Dairy product-based alcoholic beverage

Abstract

The dairy product-based alcoholic beverage comprises: ethyl alcohol; at least one dairy product; at least one sweetening agent.

Description

[0001] DAIRY PRODUCT-BASED ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE

[0002] Technical Field

[0003] The present invention relates to a dairy product-based alcoholic beverage.

[0004] Background Art

[0005] It is well known that in many industrial and craft sectors there is a strong need to renew existing products and develop new ones in order to differentiate them from those of competitors.

[0006] This need is particularly felt in the food sector for the preparation and distribution of alcoholic beverages.

[0007] To meet this need, there are various alcoholic beverages based on different products combined with numerous substances that have properties which are both flavorful and nutritious and healthy for humans.

[0008] In this regard, it should be noted that, in addition to the need to offer beverages with a different taste from those of competitors, there is a growing demand in this sector for beverages with a strong flavoring power that are also able to provide relative well-being to the user, e.g. because they are able to integrate substances with a balanced nutritional content and, more generally, have beneficial effects on the human body.

[0009] However, these needs often remain unmet.

[0010] In fact, the products currently on the market almost never manage to combine the fact that they are pleasant-tasting beverages with the fact that they provide wellbeing, and when they have beneficial properties for humans, they usually have an unpleasant taste and flavor.

[0011] Description of the Invention

[0012] The main aim of the present invention is to devise a dairy product-based alcoholic beverage that allows meeting the above requirements.

[0013] In particular, the aim of the present invention is to devise a dairy product-based alcoholic beverage that is pleasant and tasty in terms of flavor.

[0014] Last but not least, one object of the present invention is to devise a dairy productbased alcoholic beverage that, in a practical, easy and functional way, allows for a condiment with the aforementioned qualities to be obtained. Another object of the present invention is to devise a dairy product-based alcoholic beverage that allows the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art to be overcome in a simple, rational, easy and effective to use as well as inexpensive solution.

[0015] Embodiments of the Invention

[0016] The dairy product-based alcoholic beverage comprises: ethyl alcohol; at least one dairy product; at least one sweetening agent.

[0017] Preferably, the dairy product is a hard product.

[0018] However, soft dairy products cannot be ruled out from the scope of this disclosure.

[0019] Advantageously, the dairy product is selected from the list comprising: Parmigiano Reggiano, ricotta, pecorino or mixtures thereof.

[0020] In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the beverage according to the invention, the dairy product is Parmigiano Reggiano.

[0021] Advantageously, the dairy product is in powdered form.

[0022] Preferably, the dairy product has an average grain size of less than 0.5 mm.

[0023] This expedient allows for the creation of a heterogeneous mixture in which the dairy product grains remain suspended in the mixture of alcohol and sweetening agent.

[0024] This allows significantly increasing the palatability of the beverage in accordance with the present invention.

[0025] It cannot, however, be ruled out from the scope of this disclosure that the beverage may consist of a homogeneous mixture in which the dairy product is solubilized in the mixture of ethyl alcohol and sweetening agent.

[0026] In particular, the ethyl alcohol and the dairy product have a mass / volume ratio equal to 700 grams of dairy product and 1 liter of ethyl alcohol.

[0027] Advantageously, the sweetening agent comprises: stevia, xylitol, whole coconut sugar, rice malt, barley malt, maple syrup, agave syrup, erythritol and sugar.

[0028] In accordance with an alternative embodiment of the beverage according to the invention, the latter is in gel form so as to allow its use as a condiment.

[0029] In this regard, the beverage comprises at least one gelling agent selected from the list comprising: starch, hydroxypropyl cellulose, methyl cellulose, guar gum, xanthan gum, agar agar, carob bean gum, inulin, carrageenan, alginate, curdlan gum, dextran, gellan gum, gum arabic, karaya gum, ghatti gum, tragantah gum, locust bean gum, tara gum, tamarind gum, konjac, mannan, isinglass.

[0030] Furthermore, it cannot be ruled out from the scope of this disclosure that the beverage according to the present invention may be in the form of a thermo- reversible gel.

[0031] It should be noted that, in this disclosure, the term “thermos-reversible gel condiment” relates to a solid gel consisting of a three-dimensional network of molecules held together by junction zones (of a physical or chemical nature) and constituting a solid phase wherein the dispersed liquid medium remains embedded.

[0032] This network gives the gel the characteristic properties of a solid, while the liquid phase controls the density thereof.

[0033] Specifically, hydrocolloids consist of a set of polysaccharides and proteins obtained from a wide variety of sources such as trees, plants, seeds, algae, animals and bacteria, and are found in a colloidal state, i.e., formed by water as the dispersing phase and a solute (the substance itself) as the dispersed phase.

[0034] Secondly, the present invention relates to a process for making a dairy productbased alcoholic beverage, comprising the following phases: supplying at least one dairy product selected from the list comprising: Parmigiano Reggiano, ricotta, pecorino or mixtures thereof; mixing the at least one dairy product with ethyl alcohol and at least one sweetening agent to obtain a mixture; packaging and storing the mixture in at least one container.

[0035] The phase of mixing comprises at least one solubilization step wherein the mixture is subjected to stirring.

[0036] Advantageously, the container is selected from the list comprising: bottle, airtight jar. This container may be of different types and is selected from the list comprising: bottle, airtight jar.

[0037] It has in practice been ascertained that the described invention achieves the intended objects. It should be noted that the particular expedient of using a dairy product in combination with ethyl alcohol and a sweetening agent makes it possible to obtain a beverage with excellent organoleptic properties and beneficial properties for humans.

Claims

CLAIMS1) Dairy product-based alcoholic beverage, comprising:- ethyl alcohol;- at least one dairy product;- at least one sweetening agent.2) Beverage according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that said at least one dairy product is a hard product.3) Beverage according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that said dairy product is selected from the list comprising: parmigiano reggiano, ricotta, pecorino or mixtures thereof.4) Beverage according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that said dairy product is in powdered form.5) Beverage according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that said dairy product has an average grain size of less than 0.5 mm.6) Beverage according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that said ethyl alcohol and said dairy product have a mass / volume ratio equal to 700 grams of said dairy product and equal to 1 liter of said ethyl alcohol.7) Beverage according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that said sweetening agent comprises: stevia, xylitol, whole coconut sugar, rice malt, barley malt, maple syrup, agave syrup, erythritol and sugar.8) Beverage according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that it comprises at least one gelling agent selected from the list comprising: starch, hydroxypropyl cellulose, methyl cellulose, guar gum, xanthan gum, agar agar, carob bean gum, inulin, carrageenan, alginate, curdlan gum, dextran, gellan gum, gum arabic, karaya gum, ghatti gum, tragantah gum, locust bean gum, tara gum, tamarind gum, konjac, mannan, isinglass.9) Process for making a dairy product-based alcoholic beverage, comprising the following phases: supplying at least one dairy product selected from the list comprising: parmigiano reggiano, ricotta, pecorino or mixtures thereof;mixing said at least one dairy product with ethyl alcohol and at least one sweetening agent to obtain a mixture; packaging and storing said mixture in at least one container.10) Process according to claim 9, characterized by the fact that said phase of mixing comprises at least one solubilization step wherein said mixture is subjected to stirring.