Cooking cream

Abstract: The invention is concerned with a cooking cream comprising an aqueous emulsion of vegetable fat(s), also comprising milk proteins, emulsifiers, thickeners and flavours. The amount of fat is 15-35 wt.%. The fat has a SAFA/PUFA ratio of less than 4.0. Food products containing the cooking cream are also part of the invention.

Description: Cooking creams are used in the preparation of many different types of food products, e.g. in order to dress up cooked food like meat, fish or vegetables, but also as a medium in which the food products are stored for some time, e.g. such as a herring sauce, and in which they can be warmed up. So far, only cooking creams having a high SAFA/PUFA weight ratio of the fatty acid moieties of the fat component are known. Here, high means a SAFA/PUFA ratio of about 10 or higher. In US 3 944 680 whippable creams are disclosed comprising water-continuous fat emulsions, wherein a globular protein must be incorporated. However, nothing is disclosed about a cooking cream. From DE 2 247 081 a coffee whitener is known, wherein 4.5-9.5% vegetable fat is incorporated, which fat has a PUFA content of at least 40%. However, this composition concerns coffee whiteners and not cooking creams, while the fat content is lower than in our compositions. In the general trend towards healthier food products, there was a clear need of cooking creams having a low SAFA/PUFA weight ratio for their fat component. It should be understood here that an all trans-unsaturated fat is also considered a SAFA fat. However, it was just not possible to use a fat or a fat blend with the desired SAFA/PUFA ratio since this gave rise to problems with respect to the viscosity and/or the aroma of the cooking creams. Therefore, the object was to find a cooking cream comprising an aqueous emulsion of a fat or fat blend, also containing milk proteins, emulsifier(s), thickener(s) and flavours having an improved fat phase (= SAFA/PUFA) and displaying a good viscosity and a good taste. The cooking cream according to the invention therefore comprises aqueous fat emulsions, also containing milk proteins, emulsifiers, thickener and flavours, wherein the emulsion consists of 15-35 wt.% of fat having a weight ratio of saturated fatty acid moieties : polyunsaturated fatty acid moieties (= SAFA : PUFA) of less than 4.0, preferably less than 1.0, in particular less than 0.6, the fatty acid moieties being derived from fatty acids having 8-22 carbon atoms; so much of a milk protein-containing compound that an amount of milk protein equivalent to that present in 5-15 wt.% of skimmed milk powder is present; an improved gelatin as thickener; 0.4-1.0 wt.% of an emulsifier selected from monoglycerides having a long carbon chain or polyglycerol sorbate esters; 0.1-1.4 wt.% of a flavour composition and/or 0.1-2.0 wt.% of a starter distillate and balance water to 100%. The best cooking creams contain 17-30 wt.%, preferably 24-28 wt.% of fat. The fat blends that can be used can either be a single fat blend having a high PUFA content (up to 100%) or a blend of fats rich in PUFA, such as rapeseed oil, sunflower oil and soybean oil and fats rich in SAFA, such as hardened rapeseed oil, hardened soybean oil and hardened coconut oil. The preferred fat blend consists of rapeseed oil with a PUFA content of at least 30% and hardened soybean oil with a SAFA content of at least 20%. In the cooking creams also other ingredients must be present. So, the cooking creams according to the invention preferably contain so much of milk proteins as to be equivalent to 7-10 wt.% of skimmed milk powder. In order to obtain the desired viscosity, the cooking cream must contain improved gelatin as thickener. Useful amounts, especially for an improved gelatin (N° 722-18), are 2-8 wt.%, although an amount of 0.6 wt.% also gives an excellent product (cf. Example). As the cooking cream is an emulsion, the presence of emulsifiers in the cream is required. Very useful emulsifiers are monoglycerides of fatty acids with a long carbon chain or polyglycerol sorbate esters. These emulsifiers are present in amounts of 0.4-1.0 wt.%, preferably 0.6-0.8 wt.%. The taste of the cooking cream is adjusted by using flavours. It is preferred to use 0.1-1.4 wt.%, in particular 0.2-0.8 wt.%, of a flavour composition that comprises a crème fraiche flavour and/or a butter cream flavour. Another flavour compound that can be used is a starter distillate (0.1-2.0 wt.%) to flavour the composition to a desired degree. Lactic acid is used to adjust the pH of the composition. Part of the invention is also a food product that comprises at least partly the cooking cream according to the invention. The cooking creams are processed in the normal way described for the preparation of cooking creams in the textbooks. EXAMPLE A cooking cream was prepared by making an emulsion of the following composition, in the following way : All ingredients, with the exception of lactic acid, were mixed in a high-speed mixer at 70°C. The pH was adjusted to 4.4 by adding lactic acid. The mixture was pasteurized for 15 seconds at 95°C. After cooling to 60°C, the mixture was homogenized, using a pressure of 50 bar. The mixture was packed in an aseptic tetra brik after it was cooled to 30°C. This cooking cream had a SAFA : PUFA ratio of 0.9. The taste of the cream was excellent, while the viscosity of the cream was good.

Claims: Pasteurized cooking cream comprising an aqueous emulsion of a fat or fat blend, also containing milk proteins, emulsifiers, thickener and flavours, wherein the emulsion consists of : 15-35 wt.% of a fat having a weight ratio of saturated fatty acid moieties : unsaturated fatty acid moieties (= SAFA : PUFA) of less than 4.0, the fatty acid moieties being derived from fatty acids having 8-22 carbon atoms; so much of a milk protein-containing compound that an amount of milk protein equivalent to that present in 5-15 wt.% of skimmed milk powder is present; an improved gelatin as thickener; 0.4-1.0 wt.% of an emulsifier selected from monoglycerides of fatty acids having a long carbon chain or polyglycerol sorbate esters; 0.1-1.4 wt.% of a flavour composition and/or 0.1-2.0 wt.% of a starter distillate and balance water to 100%. Cooking cream according to Claim 1, wherein the SAFA : PUFA ratio is less than 1.0. Cooking cream according to Claims 1 and 2, wherein the SAFA : PUFA ratio is less than 0.6. Cooking cream according to Claims 1-3, wherein the fat content of the cream is 17-30 wt.%. Cooking cream according to Claims 1-4, wherein the fat content of the cream is 24-28 wt.%. Cooking cream according to Claim 1, wherein the flavour composition consists of crème fraíche flavours and/or butter cream flavours. Cooking cream according to Claims 1-5, wherein the fat blend consists of a mixture of fats rich in PUFA and fats rich in SAFA. Cooking cream according to Claim 7, wherein the fats rich in PUFA are rapeseed oil, sunflower oil and/or soybean oil. Cooking cream according to Claim 7, wherein the fats rich in SAFA are hardened soybean oil, hardened rapeseed oil and/or hardened coconut oil. Food products comprising at least partly a cooking cream according to Claims 1-9.

Inventors: PERSSON HELENA, SVENSSON PIA, PERSSON, HELENA, SVENSSON, PIA
Applicants: UNILEVER NV, UNILEVER PLC, UNILEVER N.V.
Application year: 1991
Main classification: A23L1
IPC codes: A23C11, A23L1