Nut Coating Composition for Frozen Confectionery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing nut-based coatings for frozen confections face challenges such as long setting times, difficulty in packaging, and high saturated fatty acid content, which affect texture and nutritional profile, while traditional chocolate-based coatings are not suitable for incorporating whole nuts due to softness and melting issues.
Innovation Solution
A coating composition comprising 40-60% total fat, with 30-50% ground whole nuts below 80 microns, a mix of 40-60% liquid fat and 60-40% hardening fat, and 10-20% non-fat milk solids, allowing for a soft, chewy texture and rapid setting suitable for industrial processing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If nut-based coating is used without hardening fat, then the coating has soft texture and low saturated fatty acids, but the coating has long setting time and is too soft for packaging
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state parameters of the fat by using hardening fat (partially hydrogenated vegetable oil) instead of pure liquid nut oil. This transformation converts the coating from too-soft to an optimal consistency that sets quickly while maintaining low saturated fatty acid content (8-15%). The hardening fat provides the necessary viscosity and setting properties without significantly increasing saturated fat content.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite coating composition by combining ground whole nuts (30-50%), hardening fat (60-40% of total fat), liquid fat (40-60% of total fat), and non-fat milk solids (10-20%). This composite structure integrates the softness and flavor of nut oil with the setting properties of hardening fat, achieving both quick setting and healthy fat profile simultaneously.
2Reliability
If traditional chocolate-based coating is used, then the coating has good setting properties and structure, but the coating has high saturated fatty acid content and is not suitable for incorporating whole nuts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the beneficial structural and setting properties from traditional chocolate-based coatings (which use cocoa butter as hard fat) and transfers them to a nut-based coating system. By using hardening fat instead of cocoa butter, the patent maintains the reliable setting properties and structural integrity while eliminating the high saturated fatty acid content associated with traditional chocolate coatings.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the fat composition parameters to achieve a saturated fatty acid content of only 8-15%, compared to the typically high saturated fat content of traditional chocolate coatings. This is accomplished by using hardening fat (partially hydrogenated vegetable oil) which provides similar functional properties to cocoa butter but with a more favorable fatty acid profile.
3Ease of operation
If nut oil is used in coating, then the coating has low melting point and soft texture, but the coating becomes too soft and requires long setting time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes the melting point parameter of the coating by combining nut oil (low melting point) with hardening fat (higher melting point). This creates a balanced fat blend that maintains the desirable soft texture and low melting point characteristics while achieving rapid setting time suitable for industrial production and packaging.
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
The coating provides a soft, nut-forward flavor with desirable rheological properties, setting quickly enough for packaging and maintaining a healthy fat profile with low saturated fatty acids, offering a texture similar to peanut butter but more soft and chewy than standard compound coatings.
Implementation Method 1
Frozen confectionery comprising a coating... setting quickly enough for packaging
Implementation Method 2
wherein the total fat in the coating composition comprises 40 - 60 wt.% of liquid fat and 60 - 40 wt. % of hardening fat
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2(a)~2(b)
Figure 3(a)~3(b)
AI summary
The invention relates to a composition for coating a frozen confectionery comprising a coating having a coating composition comprising, expressed in weight % (based on the total weight of the coating), 40 - 60 wt. %, preferably 43 – 60 wt. %, more preferably 45 – 50 wt.% of total fat in the coating, 30 - 50 wt. % of ground whole nuts having a particle size below 80 microns, preferably 10 to 73 microns, and wherein the total fat in the coating composition comprises 40 - 60 wt% of liquid fat and 60 - 40 wt. % of hardening fat based on the total fat. The invention also relates to a method for making the coating composition.