Method for preparing chewing gum and product obtained thereby

Abstract

A method for preparing chewing gum containing a completely natural gum base is disclosed. The resulting product is characterized by a hardness equivalent to that of chewing gum manufactured using a synthetic gum base.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for preparing chewing gum comprising a completely natural gum base. The resulting product is characterized by a hardness equivalent to that of chewing gum manufactured using a synthetic gum base.

Background Art

[0002] It is known to use a natural gum base, i.e., a gum base made only from natural components and substances, to manufacture chewing gum. In particular, chicle, an extract of the Manilkara tree belonging to the Sapotaceae family native to the American continent, has been known to have been used in the manufacture of chewing gum in the past. When chicle was used in the manufacture of chewing gum, due to its physical and organic properties, the final product became extremely difficult to chew, so a gum base consisting only of chicle could not be used.

[0003] Therefore, the chewing gum industry has developed gum base formulations using components including synthetic elastomers (such as butyl rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, and polyisobutylene), synthetic resins (such as rosin ester, polyvinyl acetate, and terpene resin), and synthetic or natural plasticizers (such as oils, fats, and triacetin) to give the final product the necessary softness so that consumers can chew and use it.

[0004] Currently, according to the outlet market, many types of chewing gum manufactured from various components are being sold. By using gum bases with various properties, a wide variety of chewing gums can be obtained, and those skilled in the art can obtain a chewing gum with a hardness desirable for chewing by appropriately selecting a low-hardness, medium-hardness, or high-hardness gum base.

[0005] In view of the growing interest in the environment and the increasing research on foods having a composition consisting only of natural ingredients or mainly based on natural ingredients, there is a felt need for chewing gums using a gum base made only of natural ingredients.

[0006] However, natural gum bases tend to make the gum overly hard, making it difficult to chew and leading to the gum breaking into small pieces, which can cause discomfort and a risk of accidental ingestion. Thus, the production of such gums involves considerable difficulties. Attempts to combine waxes such as candelilla wax and chicle have not yielded satisfactory results.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0007]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Patent Document 3

Patent Document 4

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0008] The present invention provides a method for preparing chewing gum that enables the use of a gum base consisting only of natural ingredients, particularly chicle-based, and as a result, the hardness can be adjusted, yielding a final product comparable to chewing gum produced from synthetic gum bases.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0009] This object is achieved by combining a natural gum base that does not contain polymers (synthetic elastomers and synthetic resins) with a solution of pectin and sugars or polyols. Thus, chewing gum having the desired hardness characteristics is obtained, and in particular, gum having a hardness and palatability comparable to that of chewing gum produced from a gum base composed of synthetic components is obtained. The plasticizing effect of the solution of pectin and sugars or polyols on a gum base mass consisting only of natural components is unknown, and although pectin is used as a formulation component of chewing gum, its purpose is different from that in the present invention. For example, GB2013473 discloses the use of pectin as a moisturizing additive, while JP60054644 describes the use of up to 80% pectin on a large scale as a dietary fiber with respect to the weight of the gum base only for the purpose of producing a diet product with a high fiber content. EP252874 discloses a gum base containing a polysaccharide such as granular pectin having the function of a thickening agent. US20120087874 discloses the use of pectin in solution together with an agent described as a "heating" agent that induces a feeling of heat in the oral cavity by interaction with pectin.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0010]

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0011] In its first aspect, the present invention relates to a method for preparing chewing gum, comprising: a) adding saccharides and / or polyols to a natural gum base mass that does not contain synthetic polymers; b) mixing the mass obtained in a) with a non-gelling aqueous solution of pectin, sucrose or polyols, having a concentration measured by a refractometer in the range of 30 to 50 °Brix and a weight ratio of pectin:polyols or sucrose in the range of 50:50 to 95:5; c) adding essential oils, flavors, and optionally other components, and mixing until a homogeneous mass is obtained; d) Processing the blocks to produce chewing gum of a desired weight and shape.

[0012] In its second aspect, the present invention relates to chewing gum obtained by the method.

[0013] The natural gum base used according to the present invention contains chicle in an amount preferably exceeding 50%, more preferably exceeding 75%, and even more preferably exceeding 90% based on the total weight of the gum base.

[0014] Solutions of ungelled pectin, sucrose or polyols are added to the gum base mass, sugars, polyols, and other ingredients in a proportion ranging from 3 to 7% by weight of the final product.

[0015] Solutions of pectin, sugar and / or polyols preferably have a concentration of 43° ± 1° Brix as measured by a refractometer and a weight ratio of pectin:sugars and / or polyols of 80:20.

[0016] The pectin may be high-methoxyl, low-methoxyl or amidated pectin. High-purity pectins that meet the purity criteria of additive E440 are commercially available. Crude extracts or preparations such as citrus fiber or apple skin preparations that naturally contain pectin can also be used instead.

[0017] “Ungelled pectin” means, for example, pectin that has not undergone a treatment or condition that induces gelation, such as by using a combination of sugars and acidifying additives or by using calcium salts. Accordingly, the ungelled pectin solution according to the present invention does not contain an acidifying additive or a calcium salt.

[0018] Aqueous solutions of pectin, sucrose or polyols preferably contain a pH adjuster such as trisodium citrate in a proportion ranging from 0.5 to 1% by weight of the solution.

[0019] Sugars and polyols are selected from sucrose, glucose, fructose, allose, tagatose, maltose, isomaltulose, isomalt, maltitol, lactitol, sorbitol, xylitol, mannitol, erythritol, and combinations thereof. The sugar used to make the mixture can be selected from sucrose of various origins such as sugarcane, beet, kudzu, or coconut. It may be unrefined (such as brown sugar, raw sugar, muscovado sugar, or demerara sugar) or refined (such as white granulated sugar). The sugar used is preferably in a crystalline state in a fine powder form. Icing sugar (sucrose) is preferably used.

[0020] Examples of polyols that can be used as alternatives to sugars include isomalt, maltitol, lactitol, sorbitol, xylitol, mannitol, and erythritol. Polyols are preferably used in crystalline forms of various particle sizes.

[0021] Sugars or polyols are typically used in an amount in the range of 15% to 85% by weight of the final product, preferably in an amount in the range of 50% to 70% by weight of the final product.

[0022] Syrups such as glucose syrup, invert sugar, agave syrup, and maltitol syrup can also be used.

[0023] In a particular embodiment of the present invention, the chewing gum does not contain the sugar syrup.

[0024] In one embodiment of the present invention, the chewing gum does not contain the sugar syrup but contains sucrose in the range of 50% to 70% by weight of the finished product.

[0025] Natural flavors can be used and consist of essential oils in an amount preferably in the range of 1% to 2% and more preferably in an amount of 1.5% based on the weight of the total mass.

[0026] Additional components can be present in an amount in the range of 0.1% to 10% based on the total weight.

[0027] A mixture of sugar or polyols, pectin, and any trisodium citrate or other similar salts is prepared by dissolving the components in water at a temperature above 70°C, preferably at a temperature of 90°C to 98°C, mixing until the desired concentration is obtained, and then cooling to room temperature.

[0028] According to a preferred embodiment, step a) is carried out at a temperature lower than the melting point of the natural gum base. The natural gum base, preferably a chunk of chicle, is placed in a mixer at a temperature lower than 80°C, generally at a temperature of 25 to 50°C so that the gum base does not dissolve, and is typically mixed for 10 to 600 seconds, usually 60 to 180 seconds.

[0029] The mixing (step b)) of the gum base chunk and the solution of pectin, sugar, and / or polyols typically has a duration in the range of 10 seconds to 1200 seconds. Flavors and any other components can be added before or after this step.

[0030] Subsequently, the obtained chunk is processed by conventional methods until individual pieces of the desired weight and shape are formed using a specific knife set. For example, the chunk can be transferred to an extruder to extrude a sheet or rope of chewing gum, which can also contain a solid, viscous liquid, or powder filler.

[0031] The chewing gum may subsequently be coated. The sugar coating can be hard, crispy, soft, opaque, or transparent, etc.

[0032] The chewing gum obtained by the described method is a further object of the present invention. The chewing gum consists of a gum base content made from a natural gum base without synthetic polymers in an amount of 20% to 40% based on the weight of the final product, 3% to 7% pectin, sucrose or aqueous solution of polyols (weight ratio ranges from 50:50 to 95:5 and the concentration measured by a refractometer ranges from 30 to 50 °Brix), 1% to 2% by weight of natural flavor, and up to 100% by weight of the final product of saccharides and / or polyols. The hardness of the chewing gum according to the present invention is typically in the range of 690 to 350 N * mm.

[0033] The present invention will be described in detail in the following examples.

Examples

[0034] The following formulations were manufactured by the method according to the present invention. The individual pieces were not sugar-coated, had a rectangular shape, the weight per piece was 1.1 g, and the height was in the range of 5.1 mm to 5.5 mm.

[0035] [Examples 1 - 6]

[0036]

Table 1

[0037]

Table 2

[0038] [Instrument Evaluation] For the instrument evaluation, the following instruments and settings were used. The hardness parameter can be evaluated by an instrumental method or a sensory method. (MEMMERT IPP 55 Incubator) Setup = 24 °C (Xtplus Texture Analyzer) Load cell: 500 N Probe: 8 mm (steel cylinder) Trigger force: 0.2 N Press speed: 5.4 mm / min Test speed: 100.2 mm / min - strain 55% Post-test speed: 100.2 mm / min

[0039] Test samples are conditioned in an incubator for 24 hours and then analyzed using a texture analyzer. For each sample to be tested, 32 pieces are used, and excluding the hardest and softest pieces, the average work required for sample penetration under the described conditions (N * mm) is used to calculate the hardness.

[0040] [Table 3]

[0041] The increase in the pectin solution decreases the hardness of the samples produced by the method according to the present invention.

[0042] This correlation is also shown in Figure 1, which shows that the hardness decreases linearly with the increase in the pectin solution.

[0043] [Sensory evaluation N1] Samples 1 to 4 were evaluated by 4 professional tasters to assess the acceptability in terms of hardness (Table 4).

[0044] [Table 4]

[0045] [Sensory evaluation N2] For the second sensory evaluation, eight professional tasters were involved. Each taster received three blinded samples and was asked to chew them for 5 minutes and evaluate the samples using the following terms both at the start of chewing and during chewing: "less hard", "medium hardness", "harder". Scores of 1, 2, and 3 were assigned to these descriptions respectively, and the value was multiplied by the number of times each description was associated with the sample. For each sample, the sum of these products represents the total hardness and is shown in Table 5.

[0046]

Table 5

[0047] Example 3 according to the present invention was closer to Reference Example 5 (manufactured using an artificial gum base of medium hardness) than to Reference Example 6. Generally, Example 3 was proven to be slightly harder at the start of chewing and slightly less hard during chewing than both reference samples. Calculating the average of the two hardness values, it was found that Example 3 was slightly harder than Example 5 and slightly less hard than Example 6. In conclusion, Example 3 manufactured using a natural gum base by the method according to the present invention has a hardness equivalent to that of the comparative examples.

Claims

1. A method for preparing chewing gum, including the following: a) Add sugars and / or polyols to a mass of natural gum that does not contain synthetic polymers; b) Mix the mass obtained in a) with an aqueous solution of non-gelling pectin, sucrose, or polyol, the concentration measured by a refractometer being in the range of 30 to 50° Brix, and the weight ratio of pectin:polyols or sucrose being in the range of 50:50 to 95:5; c) Add essential oils, fragrances, and optionally other ingredients, and mix until a homogeneous mass is obtained; d) Process the lump into chewing gum of the desired weight and shape.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein step a) is carried out at a temperature lower than the melting point of the natural gum base.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the natural gum base contains more than 50% chicle relative to the total weight of the gum base.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein a non-gelling solution of pectin, sucrose, or polyols is added in an amount ranging from 3% to 7% of the weight of the final product.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the solution of pectin, sugars and / or polyols has a concentration of 43°±1° Brix as measured by a refractometer, and the weight ratio of pectin to sugars and / or polyols is 80:

20.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the pectin is high-methoxyl, low-methoxyl, or amidated pectin.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the aqueous solution of non-gelling pectin, sucrose, or polyols contains a pH adjuster.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the pH adjusting agent is trisodium citrate in an amount ranging from 0.5% to 1% of the solution.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the sugars and polyols are selected from sucrose, glucose, fructose, allulose, tagatose, maltose, isomaltulose, isomalt, maltitol, lactitol, sorbitol, xylitol, mannitol, erythritol, and combinations thereof.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the mixing in step b) has a duration in the range of 10 seconds to 1200 seconds.

11. A chewing gum comprising a gum base consisting of a natural gum base free of synthetic polymers in a ratio of 20% to 40% by weight, 3% to 7% by weight of an aqueous solution of non-gelling pectin, sucrose, or polyols (with a weight ratio in the range of 50:50 to 95:5 and a concentration measured by a refractometer in the range of 30 to 50° Brix), 1% to 2% by weight of a natural flavor, and up to 100% by weight of sugars and / or polyols.

12. Hardness of 690-350N ＊ The chewing gum according to claim 11, characterized in that it is in the range of mm.

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