Compound modifier for improving low-temperature spoonability of frozen beverage, preparation method and application thereof

Abstract

This invention discloses a compound improver for enhancing the scoopability of frozen beverages at low temperatures, its preparation method, and its application, belonging to the field of frozen beverage technology. The compound improver comprises the following raw materials by weight percentage: 65-70% microcrystalline cellulose, 10-15% sodium hexametaphosphate, and 15-25% gellan gum. A frozen beverage, by weight percentage, comprises 0.1-0.3% of the compound improver for enhancing the scoopability of frozen beverages at low temperatures, 1-15% sugar, 0.01-0.2% food additives, with the balance being drinking water. The frozen beverage prepared by this invention, after being frozen and stored below -22°C, can be directly scooped with a spoon without needing to warm to room temperature, with significantly reduced scooping resistance, offering better low-temperature consumption convenience compared to traditional slushies, smoothies, and other frozen beverages.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of frozen beverage technology, specifically to compound improvers for enhancing the low-temperature scoopability of frozen beverages, their preparation methods, and applications. Background Technology

[0002] Traditional slushies and other frozen drinks, when frozen below -18°C, tend to form large ice crystals due to the presence of water, resulting in a relatively high overall hardness. Consumers typically need to allow them to warm to room temperature for about 5 minutes after removing them from the freezer until they soften slightly before they can scoop them out, impacting the convenience and immediate eating experience.

[0003] To improve the chilled scoopability of frozen drinks, existing technologies often employ methods such as increasing sugar content to lower the freezing point, increasing the fat content to soften the product structure, or adding higher doses of emulsifiers to improve texture. However, these methods often result in increased calories, excessive sweetness, or an oily texture, failing to meet current consumer demand for low-sugar, low-fat, and refreshing frozen drinks.

[0004] In addition, some products have tried to use thickeners such as gellan gum and carrageenan to improve the textural stability of the freezing system. However, when these colloids are used alone, they tend to form a gel structure with high strength or high brittleness, which may increase the hardness of the product and reduce the smoothness of scooping.

[0005] Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop a quality improvement scheme that requires no reheating, is low in calories, and has a refreshing taste, enabling the product to maintain its crumbly and easy-to-scoop properties below -18°C. Based on this, this invention designs a compound improver, preparation method, and application to enhance the low-temperature scoopability of frozen beverages to solve the aforementioned problems. Summary of the Invention

[0006] In view of the above-mentioned shortcomings of the existing technology, the present invention provides a compound improver for enhancing the low-temperature scoopability of frozen beverages, a preparation method and application.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solution: A compound improver for enhancing the low-temperature scoopability of frozen beverages, the compound improver comprising the following raw materials in weight percentages: 65-70% microcrystalline cellulose, 10-15% sodium hexametaphosphate, and 15-25% gellan gum.

[0008] Furthermore, the compound modifier comprises the following raw materials in weight percentages: 70% microcrystalline cellulose, 10% sodium hexametaphosphate, and 20% gellan gum.

[0009] To better achieve the objectives of this invention, this invention also provides a frozen beverage, comprising, by weight percentage, 0.1-0.3% compound improver, 1-15% sugar, 0.01-0.2% food additives, with the remainder being drinking water.

[0010] Furthermore, the food additives include one or more of acidity regulators and flavorings.

[0011] Furthermore, the frozen beverage comprises the following ingredients by weight percentage: 0.2% compound improver, 5% sugar, 0.2% food additives, and the remainder is drinking water.

[0012] Furthermore, the frozen beverage can be scooped out without thawing after freezing.

[0013] To better achieve the objectives of this invention, this invention also provides a method for preparing a frozen beverage, comprising the following steps: Mixing: Dry mix sugar and compound improver evenly before adding drinking water and stirring to disperse, wherein the amount of drinking water added is 2 to 3 times the total mass of sugar and compound improver; Heating and dissolving: Heat the mixture to 80-85°C under stirring conditions and keep it at that temperature for 5-10 minutes to fully hydrate the gellan gum in the compound modifier and disperse the microcrystalline cellulose evenly. Preparation: After cooling the heated mixture, add the food additives and remaining drinking water, mix well, and obtain the liquid. Filling: Filling the liquid material into a mold or packaging container; Quick-freezing: Place the filled liquid material at a temperature below -30°C for rapid freezing until the core temperature of the product drops below -18°C.

[0014] Furthermore, the quick-frozen products are stored at temperatures below -22°C.

[0015] To better achieve the objectives of this invention, the present invention also provides the application of a compound improver for enhancing the low-temperature scoopability of frozen beverages in the preparation of frozen beverages.

[0016] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: 1. Good low-temperature scoopability: The frozen drinks prepared by this invention can be scooped directly with a spoon after being frozen and stored at -22℃ without the need for room temperature thawing. The scooping resistance is significantly reduced, and it has better low-temperature consumption convenience than traditional frozen drinks such as slushies and ice cream.

[0017] 2. No reliance on high sugar, high fat, or high-dose emulsifiers: This invention effectively regulates the formation and growth of ice crystals in frozen drinks and adjusts the gel network strength through the synergistic effect of microcrystalline cellulose, gellan gum, and sodium hexametaphosphate. This allows the product to maintain its crumbly, stable, and easily scoopable texture even under low-temperature freezing conditions. This solution does not require increasing sugar content, fat ratio, or adding high doses of emulsifiers to improve texture, which helps reduce product calories and aligns better with the development trend of low-sugar, low-fat, and refreshing frozen drinks, making it suitable for healthy light food consumption scenarios.

[0018] 3. Refreshing taste and excellent eating quality: The frozen beverage prepared by this invention has a crisp and delicate texture, melts in the mouth, releases flavor quickly, and has a refreshing taste; at the same time, it can avoid the gelatinous, powdery, and obvious ice crystal feeling that is easy to produce by conventional colloidal systems, thus improving the overall eating experience of the product.

[0019] 4. Simple formula, suitable for industrial production: The compound improver used in this invention has a simple composition, the raw materials are readily available, and the preparation process is highly compatible with the existing frozen beverage production process. It does not require complex equipment or special process conditions, making it easy to scale up production and promote its application. Detailed Implementation

[0020] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, not all embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0021] Example 1: A compound improver for enhancing the low-temperature scoopability of frozen beverages, the compound improver comprising the following raw materials by weight percentage: 65% microcrystalline cellulose, 10% sodium hexametaphosphate, and 25% gellan gum.

[0022] Among them, microcrystalline cellulose can form a stable microcrystalline suspension structure in an aqueous system. During the freezing process, it can interfere with the orderly arrangement of water molecules through steric hindrance, inhibit the directional crystallization of water and reduce the formation of large ice crystals, thereby reducing the overall hardness of frozen drinks. At the same time, microcrystalline cellulose can also provide a certain degree of weak solid support, which helps to maintain the stability of the internal structure of the product and prevent the tissue from collapsing during freezing and storage.

[0023] After being heated and dissolved, gellan gum can form a thermally reversible three-dimensional gel network structure during cooling. This gel network exhibits moderate brittle fracture characteristics at low temperatures, and can break along the gel network interface during scooping, thus giving the product a crumbly and easy-to-scoop texture.

[0024] Sodium hexametaphosphate, as a chelating agent, can complex divalent metal ions such as calcium and magnesium ions in the system, thereby regulating the gel formation process and gel strength of gellan gum. Through the regulatory effect of sodium hexametaphosphate, excessively high gel strength leading to an overly hard product texture, and insufficient gel strength leading to a soft and collapsed product, can be avoided, thus enabling the system to form a gel structure suitable for low-temperature scooping.

[0025] Through the synergistic effect of microcrystalline cellulose, gellan gum, and sodium hexametaphosphate, this invention can effectively control the growth of ice crystals and the strength of gel network in frozen drinks without relying on high sugar, high fat, or high doses of emulsifiers, so that the product can maintain its crumbly, stable, and easy-to-scoop texture even when frozen at low temperatures.

[0026] There are no existing reports on the use of microcrystalline cellulose combined with gellan gum and sodium hexametaphosphate to enable products to be directly scooped out without thawing when frozen. The product can be scooped out directly with a spoon at temperatures below -18°C. When scooped out, it is crumbly and loose rather than plastically deformed, and melts in the mouth without any icy texture.

[0027] Example 2: A compound improver for enhancing the low-temperature scoopability of frozen beverages, the compound improver comprising the following raw materials by weight percentage: 70% microcrystalline cellulose, 15% sodium hexametaphosphate, and 15% gellan gum.

[0028] Example 3: A compound improver for enhancing the low-temperature scoopability of frozen beverages, the compound improver comprising the following raw materials by weight percentage: 70% microcrystalline cellulose, 10% sodium hexametaphosphate, and 20% gellan gum.

[0029] Example 4: A method for preparing a frozen beverage, comprising the following steps: Materials: Weigh 0.1% of the compound improver prepared in Example 1, 15% of sugar, and 0.01% of food additives, with the remainder being drinking water, by weight percentage. The food additives include an acidity regulator (citric acid) and edible flavoring (mass ratio 10:1).

[0030] Mixing: The sugar and compound improver are pre-dry mixed evenly, and then drinking water is added and stirred to disperse them. The amount of drinking water added is twice the total mass of the sugar and compound improver. Heating and dissolving: Heat the mixture to 80°C under stirring and keep it at that temperature for 10 minutes to fully hydrate the gellan gum in the compound modifier and to disperse the microcrystalline cellulose evenly. Preparation: Cool the heated mixture to below 60°C, add food additives and remaining drinking water, mix well to obtain the liquid; Filling: Filling the liquid material into a mold or packaging container; Quick-freezing: Place the filled liquid material at a temperature below -30°C for rapid freezing until the core temperature of the product drops below -18°C; Storage: Store the quick-frozen product at a temperature below -22°C.

[0031] In the frozen state, a composite framework of microcrystalline cellulose particles and gellan gum brittle gel forms within the system, confining moisture to tiny areas, with ice crystals smaller than 30 μm. When scooped, the gel network undergoes brittle fracture, and the microcrystalline cellulose prevents the fractured surfaces from sticking together, resulting in a crumbly and easily broken texture in the frozen beverage.

[0032] Example 5: A method for preparing a frozen beverage, comprising the following steps: Materials: Weigh out 0.3% by weight of the compound improver prepared in Example 2, 1% by weight of sugar, 0.2% by weight of food additives, and the remainder is drinking water. The food additives include an acidity regulator (malic acid) and edible flavoring (mass ratio 5:1).

[0033] Mixing: The sugar and compound improver are pre-dry mixed evenly, and then drinking water is added and stirred to disperse the mixture. The amount of drinking water added is 3 times the total mass of the sugar and compound improver. Heating and dissolving: Heat the mixture to 85°C under stirring and keep it at that temperature for 5 minutes to fully hydrate the gellan gum in the compound modifier and disperse the microcrystalline cellulose evenly. Preparation: Cool the heated mixture to below 60°C, add food additives and remaining drinking water, mix well to obtain the liquid; Filling: Filling the liquid material into a mold or packaging container; Quick-freezing: Place the filled liquid material at a temperature below -30°C for rapid freezing until the core temperature of the product drops below -18°C; Storage: Store the quick-frozen product at a temperature below -22°C.

[0034] Example 6: A method for preparing a frozen beverage, comprising the following steps: Materials: Weigh out 0.2% by weight of the compound improver prepared in Example 3, 5% by weight of sugar, 0.2% by weight of food additives, with the remainder being drinking water. The food additives include an acidity regulator (citric acid).

[0035] Mixing: The sugar and compound improver are pre-dry mixed evenly, and then drinking water is added and stirred to disperse them. The amount of drinking water added is 2.5 times the total mass of the sugar and compound improver. Heating and dissolving: Heat the mixture to 82°C under stirring and keep it at that temperature for 7 minutes to fully hydrate the gellan gum in the compound modifier and disperse the microcrystalline cellulose evenly. Preparation: Cool the heated mixture to below 60°C, add food additives and remaining drinking water, mix well to obtain the liquid; Filling: Filling the liquid material into a mold or packaging container; Quick-freezing: Place the filled liquid material at a temperature below -30°C for rapid freezing until the core temperature of the product drops below -18°C; Storage: Store the quick-frozen product at a temperature below -22°C.

[0036] Experimental Example 1: By adjusting the raw materials and ratio of the compound improver, ice cream products were prepared according to the method of Example 6, stored at 2°C for 24 hours, and the shape retention, surface hardness and taste of the finished product were tested.

[0037] The test results are shown in Table 1, where “√” indicates that the requirements are met, “△” indicates that the test is acceptable, and “×” indicates that the test was not passed.

[0038]

[0039] Table 1 shows that the raw material composition and ratio of the compound improver have a significant impact on the shape retention, surface hardness, and taste of frozen beverages. The results in Table 1 indicate that the compound improver composed of sodium hexametaphosphate, gellan gum, and microcrystalline cellulose is more effective than compound systems containing sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, potassium chloride, or potassium polymethphosphate in reducing the surface hardness of frozen beverages and improving product taste and low-temperature scooping performance. Among these, the ratio range of 65-70% microcrystalline cellulose, 10-15% sodium hexametaphosphate, and 15-25% gellan gum exhibits superior overall performance.

[0040] Experimental Example 2: Table 2 shows the texture test results of different batches of frozen drinks prepared using the method of Example 6.

[0041]

[0042] Table 2 shows that the hardness of the five batches of frozen beverage samples ranged from 461.372 to 591.308 g, with an average hardness of 533.311 g. This indicates that the samples possess moderate structural strength under low-temperature conditions and do not form an excessively hard, difficult-to-scoop texture. The hardness results of each batch showed little fluctuation, indicating that the compound modifier of this invention has a good stabilizing effect in the frozen beverage system, and the resulting products exhibited good consistency in texture between batches.

[0043] Meanwhile, the average viscosity of the sample was -63.139 g·sec, indicating that the sample's adhesion and dragging effect on the probe was weak during probe retraction, and significant pulling or sticking to the spoon was unlikely to occur during scooping. Furthermore, the sample exhibited rapid structural fracture after being subjected to external force, displaying a moderately brittle and crumbly texture. This texture provides appropriate support when the spoon is initially inserted, while the resistance is rapidly released after structural fracture, resulting in a smooth scooping experience and a clean scooping surface.

[0044] The compound modifier of this invention can effectively improve the texture of frozen beverages under low-temperature freezing conditions, so that the product has appropriate formability, looseness and easy spooning, and is suitable for cup-packaged, bucket-packaged and other spoon-type frozen beverages.

[0045] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, and are not intended to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some of the technical features. Such modifications or substitutions will not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A compound improver for enhancing the low-temperature scoopability of frozen beverages, characterized in that, The compound modifier comprises the following raw materials in weight percentages: 65-70% microcrystalline cellulose, 10-15% sodium hexametaphosphate, and 15-25% gellan gum.

2. The compound improver for enhancing the low-temperature scoopability of frozen beverages according to claim 1, characterized in that, The compound modifier comprises the following raw materials in weight percentages: 70% microcrystalline cellulose, 10% sodium hexametaphosphate, and 20% gellan gum.

3. A frozen beverage, characterized in that, By weight percentage, it includes 0.1-0.3% of the compound improver for enhancing the low-temperature scoopability of frozen drinks as described in claim 1 or 2, 1-15% of sugar, 0.01-0.2% of food additives, and the remainder is drinking water.

4. The frozen beverage according to claim 3, characterized in that, The food additives include one or more of acidity regulators and flavorings.

5. The frozen beverage according to claim 3, characterized in that, The frozen beverage comprises the following ingredients by weight percentage: 0.2% compound improver, 5% sugar, 0.2% food additives, and the remainder is drinking water.

6. The frozen beverage according to claim 3, characterized in that, The frozen beverage can be scooped out without thawing after freezing.

7. A method for preparing a frozen beverage according to claim 6, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: Mixing: Dry mix sugar and compound improver evenly before adding drinking water and stirring to disperse, wherein the amount of drinking water added is 2 to 3 times the total mass of sugar and compound improver; Heating and dissolving: Heat the mixture to 80-85°C under stirring conditions and keep it at that temperature for 5-10 minutes to fully hydrate the gellan gum in the compound modifier and to evenly disperse the microcrystalline cellulose. Preparation: After cooling the heated mixture, add the food additives and remaining drinking water, mix well, and obtain the liquid. Filling: Filling the liquid material into a mold or packaging container; Quick-freezing: Place the filled liquid material at a temperature below -30°C for rapid freezing until the core temperature of the product drops below -18°C.

8. The method for preparing frozen beverages according to claim 7, characterized in that, The quick-frozen product should be stored at a temperature below -22°C.

9. The application of a compound improver for enhancing the low-temperature scoopability of frozen beverages according to claim 1 or 2 in the preparation of frozen beverages.

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