METHODE POUR L'OBTENTION DE PRODUITS GRAS A FAIBLE TENEUR EN MATIERES GRASSES

METHOD OF PRODUCING A FAT PRODUCT WITH A REDUCED FAT CONTENT

Abrégé anglais

A fat product containing milk fat with a reduced fat content is produced by mixing cream with a fat content of 40-80 %
with a desired amount of water phase containing stabilizing means and salt. The temperature is kept between 50-80° C during the
mixing operation. The obtained mixture, an oil-in-water emulsion, is cooled and worked in such a way that phase reversal takes
place. A partial stream of phase reversed product, now a water-in-oil emulsion, is returned to the inlet of a first cooling step and
is mixed with the starting mixture. The obtained end product consists of a stable water-in-oil emulsion. The product only contains
milk fat and has a fat content of 25-60 %. It contains only emulsifiers naturally occurring in the cream and has a casein content
below 2 %.

Revendications

Claims
1. Method of producing a fat product with a reduced fat
content containing milk fat, c h a r a c t e r i z e d
in that cream with a fat content of 40-80 % is mixed
with a desired amount of water phase containing
stabilizing means and salt, at which the temperature
during the mixing operation is kept between 50-80°C,
after which the obtained mixture, an oil-in-water
emulsion, is cooled and worked in such a way that phase
reversal takes place, at which a partial stream of phase
reversed product, now a water-in-oil emulsion, is
returned to the inlet of a first cooling step and mixed
with the starting mixture and that the obtained end
product consists of a stable water-in-oil-emulsion,
which product only contains milk fat and has a fat
content of 25-60% and only contains emulsifiers
naturally occuring in the cream and has a casein content
below 2 %.
2. Method according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e -
r i z e d in that 5-50 %, preferably 5-25 % of the
amount of phase reversed product is returned to the
inlet of the first cooling step.
3. Method according to claim 1-2, c h a r a c t e -
r i z e d in that wholly or partly phase reversed
product from a first or a second working step is
returned to the inlet of the first cooling step.

Description

W 0 94/OS160 21~ 3 9 3 8 P ~ /SE93/00716
Method of producing a fat product with a reduced fat content
The present invention relates to a method of producing a
fat product containing milk fat with a reduced fat
content.
The interest in fat products based on milk fat or
mixtures of milk fat and vegetable oil is rising.
Hitherto one has often started with butter oil possibly
mixed with vegetable oil into which fat mixture a water
phase is admixed. The water phase may contain casein or
caseinate, skim milk powder or milk protein, whey
protein and possibly gelatin.
The content of dry solids in the water phase which is
mixed with the fat phase has been high in order to bind
the water in a sufficient high degree so that the end
product, a water-in-oil-emulsion shall be stable and not
give off free water.
Processes for production of products with a low fat
content starting from butter, have also been presented,
in which a water phase is mixed into earlier produced
butter. Such processes are described for example in
W0 91/07098 and in EP 368805.
During recent times patent applications have been
published which describe processes where products
containing milk fat are produced starting from cream
without any churning step. In EP 376407 there is
described a process for producing a fat product from
water, melted vegetable oils and cream. Similar
processes are also described in EP 385542 and EP 445857.
In order to obtain stable emulsions, emulsifiers are
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W094/05160 ~93~ PCT/SE93/00
added to the mixture of cream, vegetable fat and water
prior to the phase reversal.
When producing fat products containing only milk fat
starting from cream there is sometimes a problem to
obtain the desired phase reversal from the oil-in-water
emulsion, the cream, to the desired water-in-oil
emulsion which is the desired state for the fat product.
These problems are more accentuated when the fat content
of the fat mixture is low.
The present invention relates to a method to obtain a
satisfactory and stable phase reversal when producing a
fat product only containing milk fat.
The method according to the invention is mainly charac-
terized in that cream with a fat content of 40-80 % is
mixed with a desired amount of water phase containing
stabilizing means, preferably gelatin, salt and aroma
substances. The temperature during the mixing step is
kept between 50-80C. After the mixing operation the
mixture, an oil-in-water emulsion, is cooled and worked
such that phase reversal takes place. A partial stream
of phase reversed product, now a water-in-oil emulsion,
is returned to the inlet of a first cooling step and
mixed with the starting mixture. The obtained end
product consists of a stable water-in-oil emulsion. The
product has a fat content of 25-60 % and contains only
emulsifiers naturally occuring in the cream. The casein
content of the product is below 2 %.
When the expression % is mentioned in the description
weight percent is intended, if nothing else is said.
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W O 94/05160 2 1 9 3 9 3 8 PC~r/SE93/00716
According to the invention 5-50 %, preferably 5-25 %, of
the amount of phase reversed product is returned to the
inlet of the first cooling step. A fat mixture with a
lower fat content brings about larger problems for the
phase reversal and in order to obtain a stable phase
reversal a larger amount is recirculated when the fat
mixture contains a smaller amount of fat.
The amount of phase reversed product which is returned
to the inlet of the first cooling step bears an inverted
relation to the fat content in the end product. With a
low fat content of the same a higher amount of phase
reversed product is returned, at a higher fat content
the amount of recirculated, phase reversed product may
be lowered. With a fat content of ~ 40 % fat in the end
product stable conditions are obtained when recircu-
lating 20-25 % phase reversed product.
The working which the fat mixture is subjected to in
order to obtain phase reversal usually comprises an
initial cooling in one or several cooling steps to a
temperature below 22C. After that the mixture is worked
under a certain time, e.g. 2-10 minutes in one or
several working units, at which the fat starts to
crystallize and the temperature of the mixture rises
somewhat. After this working the product is cooled
further. As soon as the phase reversal has started a
part of the product is returned. This is suitably
carried through in such a way that a partial stream is
taken away and returned prior to the passage of the
second cooling step. If it is considered suitable phase
reversed product may be taken away and returned also
after the final cooling step.
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W094/OS160 ~39 PCT/SE93/OC
The method according to the invention may be practised
as follows.
A fat mixture containing
Cream - 75 % 21.0 kg
Stabilizing means1,2 kg
NaCl 0,4 kg
Water ad 40 kg 17,3 kg
is produced. The mixing temperature was in the interval
50-60C.
The mixture was treated in coolers and a working unit to
the following temperature after each step.5
First cooling step < 18C
Working unit < 22C
Second cooling step < 20C
After the working step 5-25 ~ of the mixture was
returned to the inlet of the first cooling step.
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