Patent ID: 8404297

Claim:
A process for co-crystallizing sugar with a natural sweetener product, the process comprising: adding an antifoaming agent in a percentage of about 0.006% to about 10% (w/w) to a liquor or syrup to form a sucrose solution; mixing the sucrose solution with mechanical stirring while adding 0.1% to 50% w/w of natural sweetener product to form a mixture; concentrating the mixture up to the saturation point of sucrose, in a vacuum pan at a working pressure of about 60 KPa to about 75 KPa and a temperature between about 60° C. to about 75° C. to form a concentrate; adding a powdered sugar suspended in isopropyl alcohol to the concentrate under conditions which permit co-crystallization of the sugar and the natural sweetener product and wherein a seed co-crystal suspension is produced; feeding the seed co-crystal suspension into a sugar evaporator under conditions that maintain the co-crystal suspension in the “meta-stable zone” until the co-crystallized sucrose and natural sweetener crystal has reached a size of about 0.5 to about 0.7 mm average aperture to form a final co-crystal suspension; evaporating remaining water from the final co-crystal suspension until reaching an evaporated mass having between about 88° and about 91° Bx; separating the co-crystals from the suspension by centrifuging the evaporated mass at a velocity between about 1100 and about 1300 rpm to form a supernatant comprising syrup and residual uncrystallized natural sweetener product and a pellet comprising the co-crystals; re-circulating a first portion of the supernatant, wherein the re-circulated portion has a color from about 1300 and about 1600 UI; contacting a second portion of the supernatant with a solvent in which the natural sweetener product is soluble to recover from about 1 and about 90% of the natural sweetener product; and bleaching the second portion of the supernatant following the recovery of the natural sweetener product to obtain an amount of a low calorie liquid product.