Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
' ~046836
This invention reIates to non-dairy creamer compositions
and, in particular, to non-dairy creamers based on sodium caseinate
and having improved resistance to feathering.
Non-dairy creamers normally contain fat (20-40% by
.,~.;
weight), protein (either skim milk solids, more usually sodium
caseinate, about 10%), and carbohydrate (e.g., corn syrup solids).
The ingredients are normally formulated as an emulsion which is
, .:
subsequently dried, preferably spray-dried, and sold in the form
of a powder. This invention more particularly refers to dried
non-dairy creamers.
This invention is further concerned with the incorpora-
` tion of sodium carbonate/dipotassium hydrogen phosphate mixtures
~- in the formulation of non-dairy creamers, based on sodium
~ caseinate, when such creamers are added to coffee brews (i.e.,
$~ 15 from roast and ground coffee, or soluble coffee).
' 1
" "Feathering" is a term commonly used to describe what
is essentially the precipitation from solution of the serum
protein, of a milk or cream (or similar artificially prepared
product), in the presence of an unfavourable acid-salt environ-
ment. Such an environment may be present in coffee brews (either
of roast and ground coffee, or of instant coffees), which may be
rather acid (i.e., low pH or high acidity titration~, and which,
; if also made up with hard water (particularly soluble coffees),
~7 contain a high proportion of calcium and magnesium ions.
- 25 Feathering gives an undesirable appearance to a cup of coffee
1 with added creamer and is a somewhat similar phenomenon to milk
,` curdling, when the milk is sour.
It is known to use certain inorganic salts in non-dairy
creamer formulations to provide feathering resistance against
~k
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possible unfavourable hot coffee brews, e.g., in the use of acid
; coffee and local hard water. This use is described by Rnightly
[Food Technology, Vol. 23 (1960) pg. 37]. Dipotassium hydrogen
phosphate has also been proposed, as in Canadian Patent 688,859;
,i 5 and the use of other salts has been described, such as sodium ;
aluminium phosphate, polyphosphates and citrates ~United States
Patent Specification No. 3,706,572). The precise mode of action
is not clear in such a complex system; indeed there could be
some differences in stabilizing skim milk protein, compared with
sodium caseinate, though the latter in general should be more
;'! resistant to feathering.
; The factors which are believed to influence feathering
resistance are: -
1. The buffering effect of salt against pH reduction
by the addition of acid from an external source; or a straight
neutralization of acid present.
It is known that the isoelectric point of casein,
that is the pH at which colloidal solubility is least, is 4.6,
whilst precipitation will actually start to occur at a pH rather
higher, i.e., about 5.3. Casein particles are a stable complex
of calcium - casein - phosphate, and acid will change this
composition. -
A similar situation exists with the colloidal
J caseinate anions of sodium caseinate, though the effect of a
small amount of acidity is less marked.
` 2. Stabilizing effect of phosphates.
The stability of casein colloid is dependent upon
a correct salt balance; thus, an excess of calcium ions can
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'''' 104~836
remove phosphate from t~e casein. This salt balance is further
dependent upon pH and temperature; hence the effect of heat in
destabilizing casein particles, and use of phosphates -and citrates
before evaporating milk.
The situation is less clear with sodium caseinate,
but it is ~nown that calcium and magnesium caseinate are water-
insoluble. The addition of phosphate ions may have a simple
sequestering effect by the reaction:
"i:
10 2 4 ~ 3Ca 3( 4)2 + 4K + 2H
'~ similarly for other phosphates and also citrates.
; Caseinate ions additionally may be stabilized by
the absorption of phosphate ions.
The problem of feathering is particularly marked
where low pH coffees are used, (for example, a pH of 4.5 to 5.0),
; and especially where hard water is used for make up of the
coffee (say 400 ppm or more, expressed as ppm Ca CO3). A non-
dairy creamer in solution will have a pH of about 6.4, which on
20 addition to such a coffee, without added salts, will have a pH
of about 5.1. Typically, a teaspoonful of dried non-dairy
creamer will be added to a cup of hot coffee. The weight of
the creamer used will be about 3.0 grams for a desirable lighten-
ing or creaming effect, though in practice may range from 2 to
25 3.5 grams. For the purposes of quantifying the effect of feath-
ering resistance, it is convenient to test at 2.3 grams of
creamer added to a coffee brew at a concentration of 1.5 grams
in 150 ml. water at a temperature of 80C.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a
30 non-dairy creamer composition having enhanced feathering resistance
- 3 -
` 1046836
:
even when used to make up coffee beverages from water with say
500 ppm or more hardness. While this may be done by formulating
the creamer with a sufficiently high level of dipotassium
hydrogen phosphate alone, the taste of the phosphate can become
unacceptable, for example, when this phosphate is introduced
into a 1% w/w coffee solubles solution, at about 460 ppm, and at
a rather higher level of about 530 ppm in a more typical 1.2
coffee solution.
,
Surprisingly, it has now been found that by employing a
mixture of sodium carbonate and dipotassium hydrogen phosphate,
i feathering resistance for creamers based on sodium caseinate is
attainable at very high hardness level of water in the make up,
but without the disadvantages that can accrue to the use of
either substance alone. For instance, sodium carbonate alone
also could be used at a sufficiently high level, but again beyond
; about 200 ppm is an unacceptable amount for reasons of flavour -
and potential discolouring effect. -
The use of sodium carbonate has not however been
generally mentioned in connection with feathering resistance, at
least with sodium caseinate compositions. Again, sodium carbonate
; may have a buffering/neutralizing action against added acid; or
it may be considered also to have a sequestering action against
Ca++ and Mg++ ions, by precipitation as carbonate.
It has also been found that greatest resistance to feather-
ing with a given proportion of sodium carbonate and dipotassium
hydrogen phosphate is secured by spray-drying the emulsion of
the creamer with the salts dissolved therein before drying,
compared with dry-mixing in after spray-drying the emulsion.
Spray-drying a warm emulsion with added sodium carbonate in
-- 4
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excess (about 0.5% by weight dry basis and above~ however causes
the development of browning reactions which is again highIy
undesirable. -
~ In accordance with the present invention there is pro-
f'' 5 vided a process for the preparation of a non-dairy creamer powdercomposition having enhanced feathering resistance which comprises
forming an emulsion and drying, normally spray-drying, from 20 to
40% by weight on a dry basis of fat, from 3 to 15% by weight of
sodium caseinate, from 35 to 65% by weight carbohydrate, together,
10 if desired, with an emulsifier, such as a monoglyceride, prefera-
bly in the range of from 0.5 to 3.0% by weight, and importantly
- including as a buffering agent a mixture of sodium carbonate and
a phosphate, preferably dipotassium hydrogen phosphate, or a
citrate, at a level from 1 to 4% by weight.
The invention also provides a non-dairy creamer powder
; formed by spray-drying an emulsion as described above.
The amount of the buffer mixture to be used depends
upon the expected or recommended consumer dose level to attain a
feathering resistance of 500 ppm or more. The proportion of
20 carbonate/phosphate, and the percentage amount of the buffer
mixture, should be such that neither a backtaste from the
phosphate or carbonate, nor any tendency to browning from the
sodium carbonate occurs.
Preferably, the buffering agent is a mixture of sodium
25 carbonate and dipotassium hydrogen phosphate in a weight ratio
of 1:9. Thus, a high-feathering resistance composition is
provided by a mixture of 2.7% by weight dipotassium hydrogen
phosphate and 0.3~ by weight sodium carbonate as the buffering
agent, which gives a feathering resistance against at least 500
30 ppm hardness and a coffee pH of 4.75 at the test amounts stated
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above. This composition will have no backtaste, nor any tendency
, to cause browning reactions -since the phosphate and carbonate
levels are both sufficien'tly low, up to the normal usage level of
the creamer.
The following Table illustrates the results of tests
carried out with spray-dried compositions containing dipotassium
hydrogen phosphate or sodium carbonate alone compared with a
mixture of these salts according to the invention. The feather-
~, ing resistance is determined with the test level amounts of
, 10 coffee and creamer. The taste was assessed at this same level,
and at the normal usage.
Taste
; K2HPO4 Na2C3 Featherihg resistance Charact-eris;tics
2.0~ - Feather at 300 ppm No backtaste
`,15 2.2% - at 350 ppm No backtaste
3.0% - at 500 ppm Slight backtaste
. . .
,'~ 2.7% 0.3% at 550 ppm No backtaste
;; - 1.0% at 400 ppm Backtaste
The above Table indicates that a mixture of salts
-20 according to the invention achieves high feathering resistance
,~i with sodium caseinate based creamers when the salts are
; incorporated in the emulsion before spray-drying.
Similar favourable results may be achieved with other
, mixtures with sodium carbonate,,i.e., citrates and other
,~25 phosphates.
~, The following Example illustrates the invention and the
manner in which it may be performed.
EXAMPLE
A coffee creamer emulsion was prepared at *he following
dry weight percentages of ingredients:
'' ': ' . . .
~;~ 10~6836
.
60.0% corn syrup solids; 32.0% high lauric vegetable
- fat; 3.5% sodium caseinate; 1.5% mono/diglyceride
emulsifier (Cremodon 250/20*~; 2.7% dipotassium
- hydrogen phosphate and 0.3~ sodium carbonate.
400 lbs. of this emulsion were prepared, by first
dissolving the corn syrup solids and sodium caseinàte in 200 lbs.
: warm water at 50C., followed by dissolution of the buffer salts.
, A melted fat phase was prepared at the same time from the
remaining fatty ingredients and kept at a temperature no higher
than 50C. The melted fat phase was then poured into the aqueous
phase with agitation to cause emulsification, at a temperature
~7 no higher than 50C. The resultant emulsion was then homogenized
,~ under a pressure of 4000 psig, and passed to a spray drier of
conventional design with centrifugal pressure nozzles, and dried
to a powder of 2% moisture content. An inlet temperature of
205C. and an outlet temperature of 94C. was employed, to give
somewhat less than 200 lbs. dried product.
The spray-dried coffee creamer, when added at the rate
of 3.0 grams to a cup of instant coffee, made up from 2.0 grams
instant coffee dissolved in 170 ml. of water at 80C., of known
~ hardness, that is 550 ppm. No feathering occurred, nor was there
; any backtaste attributable to the presence of the phosphate/
carbonate agent, nor had any discoloration occurred in the powder
as a result of browning reactions.
; *Trademark
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