FAT COMPOSITIONS

Abstract: Margarine and other plastic fat products are packaged as a sliced block from which individual slices in direct contact can be readily parted for convenience in use especially for baking, peripheral grooves or rills preferably being provided to assist separation.

Description: This invention relates to plastic emulsion food products such as margarine which are particularly intended for culinary purposes and their preparation. Margarine and related plastic emulsion fat products for culinary purposes for example pastry margarine, are customarily marketed in wrapped blocks of substantial size convenient for transport which must however be broken up before use, for blending with other ingredients into bakery mixes. For bakery purposes margarine is usually substantially harder than table margarine and good deal of effort is expended by the baker in this traditionally manual operation. Individually wrapped sheets of margarine of about 2 cm thickness are more readily broken up but are less convenient to transport being more fragile and machines for their production are expensive and relatively slow in output. The present invention is based on the discovery that margarine and like emulsion fat products particularly for culinary purposes can be presliced and wrapped together to form a unitary package from which individual slices can be removed as required. The present invention therefore provides a fat-based culinary product comprising a sliced block of margarine or like plastic emulsion fat product in which individual slices in contact with one another from a unitary package the consistency of which enables individual slices to be readily parted from the package at ambient temperatures, and the block composition displays the following N-values : N20 : 30-60 N30 : 12-40 N35 : 8-30, characterized by the fact that the block is scored peripherally with grooves or rills between adjacent slices to facilitate their separation. The sliced pastry fat blocks of the present invention may be provided by a simple modification of established extrusion methods for the preparation of margarine, in which the margarine is extruded in a block past cutting wires fixed across the extrusion path of the block and spaced apart, preferably from 1 to 5 cm between them. The cutting installation is preferably installed adjacent the mouthpiece or exit port of the extrusion unit, ensuring that no further pressure is applied by the units to force the slices together and handicap the separation from the package in which they are ultimately wrapped. Preferably also, the margarine is extruded through a unit which is substantially rectangular in cross section but which is furnished with scalloped edges between the walls and adjacent cutting wires, providing each slice of margarine with an indented edge to facilitate its separation form its adjacent neighbours. A particular advantage of the present invention is that conventional methods of margarine manufacture in which the product is extruded, may be inexpensively adapted to produce these products. Pastry margarine and similarly relatively hard culinary emulsion fat products, are usually produced in a continuous fashion, from aqueous emulsions in the fully-melted fat, which are subjected to rapid chilling and working in scraped-surface heat exchanger units or Votator A units, from which the now-plastic emulsion is discharged into Votator B units constituted by a pipe which may include texturising valve means, in which further crystallisation of the fat in the emulsion occurs and from which the margarine is finally extruded and cut into blocks for wrapping. A cutting frame comprising spaced parallel cutting wires as described or cutting knives can be simply fitted over the extrusion orifice to provide the sliced margarine packs of the present invention is needed, with no further expensive modification, either of the extrusion machinery or the successive wrapping facility, which handles the sliced pack just as readily. The composition of the margarine or other fat-based culinary products of the invention may be based on edible fats of any appropriate source, animal, vegetable or marine or mixtures thereof and the fats or oils may be hardened or fractionated or otherwise and processed as customary, as required. For the plastic emulsion food product, a water-in-oil emulsion is prepared, chilled and worked in scraped-surface heat exchangers and rested if required, preferably to complete crystallisation, before blocks of the product, which may be extruded, are sliced. The slicing may be effected by extrusion through a wire grid with suitable wire spacing to give slices of the required thickness, each block being cut to predetermined size before the sliced block is wrapped or otherwise packaged. Preferably the melting characteristics, expressed as N-values obtained by NMR methods are as follows : N20 30-60, preferably 46-50 ; N30 12-40, preferably 27-32 and N35 8-30, preferably 16-20. The hardness, measured by penetrometer as C-values in accordance with Haighton JAOCS 36 (1959) pp 345 to 348, should preferably be between 800 and 3500, more particularly 1500 and 3500. A suitable composition comprises for example, a mixture preferably in equal parts, of palm oil with selectively hardened palm oil having a slip melting point of 40-50°C, the mixture being blended with a minor amount of sunflower or other high PUFA oil. Palm stearine fraction from palm oil may be used instead of or in addition to hardened palm oil as the hardstock fat, which may also include hardened fish oil. Preferably the slices constituting the packs of the present invention are between 10 and 100 mm thick, preferably from 20 to 30 mm thick. Blocks may be formed with any number, but preferably for convenience blocks of 3 or 4 slices are preferred. The packaged block, with or without intermediate wrapping with parchment or other grease proof materials, is preferably arranged with the slices upright, to ensure that the pressure of stacking for example on palettes, is transverse to the slices and does not therefore tend to press adjacent slices together. The cross-sectional shape and size of the block are not critical. It may be rounded or rectangular in section, preferably at least 5 cm across, more preferably less than 25 cm and especially rectangular blocks having sides from 7 cm to 30 cm in length. The block is scored with peripheral grooves or rills at intervals along the block over adjacent slices to facilitate their separation by hand as required. Example A blend of equal parts defined and neutralised palm oil and palm oil hardened selectively to 44 °C slip melting point, was blended in the ratio 9 : 1 with sunflower oil. The completely molten fat mixture was blended with customary emulsifier and colouring agents and an aqueous phase containing salt and stabilising agents was emulsified into a continuous stream of the molten fat composition through a proportionating pump feeding scraped-surface heat exchanger Votator A units discharging into B units. From the B units the now-plastic emulsion was extruded through a rectangular orifice approximately 10 by 20 cm furnished with three fixed, equidistant cutting wires stretched across the orifice at approximately 2.5 cm apart. The walls of the extrusion tube extending to the orifice were scalloped inwardly between the wires and the walls to facilitate separation of the extruded super-imposed slices. In another embodiment the extruded block was also cut into 4 slices, each 18 x 30 cm. The slip melting point of the margarine fat was 38 °C, N values were N20 46-50 ; N30 27-32 ; N35 16-20. Hardness values from C10 to C30 were between 1500 and 3500 ; the extruded, super-imposed slices were cut at intervals of 30 cm and the resulting blocks were wrapped mechanically in parchment before being packaged in fibre cartons. In use the slices were readily separated from one another, even at ambient temperatures of 20/25 °C and excellent pastry products were made from conventional recipes including appropriate quantities of the sliced margarine, kneaded into the other ingredients of the recipe.

Claims: A fat-based culinary product comprising a sliced block of margarine or like plastic emulsion- fat product comprising individual slices in contact with one another as a unitary package whereas the consistency of the fat enables individual slices to be readily parted from the package at ambient temperatures and the block-composition displays the following N-values: N20:30-60 N30:12-40 N35:8-30, characterised by the fact that the block is scored peripherally with grooves or rills between adjacent slices to facilitate their separation. A product according to Claim 1 which comprises margarine or other plastic emulsion food product. A product according to Claim 1 or 2 wherein slices are from 10 to 100 mm thickness. A product according to any of the preceding claims where the block is at least 5 cm across. A product according to Claim 4 wherein the block is rectangular in section. A product according to Claim 5 wherein each side of the block is 5 cm to 25 cm in length. A product according to Claim 1 wherein the consistency of the block is: N20:46-50 N30:27-32 N35:16-20 A product according to any of the preceding claims wherein the hardness of the block is from 800 to 3500 by the C-value method. A product according to Claim 8 wherein the hardness is from 1500 to 3500. A product according to any of the preceding claims wherein the fat comprises blend of a liquid vegetable oil and palm fat at least part of which is selectively hardened and/or a stearine fraction of palm oil. A product according to Claim 10 wherein the palm fat comprises substantially equal parts of selectively hardened and unhardened palm oil . A product according to any of the preceding claims wherein the fat comprises hardened fish oil. A product according to any of the preceding claims wherein the fat comprises at least 1/9th liquid oil. A product according to claim 13 wherein the fat comprises up to 1/3rd liquid oil. A product according to any of the preceding claims wherein the fat is substantially completely crystallised. A process for the preparation of a product as claimed in any of the preceding claims comprising preparing a water-in-oil emulsion from a blend of substantially equal parts of hardened and unhardened palm oil with a liquid vegetable oil, chilling, working and if necessary resting the plastic emulsion product obtained until crystallisation is substantially complete, slicing and wrapping the plastic emulsion product obtained in predetermined lengths, each providing a unitary package in which slices are in contact with one another and are readily separable, the block being scored peripherally at intervals between the slices to facilitate their separation in use.

Inventors: GERCAMA, ANNE
Applicants: UNILEVER N.V., UNILEVER PLC
Application year: 1986
Main classification: A23D7
IPC codes: A23D7