Patent ID: 7160564

Claim:
A process for preparing a fermented product selected from the group consisting of yogurt, yogurt drink, smoothie, crème fraiche, sour cream and spread based on an oat suspension free from soy and dairy milk, the process comprising: (a) providing an oat base in form of an aqueous oat suspension free from soy and dairy milk and having a dry matter content of 7–17%, the oat base dry matter comprising from 10 to 50% by weight of maltose or a mixture of maltose and glucose, from 30 to 80% by weight of maltodextrin and from 5% to 15% by weight of protein; (b) heating the suspension to a first temperature above 80° C.; (c) holding the suspension at this first temperature for a time period sufficient to pasteurize the product; (d) cooling the suspension to a second temperature of from about 30° C. to about 50° C.; (e) inoculating the suspension with a starter culture at the second temperature; (f) incubating the suspension at the second temperature for a time period sufficient to ferment the suspension to the desired fermented product; and (g) cooling the fermented product so obtained to a temperature below 8° C. for storage; wherein the oat suspension is optionally agitated in one or more of the (b) to (g) to prevent it from settling.