Frozen Nutritional Beverage Particles for No-Blender Reconstitution
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing nutritional beverages, particularly juices, lack full nutritional content of fruits and vegetables due to pulp removal and heat processing, and require blending equipment for preparation, offering limited convenience and nutrition.
Innovation Solution
A frozen nutritional beverage in the form of frozen particles with void space, which can be diluted with liquid to form a fluid beverage, maintaining high fruit and vegetable content without heat processing and equipment use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If juice products are heat-processed to extend refrigerated storage stability, then storage stability is improved, but nutritive and flavor properties are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the storage parameter from refrigerated to frozen state, allowing the beverage to be stored without heat processing. The frozen particles maintain full nutritive content and flavor while achieving long-term storage stability through freezing temperatures rather than thermal processing
Solution Approach 2:
The beverage combines fruit or vegetable constituents with ice in a frozen matrix, creating a composite material that achieves both nutritional integrity and storage stability. The ice component provides the frozen structure that preserves the organic content without requiring heat treatment
2Quantity of substance
If smoothies are prepared immediately before consumption using a blender, then nutritional quality is improved, but preparation convenience deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The beverage is prepared in advance by freezing the fruit or vegetable constituents with ice to create frozen particles. This preliminary action eliminates the need for blending at consumption time, as the frozen particles can be directly diluted and consumed, maintaining both nutritional quality and convenience
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical blending system with a dilution system. Instead of using a blender to mix ingredients, the frozen particles are simply diluted with liquid at consumption time, eliminating the need for mechanical processing equipment while preserving nutritional quality
3Stability of the object's composition
If pulp is removed during juicing, then beverage consistency is improved, but nutritional content deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state parameter to frozen, allowing the inclusion of pulp and solid constituents that would otherwise affect consistency. The frozen particles maintain a uniform frozen structure regardless of pulp content, and upon dilution, the natural thawing process provides acceptable consistency while retaining full nutritional content including pulp
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Provides a convenient, high-nutrition beverage that can be consumed without blending, retaining natural pulp and enzymes, and offering quick conversion to a drinkable state.
Implementation Method 1
The frozen particles can be converted to a fluid nutritional beverage by adding liquid to the container to at least partially fill the void space
Data Source
AI summary
Described are nutritional beverages, including frozen nutritional beverages made using frozen particles that contain fruit or vegetable constituent, and diluted (fluid) nutritional beverages containing the frozen particles and liquid; also described are relate methods of preparing, storing, and consuming the frozen nutritional beverages and the diluted nutritional beverages.