A refrigerated water jelly and a process for its preparation

Abstract: The invention concerns a refrigerated water jelly comprising a jelly ground mass and a fruit phase made of fruit pieces, said pieces being uniformly distributed in the gelling system, the water gelling system consisting of 50 to 90 % and the fruit phase of 10 to 50 % of the water jelly, wherein the jelly ground mass comprises in weight 0.4 to 0.7 % of xanthan, a gelling compound taken in the group consisting of 0.5 to 1.5 % of carrageenan, 0.4 to 1.0 % of carrageenan together with 0.1 to 0.5 % of locust bean gum and 0.1 to 0.5 % of gellan gum and 15 to 30 % sugar and wherein the fruit phase has a sugar content near to the sugar content of the jelly ground mass and contains between 0.4 and 0.7 % of xanthan.

Description: The invention concerns a refrigerated water jelly comprising a water gelling system and a fruit phase made of fruit pieces. The invention concerns further a process for the preparation of said water jelly. It is already known to prepare a gelled dessert with juice and chunks. The US Patent No. 3'556'810 concerns an aqueous dessert gel containing as gelling agents a combination of four polysaccharides, such as calcium sensitive low methoxy pectin, locust bean gum, a potassium-sensitive carrageenan and a calcium-sensitive carrageenan. However, the complicated composition of thickener, the unsolved degradation of some of the thickeners during heat-treatment and the known reduction of thickening at elevated temperatures makes this system not useful in manufacturing practice. The US Patents No. 3'658'556 and 4'752'489 concern a process for preparing a gelled composition containing a homogeneous distribution of fruit pieces, said composition containing as gelling agents locust bean gum and carrageenan. In the process, the containers are rotated during sterilisation and cooled down to the setting temperature. The process requires a special handling which can be done only with canned products, but is not useful for cup filled desserts. Additionally, the movement during gel setting or just before induces uncontrollable variability of the gel texture. The aim of the present invention is to have the possibility of preparing a water jelly by hot filling in order to overcome microbiological recontamination, that is at a temperature of at least 70 °C, which is the necessary temperature for filling in cups on not aseptic or not ultrahygienic filling lines, and with a thickening system which provides sufficient high viscosity of the jelly mass at 70 °C, without degradation of said thickening system at the above mentioned temperature. The invention concerns a refrigerated water jelly comprising a jelly ground mass and a fruit phase made of fruit pieces, said pieces being uniformly distributed in the gelling system, the water gelling system consisting of 50 to 90 % and the fruit phase of 10 to 50 % of the water jelly, wherein the water gelling system comprises in weight 0.4 to 0.7 % of xanthan, a gelling compound taken in the group consisting of 0.5 to 1.5 % of carrageenan, 0.4 to 1.0 % of carrageenan together with 0.1 to 0.5 % of locust bean gum and 0.1 to 0.5 % of gellan gum and 15 to 30 % sugar and wherein the fruit phase has a sugar content near to the sugar content of the water gelling system and contains between 0.4 and 0.7 % of xanthan. For obtaining water jelly according to the invention, it is possible to run the production on existing filling lines. With the system of gelling and thickening agents, it is possible to obtain an homogeneous distribution of the fruit pieces in the jelly mass and said agents provide sufficient high viscosity of said jelly mass at 70 °C. Otherwise, positive or negative lift evoked by the difference of specific gravity between jelly ground mass and fruit pieces leads to floating or deposit of the fruit pieces before the gel sets. The gelling part of the system allows a control of the desired gel firmness and texture without uncontrollable interactions with the thickening agent. Also the influence of heat and low pH on degradation of polysaccharides can be minimised. The jelly ground mass contains both a thickener and a gelling agent. The thickener has been selected by the ability to build up a high viscosity even at elevated temperature, by little influence on the gel structure, and by sufficient stability against degradation at high temperature and low pH. Dispersions of xanthan have ideal properties for the purpose of the invention as they show a strong pseudoplastic behavior which is practically independent from temperature. Thus xanthan provides a high yield viscosity just after filling and stabilises the homogeneous distribution of the fruit pieces. A xanthan with very good transparency due to an additional refining process is preferably used. The concentration varies between 0.4 and 0.7 %. All the given percentages in the present specification are in weight, based on the final composition. Lower concentration do not provide sufficient yield viscosity and higher concentration will increase the viscosity of the raw mix to a level too high for the transport in the tubes. A concentration of 0.5 % is preferred. The gelling agent used can be carrageenan, preferably kappa-carrageenan, which builds up a transparent gel. A good result can be obtained by blending kappa- and iota-carrageenan. Both products provide a transparent, slight elastic gel. The firmness is controlled by the concentration which can vary between 0.5 for a weak up to 1.5 % for a very strong gel. Another possibility as gelling agent is a combination of carrageenan and locust bean gum. This combination increases strongly the gel strength without inducing elasticity the amount of carrageenan varies between 0.4 and 1 % and that of locust bean gum between 0.1 and 0.5 %. A further appropriate gelling agent is gellan gum, which is a hydrocolloid obtained by fermentation of sucrose by Pseudomonas Elodea. Gellan gum provides a transparent, firm and rigid gel even used in low concentrations which may vary from 0.1 to 0.5 %. All the above mentioned gelling agents have a sufficient stability against acid and heat,if the proposed processing will be applied. There is no interaction with xanthan affecting the gel structure and appearance negatively. The gel strength depends strongly from the amount of free mono- and divalent cations (e.g. sodium, potassium and calcium). The water used for the preparation of the jelly has a calcium concentration of not more than 80 mg/l , which allows to reach an acceptable gel firmness. The concentration of sugar depends primarely on the desired sweetness of the product and can vary in the jelly ground mass between 10 and 30 %. The specific gravity of the jelly ground mass can vary between 1.04 and 1.13. The quantity of sugar in the fruit piece preparation- and thus in the fruit pieces- has to be adjusted to the quantity of sugar in the jelly ground mass and which then will adjust the specific gravity of the fruit piece preparation to that of the jelly ground mass. The adjustment of the specific gravity between both phases has to be carried exactly as possible in order to minimise the needed quantity of xanthan. Practically, the concentration of xanthan is set to 0.5 %, while the difference in specific gravity between both phases should not exceed 0.02 g/ml which corresponds to a difference in sucrose concentration of at least 4.2 %. This range of deviation is technical feasible in the industrial production as well for the jelly ground mass as for the fruit piece preparation. Although the final product has a water gelling system consisting of 50 to 90 % and a fruit phase comprising 10 to 50 %, it is preferable to have a water gelling system having around 80 % and a fruit phase around 20 %. The product according to the invention has to be placed in the refrigerator with a shelf life of at least 30 days at a storage temperature of 10 °C. The fruit piece preparation is a critical ingredient, as it provides all additional value to the product like flavour, texture of the pieces, and appearance. The composition of the preparation has to be more precisely specified. The used fruit piece preparations were prepared in a batch cooking process ans stored in aseptic container before they will be added to the final product. An insufficient pasteurised fruit preparation will cause growth of micro-organism in the final product as the preparation will be added by flow injection after pasteurisation of the jelly ground mass. For additional safety, it is possible to add sorbic acid in an amount of 0.1 to 0.3 %. The sugar content in the fruit piece preparation has to adjust the specific gravity of the fruit piece preparation to the corresponding specific gravity of the jelly ground mass. Practically, the total sugar content (added sugar and that of the fruits) should be specified as the same as that of the jelly ground mass. The deviation from the specified sugar content must not exceed the above mentioned given limits. Too large variation in the production of the fruit piece preparation will prevent the homogeneous distribution of the fruit pieces as the differences in the specific gravity between the jelly ground mass and the fruit piece preparation will be too large. The size of the fruit pieces can vary over in range between 2 and 10 mm. The fruit pieces have to be stable against processing stress. All types of fruits can be used, for example pear, peach, apple, apricots and others. Some varieties, especially bear varieties like strawberry, are not available as firm pieces. For obtaining a strawberry containing product, a fruit cocktail comprising mashed strawberries and pieces from pear and peach is used. A stabilisation agent is necessary to be added in the fruit preparation. For simplifying the whole system, the same xanthan, which is already used in the jelly ground mix, is also used for the fruit preparation, and also at the same amount , that is between 0.4 and 0.7 %. The fruit piece preparation is the source for acidifying the whole product. The amount of an added edible acid depends on the natural acidity of the fruits and on the final pH of the product. For achieving a pH below of 4.0 and less, an amount of 0.2 to 0.5 % of an edible acid is added in the fruit preparation. The edible acid is preferably citric acid. An insufficient pasteurised preparation will cause growth of micro-organism in the final product as the preparation will be added by flow injection after pasteurisation of the jelly ground mass. For additional safety, it is possible to add sorbic acid in an amount of 0.1 to 0.3 %. The invention concerns further the process for the preparation of the water jelly , wherein the jelly ground mass is prepared by blending the ingredients at a temperature around 70°C, the mixture is heated and cooled at a temperature above 70 °C and stored, the fruit phase is stored aseptically after its sterilisation or pasteurisation, and the fruit phase is injected at a temperature of 10 to 20°C in the stream of the water gelling system , said mixture is heated to reach a temperature above 70°C and is filled in a container, whereby the following container can be fed. This production process consists of two sections. The first one is the preparation of the jelly ground mass and of the fruit phase, and the second the flow addition of the fruit piece preparation to the jelly ground mass and the final filling procedure. Concerning the first step, the thickener and the gelling agents are blended in water with a powerful equipment, because the relative high amount of xanthan tends to lump. The premixing of the dry ingredients and the heating at around 70 °C helps significantly to suspend all the dry ingredients during the blending process. Afterwards, the mixture is heated, and most preferably pasteurised. A pasteurisation in combination with a pH lower than 4.4 is sufficient for microbiological stabilisation if the product is to be distributed under chilled conditions, as already above mentioned. A heating up to 95 °C for 6 minutes is sufficient for the elimination of vegetative bacteria germs, moulds and yeasts. Taking in account the low pH of the final product, which is in the range of 3.6-3.8 and the storage under chilled conditions, a commercially safe product is manufactured. The heating is made with the use of a plate heat exchanger rather than a tube heat exchanger, as that provides a more granular structure of the jelly ground mass. Due to the high initial viscosity of the raw mix, the blending step incorporates high amounts of air bubbles which would be visible in the final product. A flash cooling reduces the amount of remaining air bubbles drastically, while cooling the jelly ground mass down to 70 °C for intermediate storage. In any case, the temperature must not decrease below 70 °C in all following steps, in order to prevent premature gellation in the line. A jacketed storage vessel is used as buffer tank. The stability of the jelly ground mass is tested at a storage at 70 °C for 3•hours : there is no consequence on the texture of the final product due to the neutral pH of 7.5 to 8.0 of said jelly ground mass. The fruit phase is prepared by the addition of the amount of xanthan and eventually of citric acid to reach the required pH : said fruit phase is then pasteurised or sterilised, filled into an aseptic container, and cooled to be kept under chilled conditions. The jelly ground mass is preheated just after intermediate storage to compensate the low temperature of the added fruit piece preparation which is normally stored under chilled conditions.It is necessary to maintain the filling temperature of at least 70 °C during the tube transport to the filling station in order to prevent premature gellation and to prevent germination of bacteria spores. The addition of the fruit phase preparation to the jelly ground mass has to take place shortly before filling as the exposure to the said jelly mass at elevated temperatures will affect the stabilisation of the fruit pieces and the final texture of the jelly. The filling temperature has to be maintained at least at 70 °C for maintaining the hygienic effect against cross contamination. The filling nozzle has to be appropriate for filling products with pieces. A lid is then sealed on the top of the cup. An appropriate cooling of the final product by a cooling tunnel is important as the low pH can cause changes in the gel texture. The stabilisation of the fruit pieces was not affected by the filling process. The description is made now in relation with the figure showing a schematic view of the water jelly according to the invention. The cup (1) , which is made preferably in Polypropylen, presents an upper lip, where a cover or lid (not shown) has to be sealed on. The cup contains the jelly ground mass (2), containing the xanthan and a gelling agent and the fruit phase preparation (3) made of different types of pieces. It is possible to have also different type of fruits in the same cup. The product according to the invention can be kept in the refrigerator under chilled conditions during at least 3 weeks and has normally a content of 100 to 150 g. The following examples give a more detailed description of the invention. Examples The following table gives three different recipes of the jelly ground mass. Ingredients,% Recipe 1 Recipe 2 Recipe 3 Water 80.5 80.5 81.3 Sugar 18.0 18.0 18.0 Xanthan 0.5 0.5 0.5 Carrageenan 1.0 0.8 0 Locust bean gum 0 0.2 0 Gellan gum 0 0 0.2 The following table gives three different recipes of the fruit piece preparation. Ingredients,% Apple Peach Strawberry coktail Fruit pieces 70 70 Strawberry, 27.5 pear, 27.5 peach, 15 Sucrose 9.5 11.0 10.0 Citric acid 1.0 1.0 1.0 Xanthan 0.5 0.5 0.5 Aroma 0.25 0.45 0.2 Food colors 0.003 0.025 0.003 It is then possible to make the 9 possible combinations of 80 % of the jelly ground mass and 20 % of the fruit piece preparation. The water jelly is transparent and is filled into transparent cups of Polypropylen with a texture similar to gelatine. The fruit pieces are homogeneously distributed in the mass and have a size comprised between 2 and 10 mm : in average, they have a diameter of 8 mm. The gel is colored with natural or artificial colors fitting to the variety of fruit pieces. The product has a good gel firmness. The shelf life of the product is over 6 weeks under chilled conditions of 12 °C. There was no growth of microorganisms. Appearance, gel firmness and mouthfeeling remained stable during the shelf life in all tested recipes. The pH of the jelly ground mass is comprised between 7.5 and 8, that of the fruit preparation around 3.0 and the pH of the final product is comprised between 3.5 and 3.8.

Claims: A refrigerated water jelly comprising a jelly ground mass and a fruit phase made of fruit pieces, said pieces being uniformly distributed in the gelling system, the water gelling system consisting of 50 to 90 % and the fruit phase of 10 to 50 % of the water jelly, wherein the jelly ground mass comprises in weight 0.4 to 0.7 % of xanthan, a gelling compound taken in the group consisting of 0.5 to 1.5 % of carrageenan, 0.4 to 1.0 % of carrageenan together with 0.1 to 0.5 % of locust bean gum and 0.1 to 0.5 % of gellan gum and 15 to 30 % sugar and wherein the fruit phase has a sugar content near to the sugar content of the jelly ground mass and contains between 0.4 and 0.7 % of xanthan. A refrigerated water jelly according to claim 1, wherein the jelly ground mass consists of around 80 % and the fruit phase of around 20 % of the water jelly. A refrigerated water jelly according to any of claims 1 or 2, wherein the fruit pieces have a size comprised between 2 and 10 mm. A refrigerated water jelly according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the fruit is taken in the group consisting of strawberry, pear, peach, apple and apricots. A refrigerated water jelly according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the fruit phase contains between 0.2 and 0.5 % of an edible acid. A refrigerated water jelly according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the sugar content is comprised between 15 and 20 %. A process for the preparation of the water jelly according to any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the jelly ground mass is prepared by blending the ingredients at a temperature around 70°C, the mixture is heated and cooled at a temperature above 70 °C and stored, the fruit phase is stored aseptically after its sterilisation or pasteurisation, and the fruit phase is injected at a temperature of 10 to 20°C in the stream of the water gelling system , said mixture is heated to reach a temperature above 70°C and is filled in a container, whereby the following container can be fed.

Inventors: WARENDORF THOMAS, WARENDORF, THOMAS
Applicants: NESTLE SA, SOCIETE DES PRODUITS NESTLE S.A.
Application year: 1998
Main classification: A23L1
IPC codes: A23L1