitutes, including chocolate with honey and fruity chocolate.

Description

[0001]This application claims priority of European Patent Application No. EP 113 821 88.8, filed Jun. 7, 2011, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference into this application.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention belongs to the food industry field, and particularly to the chocolate industry field. More specifically, the invention consists of a lyotropic composition of carbohydrates in fats and the method for producing it. Moreover, the invention consists of different uses of said composition in the food industry. Finally, the process for preparing chocolate or chocolate substitutes from the lyotropic composition of the invention and the product obtained, particularly chocolate with honey and fruity chocolate, are also an object of the present invention.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Different ingredients are used in the process of preparing chocolate, being cocoa powder, cocoa butter, cocoa paste, cocoa butter equivalent fats, sugar and emulsifi...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0013]Unlike emulsions, the composition of the present invention is stable and can therefore be stored without agitation both at room temperature (approximately 25° C.) and in refrigeration conditions (4-10° C.). In the context of the present invention, a composition is understood to be stable when no physical, chemical or microbiological change reducing the

Problems solved by technology

However, the amorphous state is unstable and in the presence of water it is transformed into a crystalline material.

Once said change has occurred, free water remains which is absorbed by the sugar molecules and makes them to bind to one another forming aggregates, which confer a gritty texture to the chocolate (undesirable).

Furthermore, moistened sugar has a high risk of being microbiologically contaminated.

Glucose, also known as dextrose, crystallizes as a monohydrate, is very difficult to dry completely and is very hygroscopic.

Likewise, fructose, which is naturally present in fruits and in honey, is also very hygroscopic.

This hygroscopicity of both molecules hinders its use in the manufacture of chocolate since the moisture which both molecules absorb from the air surrounding them makes liquid chocolate very viscous, since said moisture favors the binding of the sugar particles to one another.

This high viscosity hinders the handling of said chocolate in liquid state and makes very special processing conditions be required, especially in terms of temperature and moisture, which increases the cost of the chocolate manufacturing process using said sugars.

Another problem also arises in the refining of glucose, because its crystallization water content is released at 65° C. Even when refining temperatures lower than these are measured, at the time of applying pressure, temperatures releasing crystallization water are produced.

Fructose is even more susceptible to pressure.

This is one of the main reasons for which it is difficult to produce chocolate with a fructose base.

However, despite the extensive research conducted in this field, and the multiple patents relating to said incorporation of water, there are few satisfactory results in relation to the quality and organoleptic characteristics of the chocolate obtained.

The product obtained by means of this process has a plastic, homogeneous appearance, its fracturability and hardness being suitable with respect to conventional chocolate, although the product in liquid state behaves like a viscoelastic fluid, its viscosity and fluency limit being too high to be incorporated into the conventional process for preparing chocolate, which makes it uninteresting from the industrial point of view.

Nevertheless, practice has demonstrated that achieving particle size within a narrowly defined spectrum defined between 6 and 30 μm is extremely difficult even when the grinding process is combined with a separation / classification step.

When these degrees of fineness are not achieved, these dispersions are generally unstable and end up causing the decantation of the dispersed colloids.

Another method for incorporating polar substances in non-polar substances is emulsion, however, emulsions are thermodynamically unstable (Salager et al.

The ordering is never perfect and only occurs at moderate temperatures, in which thermal agitation is not intense enough to destroy the liquid crystal structure.

It is more difficult when the flavor is determined by several few compounds, such as apple flavor (ethyl-2-methylbutyrate, hexanal, trans-2-hexenal) and raspberry flavor (1-(p-hydroxyphenyl)-3-butanone, cis-3-hexen-1-ol, damascenone, α-ionone, β-ionone), and virtually impossible when the flavor can only be satisfactorily reproduced with a large number of compounds, representative examples are passion fruit flavor (ethyl butyrate, ethyl hexanoate, hexyl butyrate, hexyl hexanoate and peach flavor γ-lactone (C6, C8, C10), δ-lactone (C10), several esters, alcohols, acids, benzaldehydes) and strawberry flavor the aroma of which depends on several hydrocarbons, alcohols, aldehydes and ketones, acids, esters, sulfur compounds, etc.