Systems and methods for producing brown colorant

Abstract

A brown colorant may be made from a method comprising hydration, maceration with activation of polyphenol oxidase, pressing, pasteurization, and isolation. The brown color with a brown index between 1.0 and 2.5 is difficult to achieve and is made by a process that is counterintuitive to the traditional process.

Description

SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PRODUCING BROWN COLORANTCROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims priority to and the benefit of Turkish Patent Application number 2024 / 018880 filed in the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office on December 13, 2024 which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes.BACKGROUND

[0002] There are a number of brown colorants on the food market, commonly malt extracts derived from sugar-containing starting materials. Current brown colorants suffer from issues including containing allergenic materials and precipitation at low pH values making use in beverages impossible. A need exists for brown colorants that do not suffer from the shortcomings of existing systems.SUMMARY

[0003] Described herein is a brown colorant derived from black carrots which is stable at low pHs, is not in the allergen category, and does not contain undesirable byproducts. In one embodiment, a brown colorant may be made from black carrots in a novel process that may utilize traditional fruit and vegetable juice-concentrate production lines. The colorant may include one or more of juice concentrate and a mixture of anthocyanin reaction products. The present disclosure relates to obtaining a reddish-brown / brown product using black carrot vegetable (Dauciis carota .) which may be useful as a colorant in foodstuffs. This product has a specific reddish-brown tone, different from known brown products. The disclosure also discloses a process for preparing such a product. This disclosure relates to the production of brown products from raw materials containing polyphenol oxidase.

[0004] Disclosed herein is a brown colorant made from a method comprising hydration, maceration with activation of polyphenol oxidase, pressing, pasteurization, and isolation. The brown color with a brown index between 1.0 and 2.5 is difficult to achieve and is made by a process that is counterintuitive to the traditional process. Traditional methods involve heating and acidifying the milled fruit or vegetable matter which deactivates the polyphenol oxidase responsible for browning.

[0005] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a method of making a brown colorant, the method including the following steps taking place on a process timeline: a) at time zero on the process timeline, subdividing black carrot vegetable matter from the subspecies Daucus carota L. to produce subdivided material; b) at hydration time on the process timeline, optionally adding water to the subdivided material; c) at macerating time on the process timeline, macerating the subdivided material to produce macerated material, wherein the macerating is performed under conditions where polyphenol oxidase is activated for a macerating length of time of between 10 minutes and five hours; d) at pressing time on the process timeline, optionally pressing the macerated material to produce macerated juice and solid waste; e) at pasteurizing time on the process timeline, pasteurizing the macerated material or macerated juice to produce a pasteurization product including a brown colorant, wherein the pasteurizing includes addition of citric acid, wherein the pasteurizing is performed for a pasteurizing length of time of between 1 minute and 15 minutes; f) at isolating time on the process timeline, optionally isolating the brown colorant from the pasteurization product, wherein the subdivided material, the macerated material, and the optional macerated juice are maintained at a maintenance temperature of between 10 °C and 70 °C, and at a maintenance pH of between 3 and 7 between the time zero and the pasteurizing time, thereby producing a stable colorant with a brown index value of between 1.0 and 2.5.

[0006] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a brown-black carrot juice concentrate having a brown index value of between 1.0 and 2.5.

[0007] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a mixture of anthocyanin reaction products having a brown index value of 1.0 to 2.5.

[0008] These and other systems, methods, objects, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment and the drawings.

[0009] All documents mentioned herein are hereby incorporated in their entirety by reference. References to items in the singular should be understood to include items in the plural, and vice versa, unless explicitly stated otherwise or clear from the text. Grammatical conjunctions are intended to express any and all disjunctive and conjunctive combinationsof conjoined clauses, sentences, words, and the like, unless otherwise stated or clear from the context.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0010] The disclosure and the following detailed description of certain embodiments thereof may be understood by reference to the following figures:

[0011] Fig. 1 depicts a brown black carrot juice concentrate flow chart.

[0012] Fig. 2 depicts a powder production flow chart.

[0013] Fig. 3 A is an image of an example of beverage product including a colorant, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0014] Fig. 3B is an image of an example jelly product including a colorant, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0015] Fig. 3C is an image of an example pan-coated confection product including a colorant, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0016] Fig. 4 depicts a flowchart of the ultrafiltration process to produce enrichment product.

[0017] Fig. 5 depicts products after a filtration process.

[0018] Fig. 6 depicts a flowchart of the production of many possible products from black carrot matter.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] Before the present disclosure is described in further detail, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited to the particular embodiments described. It is also understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting. The scope of the present disclosure will be limited only by the claims. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" include plural embodiments unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

[0020] In this application, unless otherwise clear from context, (i) the term “a” may be understood to mean “at least one”; (ii) the term “or” may be understood to mean “and / or”; (iii) the terms “comprising” and “including” may be understood to encompass itemized components or steps whether presented by themselves or together with one or moreadditional components or steps; and (iv) the terms “about” and “approximately” are used as equivalents and may be understood to permit standard variation as would be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art; and (v) where ranges are provided, endpoints are included.

[0021] Approximately: as used herein, the term “approximately” or “about,” as applied to one or more values of interest, refers to a value that is similar to a stated reference value. In certain embodiments, the term “approximately” or “about” refers to a range of values that fall within 25%, 20%, 19%, 18%, 17%, 16%, 15%, 14%, 13%, 12%, 11%, 10%, 9%, 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 4%, 3%, 2%, 1%, or less in either direction (greater than or less than) of the stated reference value unless otherwise stated or otherwise evident from the context (except where such number would exceed 100% of a possible value).

[0022] Composition: as used herein, may be used to refer to a discrete physical entity that comprises one or more specified components. In general, unless otherwise specified, a composition may be of any form - e.g., gas, gel, liquid, solid, etc. In some embodiments, “composition” may refer to a combination of two or more entities for use in a single embodiment or as part of the same article. It is not required in all embodiments that the combination of entities result in physical admixture, that is, combination as separate coentities of each of the components of the composition is possible; however many practitioners in the field may find it advantageous to prepare a composition that is an admixture of two or more of the ingredients in a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, diluent, or excipient, making it possible to administer the component ingredients of the combination at the same time.

[0023] Improve, increase, or reduce: as used herein or grammatical equivalents thereof, indicate values that are relative to a baseline measurement, such as a measurement in a similar composition made according to previously known methods.

[0024] Substantially: as used herein, the term “substantially” refers to the qualitative condition of exhibiting total or near-total extent or degree of a characteristic or property of interest. One of ordinary skill in the biological arts will understand that biological and chemical phenomena rarely, if ever, go to completion and / or proceed to completeness or achieve or avoid an absolute result. The term “substantially” is therefore used herein tocapture the potential lack of completeness inherent in many biological and chemical phenomena.

[0025] Browning can lead to undesirable contents or colors in final products so traditional fruit and vegetable juice production has a typical goal of avoiding browning. Traditional fruit and vegetable juices and concentrates may be produced from pumpkins, peppers, apples, grapes, lemons, turmeric, and more. Browning can occur via four different pathways: non-enzymatic processes, enzymatic processes, caramelization, and the Maillard reaction. Typically, heat treatment of whole or milled fruits or vegetables, which may have an initial pH of between 5.5 and 7.0, and pH reduction are used to inhibit enzymatic processes (e.g., from polyphenol oxidase) early in juice production, while low temperatures inhibit non-enzymatic processes, caramelization, and the Maillard reaction later in juice production. The pasteurization and acidification processes assist in mitigating certain microbiological risks. Significant amounts of time and resources are invested to slow down or prevent browning.

[0026] Despite the traditional avoidance of browning in fruit and vegetable juice production, some situations intentionally call for brown colorants. There are a number of brown colorants used industrially to color food, including those derived from malt extracts and burnt or caramelized products, including E-coded (approved for use in the EU), non- E-coded (not approved for use in the EU), or other regulatorily characterized products, produced via sugar-containing starting materials. However, malt extract is an allergenic product and there are known undesirable byproducts found in products from sugar- containing starting materials. At the same time, these colorants from malt extract and sugar- containing starting materials cannot be used in beverages as they form precipitates at low pH values typically used for the production and storage of said beverages.

[0027] The colorant disclosed herein is produced via traditional fruit and vegetable juice concentrate production lines utilizing the polyphenol oxidase enzyme already present in the vegetable. D. carota naturally contains purple-red anthocyanins (e.g., cyanidin 3- xylosylglucosylgalactoside, cyanidin 3-xylosylgalactoside and the sinapic, ferulic, and coumaric acids derivative of cyanidin 3-xylosylglucosylgalactoside). Instead of inhibiting polyphenol oxidase as traditional methods do, it is harnessed to transform purple-red anthocyanins to brown phenolic compounds responsible for the brown / reddish-browncolor in the colorant disclosed herein. The colorant disclosed herein is free from allergens and does not contain any undesirable byproducts in the final product.

[0028] In one embodiment, and referring to Fig. 1, the following steps occur on a process timeline including time zero, hydration time, macerating time, pressing time, pasteurizing time, and isolating time. The traditional process step of heating after milling and acidification during maceration is removed in the process disclosed herein. This deviation from tradition has key and unexpected results on the process and products produced via the process.

[0029] At time zero on the process timeline, black carrot vegetable matter from the subspecies Daucus carotaL. is subdivided to produce subdivided material.

[0030] At hydration time on the process timeline, there is an option to add water to the subdivided material or not add water.

[0031] At macerating time on the process timeline, the subdivided material is macerated to produce macerated material. The maceration is performed under conditions where polyphenol oxidase is activated for a macerating length of time between 10 minutes and five hours. The conditions where polyphenol oxidase is activated are achieved at least partly by contacting the subdivided material with oxygen and / or air. Water may be added at macerating time to between 0% and 150% of the weight of the subdivided material producing a macerated material with between 1% and 70% by weight of water. In some cases, the amount of water can be at least 5%, at least 10%, at least 25%, at least 50%, at least 75%, or at least 100%. In some cases, the amount of water can be at most 150%, at most 125%, or at most 100%. Increasing the amount of added water prolongs the browning time as it reduces the contact between the material and the air required for the browning of the material. In this step, maceration may include agitating the subdivided material and / or macerated material. Mixing during this maceration phase supports access to air containing oxygen in the activation of polyphenol oxidase. Mixing may be done in cylindrical pressing machines or vertical mixers.

[0032] Maceration may also be performed by maintaining the subdivided material and / or macerated material in a thin layer on a belt until browning occurs without the need for the addition of water or enzymes. In this disclosure, the subdivided and / or macerated material contacts air without acidification or heat treatment, preferably with a high surface area tocontact as much oxygen as possible. In this step, the pH is not lowered as in traditional processes to preserve the activity of polyphenol oxidase and enable browning of the macerated material. In this step, the macerated material may optionally be pressed.

[0033] Prior to and / or during the macerating time, one or more additional enzymes may be added to the subdivided material. The enzymes may be pectolytic enzymes such as pectinase or hemicellulase, cellulase, beta-glucanase, xylanase, glucose oxidase, catalase, etc. or a combination thereof.

[0034] At pressing time on the process timeline, the macerated material may optionally be pressed to produce macerated juice and solid waste known as pomace. The macerating length of time may be between 10 minutes and five hours and may advantageously be one hour for certain applications. In some cases, the macerating length of time may be at least 10 minutes, at least 15 minutes, at least 20 minutes, at least 30 minutes, at least 45 minutes, or at least 1 hour. In some cases, the macerating length of time may be at most five hours, at most four hours, at most three hours, at most two hours, or at most 1 hour.

[0035] At pasteurizing time on the process timeline, the macerated material or macerated juice may be pasteurized to produce a pasteurization product including a brown colorant. Pasteurization may include the addition of citric acid as an edible acid. Pasteurization maybe performed for a pasteurizing length of time of between one minute and 15 minutes, including but not limited to between 2 and 10 minutes. The pasteurizing length of time may be at least 1 minute, at least 2 minutes, at least 3 minutes, at least 4 minutes, or at least 5 minutes. The pasteurizing length of time may be at most 15 minutes, at most 14 minutes, at most 13 minutes, at most 12 minutes, at most 11 minutes, at most 10 minutes, at most 9 minutes, at most 8 minutes, at most 7 minutes, at most 6 minutes, or at most 5 minutes. The pasteurizing length of time may be 5 minutes.

[0036] At isolating time on the process timeline, the brown colorant may be optionally isolated from the pasteurization product thereby producing the stable colorant with a brown index value of between 1.0 and 2.5. The stable brown colorant may have a brown index value of at least 1.0, at least 1.2, at least 1.4, or at least 1.6. The stable brown colorant may have a brown index value of at most 2.5, at most 2.3, at most 2.1, at most 1.9, or at most 1.7.

[0037] The subdivided material, the macerated material, and the optional macerated juice may be maintained at a maintenance temperature between 10 °C and 70 °C, more preferably between 40 and 50 °C, and at a maintenance pH between 3 and 7, more preferably between 5.5 and 6.2. The maintenance temperature may be at least 10 °C, at least 20 °C, at least 30 °C, at least 40 °C, at least 50 °C, at least 60 °C. The maintenance temperature may be at most 70 °C, at most 60 °C, at most 40 °C, at most 20 °C, or at most 10 °C. The maintenance pH may be at least 3, at least 3.3, at least 3.6, at least 3.9, at least 4.2, at least 4.5, at least 4.8, at least 5.1, or at least 5.5. The maintenance pH may be at most 7, at most 6.7, at most 6.4, at most 6.1, or at most 6.2. Isolating may also include clarification, filtration, and evaporation of the pasteurization product and / or brown colorant. At clarification time on the timeline, the pasteurized material may be combined with enzymes (e.g., pectolytic enzymes, pectinase, hemicellulose, beta-glucanase, xylanases, glucose oxidase, catalase, etc.).

[0038] In some cases, a clear product is required, and the process may use the isolating step to isolate the colorant from other parts of the composition which may impose cloudiness. In some cases, a cloudy product is required, and the process may forego the isolating step in order to take advantage of the cloudy nature of the product resulting from the pasteurization step.

[0039] Referring to Fig. 2, the isolated brown colorant may be a powder and may be used to make a colored formulation. The colored formulation may include a carrier, e.g., maltodextrin having between 2 and 20 dextrose equivalents. The carrier may be maltodextrin having at least 2 dextrose equivalents, at least 4 dextrose equivalents, at least 6 dextrose equivalents, or at least 8 dextrose equivalents. The carrier may be maltodextrin having at most 20 equivalents, at most 18 equivalents, at least 16 equivalents, at least 14 equivalents, or at least 12 equivalents. The colored formulation may be made by mixing the isolated brown colorant with the carrier and optionally water to form a mixture, which may optionally be spray dried. The colored formulation may be a liquid formulation or powdered formulation.

[0040] The colored formulation may also include an edible acid (e.g., citric acid, optionally introduced prior to making the colored formulation, or other acids such as sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, phosphoric acid, malic acid, tartaric acid, lactic acid, etc.),a fruit and / or vegetable concentrate (e.g., pumpkin, pepper, turmeric, apple, grape, lemon concentrates, and / or their deionized juices), an acidity regulator (e.g., sodium, potassium, calcium, or magnesium citrates or lactates, etc.), a stabilizer (e.g., pectin, xanthan gum, carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), carob bean gum, guar gum, sucrose acetate isobutyrate (SAIB), ester gum, etc.), an antioxidant (e.g., ascorbic acid, derivatives of ascorbic acid such as sodium or potassium salt, fatty acid esters of ascorbic acid like ascorbyl palmitate or the like, rosemary extract, tocopherol, optionally introduced via a tocopherol -rich extract, etc.), a preservative (e.g., potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate, sulfites, etc.), fibers, an emulsifier (e.g., gum Arabic, quillaja extract (alternatively spelled quillaia extract), modified starch, proteins, phospholipids, etc.), a flavoring agent (e.g., terpenes, citrus oils, etc.), vitamins (e.g., vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin E, etc.), proteins, or a combination thereof.

[0041] The color of the colored formulation may be quantified according to the brown index value, which is defined as the ratio of absorbance at 420 nm to the absorbance at 525 nm corrected by the turbidity at 700 nm. To measure the brown index, using Eqn. 1, the sample is diluted in solution at a pH of 3 to a factor which leads to an absorbance within the linear region of the spectrophotometer where the Beer-Lambert law is valid.Brown Index (Eqn. 1)

[0042] In one embodiment, a brown-black carrot juice concentrate may be produced by the methods disclosed herein having a brown index value of between 1.0 and 2.5. A mixture of anthocyanin reaction products having a brown index value of between 1.0 and 2.5 may also be produced. In comparison, the brown index value determined by UV spectroscopy method may be between 0.3-0.4 in standard black carrot juice concentrate products. In some embodiments, the colorant produced may have an odor / aroma of black carrots.

[0043] Disclosed herein are colored formulations and isolated colorants produced by any of the methods. Disclosed herein is a brown-black carrot juice concentrate having a brown index value of between 1.0 and 2.5. Also disclosed herein is a mixture of anthocyanin reaction products having a brown index value of between 1.0 and 2.5.

[0044] In another aspect, black carrot vegetable matter may be processed in a plurality of ways as shown in Fig. 6. Starting with black carrot vegetable 700, brown black carrot juice concentrate 702 may be produced as described herein. From the brown black carrotjuice concentrate 702, enriched brown black carrot juice concentrate 704 may be produced. The brown black carrot juice concentrate 704 may be dried into a powder product 710. The powder product 710 may be mixed with other powder pigments 714 or made oil soluble 716. The oil soluble product 716 may be mixed with other pigments 724. Both the enriched brown black carrot juice concentrate 704 and the brown black carrot juice concentrate 702 may be mixed with other pigments 706, may be dried into a powder 712, may be made oil soluble 718, and may be mixed with other pigments 726. Alternatively, the brown black carrot juice concentrate 702 may be processed into a powder 708. The powder 708 may be made oil soluble 720 and may be further mixed with other pigments 728. The powder 708 may also be mixed with other powder pigments 722 and may be further mixed with other pigments 730.

[0045] In a different aspect, brown black carrot juice can be enriched with known technologies such as membrane filtration or fermentation.

[0046] In one embodiment, the process to dry enriched brown black carrot juice concentrate, brown black carrot juice concentrate, or a mixture of the two liquids with other pigments is spray drying. To prepare the powder, a carrier may be added to the brown black carrot juice concentrate, brown black carrot juice concentrate, or the mixture of the two liquids. The carrier leads to an increase of the glass transition temperature and therefore allows processes at higher temperatures, such as spray drying. The carrier may be added in 10% to 80% by weight to the concentrate or concentrate mixture. Due to the fast surface augmentation by an atomizer, particles are formed quickly and drying is fast. The liquid is typically dried at inlet temperatures between 130 °C and 200 °C and outlet temperatures between 65 °C to 110 °C. The obtained powder commonly has particle sizes between 10 microns and 100 microns. A skilled artisan will appreciate that the particle size of the obtained powder can be adjusted to suit desired applications.

[0047] In another embodiment, the pigments combined with the brown black carrot juice concentrate or enriched brown black carrot juice concentrate may be safflomin, anthocyanins, carotenoids, bixin, curcumin, chlorophyll, or a mixture thereof. When the brown black carrot juice or brown black carrot juice concentrate is mixed with a pigment or mixture of pigments, the newly formed mixed product may have different Amax and L*a*b (CIE color space) values.

[0048] In another embodiment, the brown black carrot juice concentrate, enriched brown black carrot juice concentrate, powder or fine powder from the brown black carrot juice concentrate, powder or fine powder from the brown black carrot juice concentrate, may be mixed with a solvent such as water, oil, or mixtures thereof in an amount from 5% to 70% by weight of the liquid formulation.

[0049] It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that many additional modifications beside those already described are possible without departing from the inventive concepts. In interpreting this disclosure, all terms should be interpreted in the broadest possible manner consistent with the context. Variations of the term "comprising" should be interpreted as referring to elements, components, or steps in a non-exclusive manner, so the referenced elements, components, or steps may be combined with other elements, components, or steps that are not expressly referenced. Embodiments referenced as "comprising" certain elements are also contemplated as "consisting essentially of' and "consisting of' those elements. When two or more ranges for a particular value are recited, this disclosure contemplates all combinations of the upper and lower bounds of those ranges that are not explicitly recited. For example, recitation of a value of between 1 and 10 or between 2 and 9 also contemplates a value of between 1 and 9 or between 2 and 10.

[0050] Unless otherwise specified or indicated by context, the terms “a”, “an”, and “the” mean “one or more.” For example, “a molecule” should be interpreted to mean “one or more molecules.”

[0051] As used herein, “about”, “approximately,” “substantially,” and “significantly” will be understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art and will vary to some extent on the context in which they are used. If there are uses of the term which are not clear to persons of ordinary skill in the art given the context in which it is used, “about” and “approximately” will mean plus or minus <10% of the particular term and “substantially” and “significantly” will mean plus or minus >10% of the particular term.

[0052] As used herein, the terms “include” and “including” have the same meaning as the terms “comprise” and “comprising.” The terms “comprise” and “comprising” should be interpreted as being “open” transitional terms that permit the inclusion of additional components further to those components recited in the claims. The terms “consist” and “consisting of’ should be interpreted as being “closed” transitional terms that do not permitthe inclusion of additional components other than the components recited in the claims. The term “consisting essentially of’ should be interpreted to be partially closed and allowing the inclusion only of additional components that do not fundamentally alter the nature of the claimed subject matter.

[0053] All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention.

[0054] All references, including publications, patent applications, and patents, cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each reference were individually and specifically indicated to be incorporated by reference and were set forth in its entirety herein.

[0055] Preferred aspects of this invention are described herein, including the best mode known to the inventors for carrying out the invention. Variations of those preferred aspects may become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the foregoing description. The inventors expect a person having ordinary skill in the art to employ such variations as appropriate, and the inventors intend for the invention to be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. Accordingly, this invention includes all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicable law. Moreover, any combination of the above-described elements in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the invention unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.

[0056] While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the foregoing drawings and description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood that only illustrative embodiments thereof have been shown and described and that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the invention are desired to be protected. For example, any of the features or functions of any of the embodiments disclosed herein may be incorporated into any of the other embodiments disclosed herein.

[0057] The following examples illustrate some embodiments and aspects of the invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art that various modifications, additions, substitutions, and the like can be performed without altering the spirit or scope of the invention, and such modifications and variations are encompassed within the scope of the invention as defined in the claims which follow. The following examples do not in any way limit the invention.

[0058] Example 1

[0059] As shown in Fig. 2, black carrot vegetable matter is mixed with water and milled. The vegetable matter is then mashed for 3 hours between 40 °C and 50 °C in the absence of citric acid. At this point, the vegetable matter has a brix of around 8.0 °Bx and a pH between 5 and 6. The mashed material is then mixed with a citric acid solution and pressed. The brix remains around 8.0 °Bx while the pH has decreased to between 4.5 and 5. The pressed material is then pasteurized at a temperature between 80 °C and 90 °C for 10 minutes. The pasteurized material is filtered then evaporated, leaving behind a brown-red pigments with a brix between 70.0 °Bx and 75.0 °Bx, pH between 4.0 and 4.5 and El% measured at 420 nm of 3.0 to 4.5.

[0060] The colorants produced by the process were integrated into beverages of varying pH (Fig. 3A), jelly confections (Fig. 3B), and pan-coated candy confections (Fig. 3C). Referring to Fig. 3A, a soft drink application is depicted wherein the base includes 14% invert sugar syrup, potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate, and 85.65% water, wherein the mix is adjusted to pH 3 with citric acid.

[0061] Example 2

[0062] Ultrafiltration may be carried out on the brown black carrot juice concentrate as produced in Example 1. Fig. 4 shows a flowchart of the process. First, brown black carrot juice concentrate is diluted with pure water, preferably between 6 and 10 times. Then, using an ultrafiltration system, preferably with a pore membrane size of 2-3 kDa and at 6-10 bar of pressure, ultrafiltration is carried out for two hours. After two hours, some of the sugar in the brown black carrot juice concentrate is transferred to the permeate side and removed.Fig. 5 shows the outcome of the process. In Fig. 5, the three beakers on the left are products of the permeate side. The beaker on the right in Fig. 5 labelled Retentate is the low brix juice which contains reduced sugar and pigment from the brown black carrot juice concentrate. The Retentate product is evaporated and a new product with high brix enriched pigments, the enriched product, is obtained. After the enrichment process, the enriched product has a 3.3 times increased concentration of pigments. Table 1 summarizes the data from the ultrafiltration process. The enrichment process can result in enrichment products with 1.5 to 5.9 times increased concentration of pigments as a function of filtration time. This process can also be used in powder production processes and blended products.Table 1

[0063] Equivalents and Scope. The recitation of a listing of elements in any definition of a variable herein includes definitions of that variable as any single element or combinations (or subcombinations) of listed elements. The recitation of an embodiment herein includes that embodiment as any single embodiment or in combination with any other embodiments or portions thereof. Those skilled in the art will recognize, or be able to ascertain using no more than routine experimentation, many equivalents to the specific embodiments of the invention described herein. The scope of the present invention is not intended to be limited to the above Description, but rather is as set forth in the following claims:

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A method of making a brown colorant, the method comprising the following steps taking place on a process timeline: a) at time zero on the process timeline, subdividing black carrot vegetable matter from the subspecies Daucus carota L. to produce subdivided material; b) at hydration time on the process timeline, optionally adding water to the subdivided material; c) at macerating time on the process timeline, macerating the subdivided material to produce macerated material, wherein the macerating is performed under conditions where polyphenol oxidase is activated for a macerating length of time of between 10 minutes and five hours; d) at pressing time on the process timeline, optionally pressing the macerated material to produce macerated juice and solid waste; e) at pasteurizing time on the process timeline, pasteurizing the macerated material or macerated juice to produce a pasteurization product including a brown colorant, wherein the pasteurizing comprises addition of citric acid, wherein the pasteurizing is performed for a pasteurizing length of time of between 1 minute and 15 minutes; and f) at isolating time on the process timeline, optionally isolating the brown colorant from the pasteurization product, wherein the subdivided material, the macerated material, and the optional macerated juice are maintained at a maintenance temperature of between 10 °C and 70 °C, and at a maintenance pH of between 3 and 7 between the time zero and the pasteurizing time, thereby producing a stable colorant with a brown index value of between 1.0 and 2.5.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the macerating length of time is between 15 minutes and four hours.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the pasteurizing length of time is between 2 minutes and 10 minutes.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the maintenance temperature of the macerated juice is between 10 °C and 70 °C or between 40 °C and 50 °C, including but not limited to at least 10 °C, at least 20 °C, at least 30 °C, at least 40 °C, at least 50 °C, at least 60 °C, and at most 70 °C, at most 60 °C, at most 40 °C, at most 20 °C, or at most 10 °C.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the maintenance pH is between 5.5 and 6.2.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the method includes: b) adding water to the subdivided material.

7. The method of claim 1 or 6, wherein the method includes b) adding water in an amount by weight of between 1% and 150% of the weight of the subdivided material.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the adding water of step b) is not performed.

9. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the macerating of step c) is performed by maintaining the subdivided material and / or the macerated material.

10. The method of the immediately preceding claim, wherein the agitating is performed in a cylindrical pressing machine or a vertical mixer.

11. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the method includes: f) at isolating time on the process timeline, isolating the brown colorant from the pasteurization product.

12. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the method includes: d) pressing the macerated material.

13. The method of any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the pressing of step d) is not performed.

14. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the isolating of f) includes clarification, filtration or separation, and evaporation.

15. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the conditions where polyphenol oxidase is activated are achieved at least partly by contacting the subdivided material with oxygen and / or air.

16. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein one or more additional enzymes are added to the subdivided material prior to the macerating time and / or during the maceration of step c).

17. The method of the immediately preceding claim, wherein the one or more enzymes include a pectolytic enzyme.

18. The method of either of the two immediately preceding claims, wherein the one or more additional enzymes include an enzyme selected from the group consisting of pectinase, hemicellulase, beta-glucanase, xylanase, and glucose oxidase, catalase, etc. or a combination thereof.

19. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the isolated brown colorant is a powder.

20. The method of any one of the preceding claims, making a colored formulation using the isolated brown colorant.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the colored formulation comprises a carrier, wherein the carrier is optionally maltodextrin having between 2 and 20 dextrose equivalents.

22. The method of the immediately preceding claim, wherein making the colored formulation includes mixing the isolated brown colorant with the carrier and optionally water to form a mixture.

23. The method of any one of claims 20 to the immediately preceding claim, wherein the colored formulation is a liquid formulation.

24. The method of any one of claims 20 to 22, wherein the colored formulation is a powdered formulation.

25. The method of any one of claims 20 to 22, wherein making the colored formulation further comprises spray drying the mixture.

26. The method of any one of claims 21 to the immediately preceding claim, wherein the colored formulation further comprises an edible acid (e.g., citric acid, optionally introduced prior to making the colored formulation, or other acids such as sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, phosphoric acid, malic acid, tartaric acid, lactic acid, etc.), a fruit and / or vegetable concentrate (e.g., pumpkin, pepper, turmeric, apple, grape, lemon, and / or their deionized juices), an acidity regulator (e.g., sodium, potassium, calcium, or magnesium citrates or lactates, etc.), a stabilizer (e.g., pectin, xanthan gum, carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), carob bean gum, guar gum, sucrose acetate isobutyrate (SAIB), ester gum, etc.), an antioxidant (e.g., ascorbic acid, derivates of ascorbic acid such as the sodium or potassium salts, fatty acid esters of ascorbic acid such as ascorbyl palmitate or the like, rosemary extract, tocopherol, optionally introduced via a tocopherol-rich abstract, etc.), a preservative (e.g., potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate, sulfites, etc.), fiber, an emulsifier (e.g., gum Arabic, quillaja extract, modified starch, proteins, phospholipids, etc.), a flavoring agent (e.g., terpenes, citrus oils, etc.), vitamins (e.g., vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin E, etc.), proteins, or a combination thereof.

27. A colored formulation produced by the method of any one of claims 20 to the immediately preceding claim.

28. An isolated colorant produced by the method of any one of the preceding claims.

29. A brown-black carrot juice concentrate having a brown index value of between 1.0 and 2.5.

30. A mixture of anthocyanin reaction products having a brown index value of 1.0 to2.5.

31. A colorant comprising the brown-black carrot juice extract of claim 29 or the mixture of claim 30, the colorant having an aroma of black carrots.

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