阅读说明：本技术 甜食 (Sweet food ) 是由 梁又允 于 2020-07-22 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明涉及包含低聚糖混合物的甜食材料,优选地为基于乳质的甜食。(The present invention relates to a confectionery material, preferably a dairy based confectionery, comprising a mixture of oligosaccharides.)

1. Confectionery material comprising a carbohydrate mixture, wherein the carbohydrate mixture is present in an amount of more than 0 wt% and less than or equal to 35 wt% of the confectionery material and the carbohydrate mixture comprises oligosaccharides, preferably galactooligosaccharides, in an amount of 10 to 100 wt%, preferably 10 to 80 wt% of the carbohydrate mixture.

2. Confectionery material according to claim 1, wherein at least 1.0% and less than 32.5% by weight of the confectionery material is the carbohydrate mixture.

3. Confectionery material according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the confectionery material comprises at least 1.0% and less than 32.5% milk non-carbohydrate solids by weight of the material.

4. Confectionery material according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein at most 40% by weight of the carbohydrates in the mixture is lactose.

5. Confectionery material according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein 0 to 15 wt% of the total carbohydrates in the mixture is lactose.

6. Confectionery material according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the carbohydrate blend is a composition expressed as percentage of dry matter by weight of the blend:

a. lactose 0-40%

b. Glucose 0-40%

c. Galactose 0-40%

d. An oligosaccharide, preferably galacto-oligosaccharide, in an amount of 10% to 80%.

7. Confectionery material according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the carbohydrate blend is a composition expressed as percentage of dry matter by weight of the blend:

a. lactose 3-20%

b. 10 to 30 percent of glucose

c. 1 to 10 percent of galactose

d. An oligosaccharide, preferably galacto-oligosaccharide, from 45% to 70%.

8. Confectionery material according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the confectionery material comprises a dairy product.

9. Confectionery material according to claim 8, wherein the dairy product comprises more than 10 wt% and less than 90 wt% of the carbohydrate mixture by weight of the dairy product.

10. The confectionery material according to claim 9, wherein the dairy product comprises more than 20 wt% and less than 60 wt% of the carbohydrate blend by weight of the dairy product and the remainder of the dairy product is non-carbohydrate milk solids.

11. Confectionery material according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the material is selected from chocolate, compounds, pralines, water-based or fat-based confectionery fillings, cream fillings, toffees, fudge, caramel analogues, chocolate truffles, scotch and hard candies.

12. Confectionery material according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the confectionery material is milk chocolate or white chocolate.

13. A process for preparing a confectionery material, the process comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a milk base having a total solids content of between 40 and 75 wt.%, preferably wherein the milk base comprises at least 15 wt.% lactose on a dry solids content basis;

(b) treating the milk base with an enzyme having transglycosylation activity, and

(c) optionally inactivating the enzyme completely or partially.

14. A method according to claim 13, wherein the prepared solution is dried to provide solids for combination with other ingredients of the confectionery material.

15. A method according to any one of claims 13 to 14, wherein the method is used to produce a confectionery product according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a confection comprising a mixture of oligosaccharides preferably derived from milk, and the confection is preferably a milk and fat based confection, preferably chocolate.

Background

Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely known or forms part of the common general knowledge in the field.

The increasing interest by health conscious consumers to reduce the intake of sugar in the diet has led to a strong demand for low sugar food products. However, sugar is an important food ingredient that, in addition to imparting natural sweetness to the food product, also serves to provide bulk and thus plays an important role in the texture, bulk and mouthfeel of the finished food product.

Sugar is a naturally occurring sweetener that provides consumer-pleasing sweetness to food products as previously described, but also contains high calories, and thus healthier, non-caloric or low-caloric sweetener substitutes are highly desirable. There are many well known methods in the art that involve replacing or reducing sugar in food products, such as the use of artificial sweeteners instead of natural sugar. More specifically, for example, for fat-based confectionery products (such as chocolate), many attempts have been made to provide sugar substitutes using reduced sugar alcohols or polyols. Other methods include the use of leavening agents such as non-caloric or low-caloric fibers in place of sugar in the chocolate composition. However, these methods have associated disadvantages, for example polyols are well known to have undesirable laxative effects, and furthermore such artificial sweeteners are less acceptable to consumers who prefer clean label products. There are also certain disadvantages associated with the use of leavening agents to replace sugar in food products; this is primarily an associated adverse effect on sweetness, usually a reduction in sweetness.

Thus, it is generally well known to those skilled in the art of food manufacturing that replacing or reducing sugars in food compositions often adversely affects flavors and other taste components. For example, a sugar substitute may begin perceiving sweetness slower than natural sugar, but the sweetness duration is longer, thus altering the taste balance of the food composition.

Furthermore, sugar substitutes may not produce as sweet a taste as natural sugar and may also exhibit metallic, cooling, astringent, licorice-like and bitter tastes after sweetness.

In another example, applying the aforementioned prior art solutions for fat-based confectionery products may also lead to similar drawbacks. For example, the use of leavening agents such as certain fibers in chocolate compositions often results in a bitter aftertaste and adds undesirable bulk to the mixture, resulting in an increase in the viscosity of the mixture. This in turn makes it difficult to perform standard post-processing of the mixture such as coating and moulding, which are necessary steps towards supplying the finished chocolate product.

In addition, certain organoleptic and sensory properties provided by sugar to a product are very difficult to reproduce for the above-mentioned sugar substitutes. Thus, although the caloric content is reduced, the eating experience is generally worsened. The proposed approaches to overcome these problems typically involve an increase in fat content, thereby offsetting potential health benefits.

Furthermore, in milk-based desserts, the milk itself contains sugar, i.e. lactose. This also contributes to the sugar content of the confectionery in which the milk is present. It is known to reduce the lactose content in milk, for example using enzymes. Indeed, lactose-free chocolate is also provided. However, to compensate for the loss of lactose, it is often necessary to significantly increase the fat content and/or introduce other leavening agents, which in turn affect the processing, nutritional value and organoleptic properties of the confection, as described above.

Thus, there remains the problem of providing alternative confectionery products with reduced calories or sugar which do not have a detrimental effect on the perception of sweetness and/or which do not present any of the above-mentioned associated problems of prior art solutions.

Thus, there remains a need to find low calorie sugar substitutes that can be used in food products or confectionery compositions such as, for example, chocolate, which avoid the problems of loss or reduction of sweetness, bitter aftertaste and off-taste and maintain organoleptic properties.

It is an object of the present invention to ameliorate at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art of prior reduced-calorie or low-calorie confectionery alternatives.

Disclosure of Invention

Thus, this need is solved by the features of the independent claims. The dependent claims further develop the central idea of the invention.

Thus, in a first aspect, the invention relates to a confectionery material comprising a carbohydrate mixture, wherein the carbohydrate mixture is present in an amount of more than 0 wt% and less than or equal to 35 wt% of the confectionery material and the carbohydrate mixture comprises oligosaccharides, preferably galactooligosaccharides, in an amount of 10 wt% to 80 wt% of the carbohydrate mixture.

Thus, the carbohydrate mixture may be used to replace sugars (e.g. sucrose), milk-based ingredients (e.g. skim milk powder) and combinations thereof in confectionery products.

In a preferred embodiment, the carbohydrate mixture is derived from a dairy product.

In a preferred embodiment, the carbohydrate mixture is prepared from a milk base using an enzyme having transglycosylation activity.

The present inventors have surprisingly found that the carbohydrate mixture preferably derived from a dairy product used in the present invention can be used to replace sugars (such as sucrose) and/or milk-based ingredients in confectionery products without adversely affecting the sweetness of the food product and the organoleptic properties of the product, and without affecting the processing conditions of the production. This is a key advantage of the present invention, i.e. the sugar content is reduced without any loss of organoleptic properties, e.g. without associated significant stickiness (i.e. stickiness or tackiness).

In another preferred aspect of the invention, the confectionery product is chocolate.

In another aspect of the invention, there is provided the use of a mixture of carbohydrates, preferably derived from milk, as a sugar and/or milk-based ingredient replacement composition suitable for partial or complete replacement of sugar and/or milk-based ingredients in confectionery products, preferably in fat-based confections.

Advantageously, the granules of the present invention can be used as a lower calorie sugar substitute. Thus, the present invention achieves a reduction in sugar in a food product without the use of artificial sweeteners and/or commonly known leavening agents.

Detailed description of the preferred embodiments

As mentioned above, the present invention provides a confectionery material comprising a carbohydrate mixture, wherein the carbohydrate mixture is present in an amount of greater than and not including 0 wt% and less than or equal to 35 wt% of the confectionery material and the carbohydrate mixture comprises oligosaccharides, preferably galactooligosaccharides, in an amount of from 10 wt% to 80 wt% of the carbohydrate mixture.

In a preferred embodiment, the confectionery material comprises at least 1.0%, at least 2.5%, at least 5.0%, at least 10.0%, at least 12.5% or at least 15.0% of the carbohydrate mixture by weight of the confectionery material and by dry weight.

In a preferred embodiment, the confectionery material comprises less than 32.5%, less than 30.0%, less than 27.5%, less than 25.0% or less than 20.0% of the carbohydrate mixture by weight of the confectionery material and by dry weight. For example, at least 1.0% and less than 32.5%.

In a preferred embodiment, the confectionery material comprises more than 0 wt%, at least 1.0 wt%, at least 2.5 wt%, at least 5.0 wt%, at least 10.0 wt%, at least 12.5 wt% or at least 15.0 wt% milk solids other than carbohydrate (e.g. fat and protein), based on the weight of the confectionery material and based on dry weight.

In a preferred embodiment, the confectionery material comprises less than 35.0 wt.%, less than 32.5 wt.%, less than 30.0 wt.%, less than 27.5 wt.%, less than 25.0 wt.% or less than 20.0 wt.% milk non-carbohydrate solids, based on the weight of the fat-based confectionery and on dry weight. For example, at least 1.0% and less than 32.5%.

In a preferred embodiment, the carbohydrate mixture is derived from a dairy product.

Preferably, the mixture is obtained by treating the milk product with an enzyme having transglycosylation activity, e.g. a mechanism for glycosidic bond formation, in particular during oligosaccharide and/or polysaccharide synthesis.

In a preferred embodiment, the carbohydrate mixture and the milk solids non-carbohydrate are from the same source. In a preferred embodiment, the carbohydrate mixture is derived from treating a milk product with an enzyme having transglycosylation activity.

In a preferred embodiment, the milk product is skim milk. The skim milk may have a fat content of less than 1.5%, for example less than 1.2% by dry weight.

The milk powder particles used in the present invention may have a water content of between 0.5% and 6%, for example between 1% and 5%, as well as between 1.5% and 3%. The water content of the milk powder can be measured using known techniques such as Karl Fischer.

Preferred aspects of the invention are described in more detail below.

Oligosaccharide composition and milk product

The present invention preferably uses a carbohydrate mixture as an ingredient in the confectionery material, preferably a fat-based confectionery product or preferably a milk-based confectionery product, most preferably a fat and milk-based confectionery product. The carbohydrate mixture comprises oligosaccharides.

In one embodiment, the confectionery material may comprise carbohydrates from other sources, such as sucrose. Thus, in one embodiment, the invention encompasses compositions in which a mixture of carbohydrates within the scope of the claims is present, irrespective of the other carbohydrates present.

The term "oligosaccharide" refers to a saccharide oligomer comprising a small amount (typically two to ten) of monosaccharide components.

In particular, Oligosaccharides (OS) are defined herein as those naturally occurring in animal milk and/or those synthetically produced and having a Degree of Polymerization (DP) in the range of 2 to 20. The term "synthesis" means the process of chemical and/or biological (e.g., enzymatic) processes. These oligosaccharides are soluble in milk. The present invention utilises an oligosaccharide mixture, preferably derived from bovine milk, wherein the weight ratio of lactose to non-lactose oligosaccharides of the mixture is less than 20:1, more preferably less than 10:1, more preferably less than 5:1, more preferably less than 1:5, more preferably less than 1:10, and more preferably less than 1: 20. In one embodiment, the mixture used corresponds to a 4 to 200 fold reduction of the lactose content of the oligosaccharide mixture compared to the original milk, which corresponds to a 4 to 200 fold increase of the ratio between oligosaccharides and lactose.

The carbohydrate mixture used in the present invention preferably comprises Galactooligosaccharides (GOS), preferably β -GOS and/or α -GOS, and mixtures of such bonds in GOS, which bonds preferably result from the action of an enzyme, preferably an enzyme with transglycosylation activity, preferably also acting as β -galactosidase, having mainly transglycosylation activity on lactose and optionally also transglycosylation activity on some soluble oligosaccharides present in milk but to a much lesser extent.

Thus, in a preferred embodiment, the galactooligosaccharides are produced by the action of beta-galactosidase on lactose and lactooligosaccharides. The enzyme is preferably added during the preparation of the oligosaccharide mixture. The enzyme preferably has dual activity: it breaks down lactose into monosaccharides, galactose and glucose; secondly, it catalyzes the subsequent formation of galactooligosaccharides via transferase activity. These oligosaccharides are preferably made from glucose and galactose monomers, have a DP of 2 to 10, preferably 3 to 10, or preferably 2 to 6, and preferably have prebiotic activity.

In a preferred embodiment, GOS used in the carbohydrate mixture of the present invention is used as the following composition (DP degree of polymerization, all weight% based on weight% of DP2 to DP6 measured using the methods described in the examples):

a DP2 of between 20% and 40%, preferably between 25% and 35%, preferably between 27.5% and 32.5%;

a DP3 of between 25% and 55%, preferably between 30% and 50%, preferably between 35% and 45%;

a DP4 of between 7.5% and 27.5%, preferably between 12.5% and 22.5%, preferably between 15% and 20%;

a DP5 of between 2.5% and 15%, preferably between 3% and 12.5%, preferably between 4% and 10%; and

a DP6 of between 0% and 10%, preferably between 1% and 5%, preferably between 1.5% and 4%.

In a preferred embodiment, the above DP2 content does not comprise lactose, as can be made clear from the known definition of GOS.

Alternatively, the carbohydrate mixture may be prepared from individual components that match the desired profile of the invention or from commercially available sources. For example,and (3) GOS. In this case, if the non-carbohydrate milk solids are also required to be present, they may be provided, for example, from lactose-free skim milk powder or milk protein concentrate. Commercially available GOS may require further processing, such as drying, depending on the form to be used in the confectionery, such as chocolate products.

Oligosaccharide profiles can be characterized by HPLC, mass spectrometry and other methods. According to a preferred HPLC method, the oligosaccharides present in the sample are extracted in water at 70 ℃. The extracted OS was fluorescently labeled by reaction with 2-anthranilic acid amide via the formation of Schiff base (2 hours at 65 ℃). The double bond is then reduced by reaction with sodium cyanoborohydride to give the stable oligosaccharide aminobenzazine (OS-AB) derivative. The labeled extract was diluted with acetonitrile before injection on an HPLC-fluorometer instrument equipped with a trap column. The separation was performed on Amide-803 μm, 4.6 × 150mm column and the labeled OS was detected at Ex330nm, Em420nm of the fluorimeter. Quantification of the different OSs was performed by calibrating the OS-2AB response with maltotriose external standards and using the aminoaziridine sugar as an internal standard.

In a preferred embodiment, at most 40 wt% of the carbohydrates in the mixture are lactose, preferably at most 30 wt%, and preferably at most 20 wt%, based on the weight of the carbohydrate mixture. In another preferred embodiment, 0 to 30 wt%, preferably 0 to 20 wt% of the total carbohydrates in the carbohydrate mixture is lactose.

For example, in one embodiment, up to 15% or up to 10% by weight of the total carbohydrates in the mixture is lactose. In another embodiment, 0% to 15% or 2% to 10% by weight of the total carbohydrates in the mixture is lactose.

In one embodiment, the oligosaccharide composition used in the invention comprises DP2+ (degree of polymerization of 2 or higher, i.e. 2 or more saccharide units), preferably DP3+ GOS, in an amount of at least 20 wt.% of the total carbohydrate mixture.

In a preferred embodiment, at least 25 wt.% of the total carbohydrates is DP2+, preferably DP3+ GOS, preferably at least 30 wt.%, preferably at least 35 wt.%, preferably at least 40 wt.%, or preferably at least 45 wt.%.

Thus, in a preferred embodiment, the carbohydrate mixture comprises oligosaccharides, preferably galactooligosaccharides in an amount of 10 to 80 wt% of the carbohydrate mixture and 20 to 80 wt% of the total carbohydrate is DP2+, preferably DP3+ galactooligosaccharides.

Thus, in this preferred embodiment, the oligosaccharide component is GOS.

In a preferred embodiment, 10 to 100 wt.%, preferably 20 to 95 wt.%, preferably 20 to 90 wt.%, preferably 20 to 95 wt.%, preferably 20 to 80 wt.%, preferably 30 to 70 wt.% of the carbohydrate mixture is GOS.

In one embodiment, the amount of GOS can be obtained using the AOAC 2001.02 method or by the method described in Austin et al, International Journal of Analytical Chemistry, Volume 2014, articule ID 768406.

In one embodiment, the present invention utilizes a carbohydrate blend having the following carbohydrate composition expressed as a percentage of dry matter by weight of the blend:

a. lactose 0-40%

b. Glucose 0-40%

c. Galactose 0-40%

d. The oligosaccharide, preferably comprising galacto-oligosaccharide, is from 10% to 100%, preferably from 10% to 80%.

In one embodiment, the present invention utilizes a carbohydrate blend having the following carbohydrate composition expressed as a percentage of dry matter by weight of the blend:

a. lactose 2-30%

b. Glucose 5-30%

c. Galactose 0-20%

d. An oligosaccharide, preferably comprising galacto-oligosaccharide, in an amount of 30% to 80%.

In one embodiment, the present invention utilizes a carbohydrate blend having the following carbohydrate composition expressed as a percentage of dry matter by weight of the blend:

a. lactose 3-20%

b. 10 to 30 percent of glucose

c. 1 to 10 percent of galactose

d. An oligosaccharide, preferably comprising galacto-oligosaccharide, from 45% to 70%.

In one embodiment, the present invention utilizes a carbohydrate blend having the following carbohydrate composition expressed as a percentage of dry matter by weight of the blend:

a. lactose 3-15%

b. 10 to 25 percent of glucose

c. 1 to 5 percent of galactose

d. An oligosaccharide, preferably comprising galacto-oligosaccharide, in an amount of 50% to 70%.

In one embodiment, the present invention utilizes a carbohydrate blend having the following carbohydrate composition expressed as a percentage of dry matter by weight of the blend:

a. lactose 0-10%

b. 10 to 30 percent of glucose

c. Galactose 0-10%

d. An oligosaccharide, preferably comprising galacto-oligosaccharide, from 45% to 90%.

It will be appreciated that the above amounts cannot exceed 100% and the amount of one or more of components a.to d.must be varied to ensure that the total amount does not exceed 100%, for example if component d.is 70%, then in embodiments where a.and c.may be 0%, component b.can only be 30%. Furthermore, in one embodiment, the amount of a.

In one embodiment, the mixture has a moisture content of less than 5%, preferably between 0.5% and 5% (e.g. between 2% and 3%). This can be measured by the Karl Fischer method.

As mentioned above, the carbohydrate mixture used in the present invention may be prepared from a dairy product. Thus, the milk product used in the present invention may be concentrated milk such as condensed milk or spray-dried concentrated milk. In a preferred embodiment, the dairy product is a milk powder, preferably a skimmed milk powder.

In one embodiment, the confectionery material comprises more than and not including 0 wt% of a milk product comprising a carbohydrate mixture, preferably more than 1.0 wt%, preferably more than 5 wt%, preferably more than 10 wt%, preferably more than 20 wt%, preferably more than 25 wt% or more than 30 wt% based on the weight of the confectionery material.

In one embodiment, the confectionery material comprises less than 75 wt% of a milk product comprising a carbohydrate mixture, preferably less than 65 wt%, preferably less than 60 wt%, preferably less than 55 wt%, preferably less than 50 wt%, less than 45 wt% or less than 40 wt% based on the weight of the confectionery material. For example, greater than and exclusive of 0 wt% and less than 75 wt%.

In one embodiment, the milk product comprises more than 10 wt.%, preferably more than 15 wt.%, preferably more than 20 wt.%, preferably more than 30 wt.% and preferably more than 40 wt.% of the carbohydrate mixture, based on the weight of the milk product.

In one embodiment, the milk product comprises less than 90 wt.%, preferably less than 80 wt.%, preferably less than 70 wt.%, preferably less than 60 wt.% and preferably less than 55 wt.% of the carbohydrate mixture, based on the weight of the milk product. For example, between 10 and 90 wt%.

Thus, in a highly preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a confectionery material, most preferably a chocolate product:

it comprises the milk product of the invention in an amount of greater than and not including 0 wt.% and less than 75 wt.%, preferably greater than 15 wt.% and less than 50 wt.%, and

the milk product comprises between 10 and 90 wt.% of the carbohydrate mixture of the invention, preferably between 30 and 70 wt.%, and more preferably between 40 and 55 wt.%, based on the weight of the milk product.

It should be noted that in one embodiment, the carbohydrate mixture is derived from lactose present in the milk product. It should be noted that the lactose content of whole milk may be approximately between 35 and 40 wt.% of the solid content, and the lactose content of skim milk powder may be approximately between 45 and 55 wt.%. The treatment of the present invention converts the lactose to a carbohydrate mixture, i.e. without forming a dough. However, other solid components (e.g., fat and protein) may be removed from the dairy product to relatively increase the amount of the carbohydrate mixture using known techniques.

In one embodiment, the treated (preferably enzyme-treated) milk product for use in the present invention comprises at least 5 wt.% DP2+, preferably DP3+ GOS, based on the weight of the milk product. In a preferred embodiment, the milk product comprises a total amount of at least 10 wt.%, preferably at least 15 wt.%, preferably at least 20 wt.% and preferably at least 25 wt.%.

In a preferred embodiment, the milk product comprises from 5 to 60 wt.%, preferably from 10 to 50 wt.% or from 15 to 45 wt.%, DP2+, preferably DP3+ GOS, based on the weight of the milk product.

In a preferred embodiment, the milk product preferably comprises a total amount of up to 20 wt.%, preferably up to 10 wt.%, preferably up to 5 wt.% lactose, based on the weight of the milk product. The lactose content of a milk product can be determined by AOAC 930.28 (2000).

In a preferred embodiment, at most 50 wt.%, preferably at most 30 wt.%, preferably at most 20 wt.% and more preferably at most 15 wt.% of the total carbohydrates in the milk product is lactose. In another preferred embodiment, 0 to 30 wt.%, preferably 0 to 20 wt.% and more preferably 0 to 10 wt.% of the total carbohydrates in the milk product is lactose.

In another embodiment, at most 15 wt.% or at most 12 wt.% of the total free carbohydrates in the milk product is lactose. In another embodiment, 0 wt% to 15 wt% or 2 wt% to 12 wt% of the total free carbohydrates in the milk product is lactose.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the milk product is a milk powder, preferably a skimmed milk powder, comprising a total amount of at least 10 wt%, preferably at least 15 wt%, more preferably at least 20 wt%, by weight of the milk powder of DP2+, preferably DP3+ GOS.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the milk product is a milk powder, preferably a skimmed milk powder, comprising a total amount of DP2+, preferably DP3+ GOS of 10 to 50 wt%, preferably 15 to 45 wt% or 15 to 40 wt%, more preferably 20 to 40 wt%, by weight of the milk powder.

In one embodiment, the invention utilizes a milk product having the following carbohydrate composition expressed as a weight percentage of dry matter of the milk product:

a. lactose 0-20%

b. Glucose 0-30%

c. Galactose 0-10%

d. An oligosaccharide, preferably comprising galacto-oligosaccharide, from 5% to 60%.

In one embodiment, the invention utilizes a milk product having the following carbohydrate composition expressed as a weight percentage of dry matter of the milk product:

a. lactose 2-15%

b. Glucose 5-20%

c. Galactose 0-7.5%

d. An oligosaccharide, preferably comprising galacto-oligosaccharide, in an amount of 10% to 50%.

In one embodiment, the invention utilizes a milk product having the following carbohydrate composition expressed as a weight percentage of dry matter of the milk product:

a. lactose 3-10%

b. Glucose 7.5-15%

c. 1 to 5 percent of galactose

d. An oligosaccharide, preferably comprising galacto-oligosaccharide, in an amount of 15% to 45%.

In the above embodiments, preferably the remainder of the milk product is non-carbohydrate milk solids (e.g., fat and protein), which together comprise 100 wt.% of the milk product.

In an embodiment of the invention, it is understood that the sum of the above amounts cannot exceed the total amount of carbohydrate mixture present in the milk powder, nor 100% of the milk powder.

In the above embodiments, the amount of carbohydrate mixture in the dairy product and the amount of dairy product in the confection are selected such that the carbohydrate mixture is present in an amount greater than and not including 0 wt% and less than or equal to 35 wt% of the confectionery material.

As mentioned above, the carbohydrate composition and/or the milk product are preferably in powder form, preferably they have a particle size comparable to standard milk powder. Thus, in a preferred embodiment, the carbohydrate composition and/or the milk product has a d90 value of between 100 and 300 microns, preferably between 150 and 250 microns. In another preferred embodiment, the carbohydrate composition and/or the milk product has a d10 value of between 10 and 75 microns, preferably between 15 and 60 microns. The term dX is the diameter: the particles in the sample, X% of their mass, have a diameter less than this value. Preferably, particle size d90 or d10 is measured using laser diffraction using a malvern laser particle sizer 2000, Scirocco2000 dry attachment, Fraunhofer scattering theory. These particle sizes may vary in chocolate manufacture, for example, as described below with respect to refining.

In one embodiment, the dairy product used in the present invention is optionally subjected to a treatment known in the art, such as pasteurization, demineralization, filtration, e.g. ESL treatment or UHT treatment.

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a confectionery material comprising:

a milk product comprising a carbohydrate mixture in an amount between 10 and 90 wt.% of the milk product,

the dairy product is present in an amount greater than and not including 0% and less than 75% by weight of the confectionery product,

wherein the amount of the carbohydrate mixture in the milk product and the amount of the milk product in the confectionery are selected such that the carbohydrate mixture is present in an amount of greater than and not including 0% and less than or equal to 35% by weight of the confectionery material, and

the carbohydrate mixture comprises oligosaccharides, preferably galactooligosaccharides, in an amount of 10 to 100 wt.%, preferably 10 to 80 wt.%, of the carbohydrate mixture.

Carbohydrate mixture preparation

The present invention preferably makes use of a method for producing a milk product, the method comprising:

(a) providing a milk base having a total solids content of between 40 wt% and 75 wt%, preferably wherein the milk base comprises at least 15 wt% lactose based on dry solids content;

(b) treating a milk base with an enzyme having transglycosylation activity, and

(c) optionally completely or partially inactivating the enzyme.

In a preferred embodiment, the milk base is used to provide a milk product comprising the carbohydrate mixture used in the present invention.

In the process of the invention, a milk product is prepared from a milk base by contacting the milk base comprising lactose with a transglycosylation enzyme that converts lactose in the milk base to GOS.

The milk base used in the method is based on milk. In the context of the present invention, the term "milk" is to be understood as an aqueous secretion based on lactose, protein and fat obtained by milking any mammal, such as cows, sheep or goats.

In one embodiment, the milk base is obtained from milk that has been modified in composition by adjusting the fat content, protein content, lactose content and/or water content. The adjustment of fat content and/or water may be accomplished by any method known in the art, such as by centrifugation, evaporation, condensation, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, freeze drying, spray drying, reconstitution with the addition of water, and the like. An exemplary method is given, for example, in "The Technology of Dairy Products" edited by Ralph Early.

In one embodiment, the milk base comprises at least 40 wt.%, preferably at least 45 wt.%, at least 50 wt.%, at least 55 wt.%, at least 57 wt.% or at least 60 wt.% of total solids.

In a preferred embodiment, the total solids content of the milk base is less than 75 wt%, preferably less than 70 wt%, and preferably less than 60 wt%.

In a preferred embodiment, the milk base is reconstituted milk powder (such as reconstituted skimmed milk powder) or concentrated milk (such as condensed milk) comprising at least 40 wt.%, preferably at least 45 wt.%, at least 50 wt.%, at least 55 wt.%, at least 57 wt.% or at least 60 wt.% of total solids.

The milk base preferably comprises at least 15 wt.% lactose, based on the percentage of dry matter of the solids present in the base. In a preferred embodiment, the milk base comprises at least 20 wt.%, preferably at least 25 wt.% or at least 30 wt.%.

In a preferred embodiment, the milk base is contacted with the enzyme for at least 15 minutes, preferably at least 45 minutes, preferably at least 55 minutes, preferably at least 1 hour, preferably at least 1.5 hours, or at least 3 hours. In one embodiment, the contact time is less than 15 hours, preferably less than 10 hours or less than 5 hours.

In a preferred embodiment, the milk base is contacted with the enzyme at a temperature of at least 35 ℃, preferably at least 40 ℃, preferably at least 45 ℃ or at least 50 ℃. In a preferred embodiment, the milk base is contacted with the enzyme at a temperature equal to or less than 75 ℃.

In a preferred embodiment, the milk base is contacted with the enzyme at a temperature between 35 ℃ and 75 ℃ for 45 minutes to 10 hours, preferably 2 hours to 5 hours.

In a preferred embodiment, the enzyme is added in an amount between 0.05 and 10 wt.%, for example between 0.1 and 7.5 wt.% or between 0.25 and 5 wt.%, by weight of the lactose content.

The enzyme used in the present invention is preferably an enzyme having β -galactosidase activity.

The enzyme used in the present invention is preferably an enzyme which catalyzes the transfer of a mono-, di-or oligosaccharide entity onto a mono-, di-or oligosaccharide matrix, resulting in the formation of a sugar entity of 2 or more subunits linked by glycosidic bonds. In a preferred embodiment, the enzyme has transglycosylation activity.

One enzyme may be used in the present invention or a mixture of more than one enzyme may be used.

In particular, the enzyme is preferably a glycosidase (ec.3.2.1.), preferably a β -galactosidase (ec.3.2.1.23) or a lactase (ec.3.2.1.108), which catalyzes the transgalactosylation reaction of the transfer of a D-galactose moiety, lactose molecule or GOS (galactooligosaccharide) onto the D-galactose moiety obtained from lactose in the preceding step 1 of the lactoglycosidic bond cleavage ligation reaction catalyzed by the same enzyme.

Such enzymes are commercially available, e.g., Maxilact(DSM)、(DuPont)、And the like. The enzyme may be used in any form, such as a liquid, paste or powder.

Thus, in one embodiment, the enzyme with transglycosylation activity is added at a concentration of 11000U/g lactose, preferably 5U/g lactose to 500U/g lactose, more preferably 8U/g lactose to 150U/g lactose, whereby 1U is defined as the amount of enzyme catalyzing the conversion of one micromole of lactose per minute under the specified conditions of the assay method. The activity of a particular enzyme in U can be determined by direct measurement of the formation of galactooligosaccharides from lactose. The assay is preferably a 60% (w/v) aqueous skim milk powder solution at 60 ℃ for 60 minutes. Preferably, 1U is the amount of enzyme that will catalyze the conversion of one micromole of lactose per minute under the conditions described above. Preferably, 1U of enzyme will catalyze 0.342mg of a 60% (w/v) skimmed milk powder aqueous solution per minute for 60 minutes at 60 ℃. The activity of a particular enzyme in units of U can be determined by direct measurement of the formation of galactooligosaccharides from lactose using methods such as liquid chromatography.

After the treatment period, the enzyme is preferably completely or partially inactivated.

The enzyme may be inactivated by any prior art method, for example by heat treatment, pH reduction (e.g. to below pH 4) or reduction of water activity. Inactivation may occur as a result of a step in the production process of the dairy product or confectionery product, preferably in pasteurization or spray drying.

In a preferred embodiment, the enzyme is completely or partially inactivated by heat treatment, preferably between 75 ℃ and 100 ℃ for 3 to 15 minutes.

In a preferred embodiment, the obtained milk product may be further processed after the enzymatic treatment by methods known in the art, preferably pasteurisation, homogenisation and/or drying, preferably spray drying.

In a preferred embodiment, the solution prepared by steps (a) to (c) is dried to provide a solid for combination with other ingredients of the confectionery material.

In an alternative embodiment, the method of the present invention may be carried out using other known procedures such as foam drying, freeze drying, tray drying, fluid bed drying, vacuum drying, and the like.

In one embodiment, the carbohydrate mixture may be provided by combining the individual components in the desired amounts.

In a preferred embodiment, the carbohydrate mixture may be combined with other components of the milk to provide an alternative source of milk product. For example, in one embodiment, the milk product is prepared by combining a carbohydrate mixture prepared by combining the individual components with a milk protein concentrate.

In this embodiment, the total wt% of the milk product in the confectionery material is the sum of the milk protein concentrate and the carbohydrate mixture.

In one embodiment, the milk protein concentrate may be present in an amount of between 5 and 30 wt.% of the confectionery product, preferably between 7.5 and 25 wt.%, and preferably between 10 and 20 wt.%.

In one embodiment, the above amounts of milk protein concentrate are also applicable to the protein content of the milk product prepared by the method of the present invention.

Confectionery material

The present invention relates to a confectionery material comprising milk, milk-derived ingredients and combinations thereof. Preferably, the fat-based confection comprises milk-derived ingredients.

As is clear from the above, in a preferred embodiment the carbohydrate mixture of the invention is derived from a dairy product commonly used in confectionery. Thus, in one embodiment, the treated milk product or corresponding component (e.g. milk protein concentrate, GOS, etc.) is added to the confectionery product to at least partially replace the milk component of the confectionery material. Thus, in one embodiment, the substitute is between 10 and 100 wt.% milk solids non-fat in the confectionery material, preferably between 25 and 100 wt.%, preferably between 50 and 100 wt.%, preferably between 75 and 100 wt.%.

For example, the invention relates to chocolate, compounds, pralines, water-or fat-based confectionery fillings, cream fillings, toffees ("caramel"), fudge, caramel analogues (e.g. caramel)) Chocolate truffle, scotch, hard candies (e.g., caramel hard candies and milk chews), and the like.

In one embodiment, the fat-based confectionery material (preferably chocolate composition) of the invention comprises at least 5.0 wt% cocoa butter, preferably at least 10.0 wt%, preferably at least 13.0 wt%, more preferably at least 15.0 wt%, for example at least 17.0% or at least 20% by weight of the confectionery material.

A preferred maximum amount of cocoa butter present in the fat-based confectionery material, chocolate composition of the invention is less than 35.0 wt%, preferably not more than 30.0 wt%, more preferably not more than 30.0 wt%, and most preferably not more than 25.0 wt% cocoa butter by weight of the confectionery material. For example between 10.0 and 35.0% by weight of the confectionery material.

Generally, the fat-based confectionery material (preferably chocolate composition) of the invention comprises at least 10.0 wt%, preferably at least 13.0 wt%, more preferably at least 15.0 wt%, and even more preferably at least 17.0 wt% cocoa mass by weight of the composition.

A preferred maximum amount of cocoa mass present in the fat-based confectionery material, preferably the chocolate composition, of the invention is less than 35.0 wt%, preferably not more than 30.0 wt%, and most preferably not more than 25.0 wt% cocoa mass. For example between 10.0 and 35.0% by weight of the confectionery material.

If the chocolate product is a white chocolate product, the amount of cocoa mass is lower than the above, preferably no cocoa mass is present. The cocoa mass may be partially or completely replaced by the milk product used in the present invention.

In one embodiment, the fat-based confectionery material (preferably chocolate composition) of the invention comprises at least 1.0 wt%, preferably at least 1.3 wt%, more preferably at least 1.5 wt%, and even more preferably at least 1.7% milk fat by weight of the confectionery material.

A preferred maximum amount of milk fat present in the fat-based confectionery material (preferably the chocolate composition) of the invention is less than 10.0% by weight of the confectionery material, preferably not more than 7.5% by weight, more preferably not more than 6.0% by weight and most preferably not more than 5.0% by weight milk fat. For example between 1.0 and 10.0% by weight of the confectionery material.

The milk fat may be added to the composition alone and/or present in any milk-based product added, such as milk powder. In a preferred embodiment, milk fat is present in the milk product obtained by the enzymatic treatment as described above, and is also added separately.

According to the present invention, the term sugar as used herein is as generally understood to refer to sweet crystalline materials obtained from various plants (especially sugar cane and sugar beet) and used as sweeteners in food and beverages. In the context of the present invention, sugars are defined as and include all mono-, di-and oligosaccharides, preferably mono-and disaccharides, such as sucrose, fructose, glucose, dextrose, galactose, psicose, maltose, high dextrose equivalent hydrolysed starch syrups, xylose and combinations thereof.

Thus, the sugar used in the present invention may be selected from the group consisting of sucrose, fructose, glucose, dextrose, galactose, psicose, maltose, high dextrose equivalent hydrolyzed starch syrup, xylose, and any combination thereof.

In the present invention, the aim is to reduce the sugar content of fat-based confections, however, the confections may still comprise sugar (e.g. sugar not derived from milk solids). In a preferred embodiment, the confection comprises less than 40.0 wt% sugar, preferably less than 35.0 wt%, preferably less than 30.0 wt%, preferably less than 25.0 wt%, preferably less than 20 wt%, and preferably less than 15.0 wt%. For example, between 0.0 wt% and 40.0 wt%, or between 5.0 wt% and 40.0 wt%, or between 10.0 wt% and 40.0 wt%, preferably between 0.0 wt% and 20.0 wt%, and preferably between 0.0 wt% and 15.0 wt%.

In a preferred embodiment, the fat content of the confectionery product is greater than 15%, greater than 20% or greater than 25% by weight of the confectionery product. In a preferred embodiment, the fat-based confectionery product has a fat content of less than 45%, less than 40%, less than 35% or less than 30% of the confectionery product. For example, between 15 and 45 wt%.

The confectionery material of the present invention may comprise a leavening agent. According to the present invention, the term leavening agent as used herein refers as it is commonly understood to a food additive which increases the volume or weight of a food product without affecting the utility or functionality of the food product. In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the leavening agents used in the present invention are low-calorie or non-calorie additives that impart bulk and advantageously provide a healthier alternative to, for example, sugars.

As is generally understood, leavening agents may be used to partially or completely replace high caloric ingredients such as sugar to produce reduced caloric edible formulations. In addition, leavening agents can be used as a source of soluble fiber to be incorporated into food products, which, unlike sugar, are not cariogenic.

According to the invention, the leavening agent may be selected from polyols (sugar alcohols, such as isomalt, sorbitol, maltitol, mannitol, xylitol, erythritol and hydrogenated starch hydrolysates), guar gum, psyllium husk, carnauba wax, glycerol, beta glucan, polysaccharides (such as starch or pectin), dietary fibres (including both insoluble and soluble fibres), polydextrose, methyl cellulose, maltodextrin, inulin, milk powder (e.g. skim milk powder) (this milk powder is different from the milk powder described above), whey, demineralized whey powder, dextrins (such as soluble wheat or corn dextrin, e.g. soluble wheat or corn dextrin) Soluble fiber (such as) And any combination thereof.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the leavening agent may be selected from maltodextrin, milk powder (e.g. Skimmed Milk Powder (SMP)), Desalted Whey Powder (DWP), soluble wheat or corn dextrin (e.g. corn dextrin)) Polydextrose, soluble fibers (such as) And any combination thereof.

In one embodiment of the invention, amorphous sucrose may be present. In one embodiment, the amorphous sucrose is in the form of amorphous particles comprising sucrose, a bulking agent, and optionally a surfactant. In one embodiment of the invention, the amorphous particles of WO2017093309 or WO2017093309, incorporated herein by reference, may also be comprised in a fat-based confection.

The leavening agent may be present in an amount of, for example, between 1.0 and 40 wt.%, or between 3.0 and 30.0 wt.%, or between 5.0 and 20.0 wt.%, or between 5.0 and 10.0 wt.%.

Preferably, however, the leavening agent is not present, e.g. substantially absent, in the confectionery composition.

According to the invention, the confectionery material is prepared according to conventional confectionery preparation methods as are well known and obvious to the person skilled in the art.

Furthermore, the present invention provides a method of manufacturing a confectionery material comprising the above carbohydrate mixture, the method comprising mixing the above carbohydrate mixture with fat and optional ingredients selected from cocoa mass/dough, crystallized sugar, lecithin and combinations of these; refining the resulting mixture to reduce the particle size of the components; and mixing and liquefying the refined mixture with additional fat and optionally lecithin.

The fat may be, for example, cocoa butter, a cocoa butter equivalent or a cocoa butter substitute. The fat may be cocoa butter. Some or all of the milk powder, cocoa mass and crystallized sugar may be replaced by chocolate crumb. In a preferred embodiment, liquefaction is performed by conventional methods well known to those skilled in the art and refers to the standard process of "conching" in chocolate manufacture. In a preferred embodiment, 15% to 30% of the total fat present after liquefaction is used in the final step.

In one embodiment, the chocolate composition of the invention may be refined using known equipment where applicable. In a preferred embodiment, the chocolate is refined to ensure a non-grainy texture. For example, refining may be performed to achieve a particle size (D90 measured by malvern laser particle sizer 3000) of less than 50 microns, preferably between 15 and 35 microns. Preferably, the malvern laser granulometer 2000, Scirocco2000 dry attachment, Fraunhofer scattering theory is used.

In one embodiment, a traditional conching process is used to prepare chocolate. In a preferred embodiment, the temperature in the refining step does not exceed 60 ℃, preferably does not exceed 57.5 ℃ and preferably does not exceed 56 ℃. By controlling the temperature during this step, the deterioration of the carbohydrate mixture is avoided and the texture of the final product is not grainy and the taste is not affected. In a preferred embodiment, the temperature is greater than 30 ℃, preferably greater than 35 ℃, or greater than 40 ℃, or greater than 45 ℃.

In one embodiment, refining is carried out for a period greater than 1.5 hours, preferably greater than or equal to 2 hours, preferably greater than or equal to 2.5 hours. In one embodiment, refining is carried out for a period of less than 8 hours, preferably less than 6 hours.

In one embodiment, refining is performed at a temperature between 30 ℃ and 60 ℃ for a period between 1.5 hours and 8 hours.

In one embodiment, the refining speed is between 200rpm and 2000rpm, preferably between 400rpm and 1600 rpm. This may vary throughout the refining process.

General definitions

In one embodiment, the composition of the invention may usefully be a chocolate product (as defined herein), more usefully a chocolate or chocolate compound. Regardless of any other legal definition that may be used, the compositions of the present invention comprising a cocoa solids content of 25 to 35% by weight and a milk-based ingredient (such as milk powder) may be informally referred to herein as "milk-based chocolate" (this term also encompasses other similar chocolate products having similar amounts of cocoa solids or substitutes therefor). Regardless of any other legal definition that may be used, compositions of the invention comprising a cocoa solids content of greater than 35% by weight (up to 100% (i.e., pure cocoa solids)) may be informally referred to herein as "dark chocolate" (which term also encompasses other similar chocolate products having similar amounts of cocoa solids or alternatives thereof).

The term "chocolate" as used herein denotes any product (and/or component thereof, if it is a product) that complies with the legal definition of chocolate in any jurisdictions, and also includes products (and/or components thereof) in which all or part of the Cocoa Butter (CB) has been replaced by Cocoa Butter Equivalents (CBE) and/or Cocoa Butter Replacers (CBR).

The term "chocolate compound" as used herein means a chocolate-like analogue (except where the context clearly indicates otherwise) characterized by the presence of any amount of cocoa solids (which includes cocoa mass/mass, cocoa butter and cocoa powder), although in some jurisdictions the compound may be legally defined by the presence of a minimum amount of cocoa solids.

As used herein, the term "chocolate product" means chocolate, compounds, and other related materials comprising Cocoa Butter (CB), Cocoa Butter Equivalents (CBE), cocoa butter substitutes (CBR), and/or Cocoa Butter Substitutes (CBs). Chocolate products thus include products based on chocolate and/or chocolate analogues and may thus for example be based on dark, milk or white chocolate.

In one embodiment, the chocolate product composition comprises:

8-12% cocoa mass

34-58% sugar, preferably sucrose

18-25% cocoa butter

3.5-6.5% butter fat

15-30% of the milk product of the invention

0.3-0.5 lecithin

In one embodiment, the chocolate product composition comprises:

37-50% sugar, preferably sucrose

18-24% non-fat milk solids

4-7% butter fat

22-35% (optionally de-odorized) cocoa butter

20-40% of the milk product of the invention

0.2-0.5 lecithin

Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, it is also to be understood that any one chocolate product may be used in place of any other chocolate product in the present invention, and neither the term chocolate or compound should be taken as limiting the scope of the invention to a particular type of chocolate product. Preferred chocolate products comprise chocolate and/or compounds, more preferred chocolate products comprise chocolate, and most preferred chocolate products comprise chocolate legally defined in major jurisdictions such as brazil, the european union and/or the united states.

The term "chocolate coating" (also referred to as "chocolate shell") as used herein means a coating made of any chocolate product. The terms "chocolate coating" and "compound coating" may be similarly defined by analogy. Similarly, the terms "chocolate composition (or dough)", "chocolate composition (or dough)" and "compound composition (or dough)" refer to compositions (or dough) comprising chocolate products, chocolate and compounds as all or part of their components, respectively. Such compositions and/or dough definitions may of course overlap, depending on their component parts.

The term "chocolate product confection" as used herein denotes any foodstuff comprising a chocolate product and optionally also other ingredients, and may thus refer to foodstuffs such as confections, wafers, cakes and/or biscuits, whether the chocolate product constitutes a chocolate coating and/or the body of the product. The chocolate product confectionery may comprise the chocolate product in any suitable form, such as inclusions, layers, pieces, tablets and/or sugar spheres. The confectionery product may also comprise any other suitable inclusions, such as crispy inclusions, for example cereals (such as puffed and/or roasted rice) and/or dried fruit pieces.

The chocolate products of the invention may be used to mould into tablets and/or bars to coat confectionery products and/or to prepare more complex confectionery products. Optionally, the inclusions according to the desired recipe may be added to the chocolate product before they are used to prepare the chocolate product confectionery product. As will be apparent to the skilled person, in some cases the product of the invention will have the same formulation and ingredients as the corresponding composition and/or dough, while in other cases, in particular upon addition of the inclusions or for more complex products, the final formulation of the product may differ from the formulation of the composition and/or dough used to prepare it.

In a very preferred embodiment of the invention, the chocolate product confectionery product comprises a substantially solid moulded chocolate tablet, chocolate bar and/or baked product surrounded by a mass of chocolate product. These products are prepared, for example, by: the mould is substantially filled with the chocolate product and optionally inclusions and/or baked product are added thereto to transfer the chocolate product from the mould (a so-called wet shelling process), if necessary further filling the mould with the chocolate product. For such highly preferred products of the invention, the chocolate product forms a substantial part or an entire part of the product and/or a thick outer layer (such as a wafer and/or biscuit laminate) surrounding the inner baked product. Such solid products in which the mould is substantially filled with chocolate are different compared to products comprising moulded thin chocolate shells, which present different challenges.

To prepare a thin coated chocolate shell, the mould is coated with a layer of chocolate, inverted to remove excess chocolate and/or stamped with a cold plunger to define the shell shape and largely empty the mould. Thus, the mould is coated with a thin layer of chocolate to which additional ingredients and filling can be added to form the inner body of the product.

Unless the context herein clearly indicates otherwise, the skilled person will also well understand that the term chocolate product confection as used herein can be easily replaced by and equated with the term chocolate confection as used throughout this application, and that these two terms are interchangeable in practice when used informally herein. However, where the meaning of these terms differs in the context given herein, a chocolate confection and/or composite confection is a preferred embodiment of the chocolate product confection of the present invention, the preferred embodiment being a chocolate confection.

Preferred chocolate product confections may comprise one or more ingredients, for example selected from chocolate products, compound products, chocolate coatings and/or compound coatings. The products may include uncoated products such as chocolate bars and/or chocolate tablets with or without inclusions, and/or products coated with chocolate products such as coated biscuits, cakes, wafers and/or other confectionery products. More preferably and/or alternatively, any of the foregoing may comprise one or more cocoa butter substitutes (CBR), Cocoa Butter Equivalents (CBE), Cocoa Butter Substitutes (CBS) and/or any suitable mixtures thereof.

In chocolate product confections, Cocoa Butter (CB) may be replaced by fats from other sources. Such products may typically comprise one or more fats selected from: lauric fats (e.g., cocoa butter replacers (CBS) obtained from palm kernels); non-lauric vegetable fats (e.g., vegetable fats based on palm or other specialty fats); cocoa butter substitute (CBR); cocoa Butter Equivalents (CBE) and/or any suitable mixtures thereof. Some CBEs, CBR and especially CBS may contain mainly saturated fats and very low levels of unsaturated omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids (with health benefits). Thus in one embodiment, this type of fat is less preferred than CB in the chocolate product confection of the present invention.

An embodiment of the invention provides a multi-layered product optionally comprising a plurality of layers of baked foodstuff, preferably selected from one or more wafer and/or biscuit layers, and/or with one or more filling layers therebetween and at least one coating layer located around the layers of foodstuff, the coating comprising a chocolate product according to or prepared according to the invention.

Another embodiment of the invention provides a chocolate product confectionery product further coated with chocolate (or an equivalent thereof, such as a compound), for example pralines, chocolate shell products and/or chocolate coated wafers or biscuits, any of which may or may not be delaminated. The chocolate coating may be applied or formed by any suitable method, such as enrobing or moulding. The coating may comprise a chocolate product according to the invention or prepared according to the invention.

Another embodiment of the invention provides a chocolate product confectionery product of and/or for use in the invention comprising a filling, such as a praline, chocolate shell product, surrounded by an outer layer.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the foodstuff comprises a multilayer coated chocolate product comprising a plurality of layers of wafer, chocolate product, biscuit and/or baked foodstuff sandwiching a filling, wherein at least one layer or coating is a chocolate product (e.g. chocolate) of the invention. Most preferably, the multi-layered product comprises a chocolate product confectionery product selected from a sandwich biscuit, a cookie, a wafer, a muffin, an expanded snack and/or a praline (e.g. as described herein). An example of such a product is a multi-layer laminate of a baked wafer layer and/or a biscuit layer sandwiched with a filling and coated with chocolate.

The baked foodstuff used in the present invention may be sweet or salty. Preferred baked foodstuffs may include baked grain foodstuffs, the term of which includes foodstuffs comprising grains and/or legumes. Baked cereal foodstuffs are more preferred, most preferably baked wheat foodstuffs, such as wafers and/or biscuits. The wafers may be flat or shaped (e.g. into a roll or basket of ice cream) and the biscuits may have many different shapes, but preferably the wafers and/or biscuits are flat so that they may be usefully laminated with the confectionery filling (and optionally fruit-based filling) of the invention. More preferred wafers are non-salty wafers, for example having a sweet or umami taste.

A non-limiting list of those possible baked foodstuffs that may comprise the chocolate composition comprising the chocolate product of and/or used in the present invention is selected from: high fat biscuits, cakes, breads, pastries and/or pies; such as selected from: ANZAC biscuit, Italian cracker, pancake, Turkish sweet cookie (kurabiye), pepper honey cookie, ginger juice cookie (leckerli), macarons, chocolate sandwich biscuit, butter cookie, digestive biscuit, cassda sauce, puffed snack, Florence tile shortbread (florentine), currant jam gingerbread (gairbaldi ginerbread), Greek eastern Easter torsional cookie (koulokia), Greek traditional butter cookie (kourabiedes), Linz cake, muffin, orlistat, milk biscuit, peanut butter cookie, almond cake (polvor Lolo n), pani egg cracker (pizzelle), spiced salt cracker, croissant, shortbread, cookies, fruit pie (e.g. apple pie, cherry pie), lemon cream pound cake (lemon drizzle cake), banana bread, radish cake, walnut pie, apple roll, nut honey cake, berlin donut (berliner), french holeless donut (bichon au ritron), and/or the like.

In the present discussion of the invention, unless stated to the contrary, the disclosure of alternative values for the upper and lower limits of the permissible ranges of parameters, plus the indication that one of the values is more preferred than the other, should be interpreted as implying the following description: i.e. each intermediate value of said parameter between said more preferred and said less preferred alternative, is itself preferred to said less preferred value and is also preferred to each less preferred value and said intermediate value.

For all upper and/or lower bounds of any parameter given herein, unless otherwise indicated, a bound value is included in the value for each parameter, i.e., "less than" means "less than and including" and "greater than" means "greater than and including," but "less than and not including" means that the bound value is not included. It is also to be understood that in various embodiments of the invention, all combinations of preferred, and/or intermediate minimum and maximum boundary values for the parameters described herein may also be used to define alternative ranges for each parameter of the various other embodiments and/or preferences of the invention, whether or not such combinations of values are specifically disclosed herein.

Unless otherwise indicated,% in this specification corresponds to% by weight.

It should be understood that the sum of any quantities expressed as percentages herein cannot (allow for rounding errors) exceed 100%. For example, when expressed as a weight (or other) percentage of a composition (or the same portion thereof), the sum of all components comprised by the composition (or portion thereof) of the present invention can amount to 100%, allowing for rounding errors. However, where the list of components is non-exhaustive, the sum of the percentages of each of these components may be less than 100% to allow for a certain percentage of the additional amount of any additional component that may not be explicitly described herein.

As used herein, the term "substantially" (or "substantially") may refer to a quantity or an entity that represents a substantial or majority. "substantially" when related in the context of its use may be understood to mean quantitatively (with respect to any number or entity to which it relates in the context of the specification) that includes a proportion of at least 80%, preferably at least 85%, more preferably at least 90%, most preferably at least 95%, particularly at least 98%, for example about 100% of the relevant whole. Similarly, the term "substantially free" or "free" may similarly mean that the quantity or entity to which it relates comprises no more than 20%, preferably no more than 15%, more preferably no more than 10%, most preferably no more than 5%, especially no more than 2%, for example about 0% of the relevant whole.

The term "comprising" as used herein will be understood to mean that the items listed thereafter are non-exhaustive and may or may not include any other further suitable items, such as further features, components, ingredients and/or alternatives as appropriate. Thus, the words "comprise", "comprising", and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense. That is, it means "including but not limited to". It should be noted that embodiments and features described in the context of one of the aspects of the invention are also applicable to the other aspects of the invention.

The invention will now be described in further detail in the following non-limiting examples. The following examples are provided for illustrative purposes only and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in any way.

It should be understood that various changes and modifications to the presently preferred embodiments described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention and without diminishing its attendant advantages. Accordingly, such changes and modifications are intended to be covered by the appended claims.

Experimental part

Examples

The following examples illustrate products and methods of making the same which are within the scope of the present invention. They are not to be considered as limiting the invention in any way. Changes and modifications may be made to the invention. That is, the skilled artisan will recognize the many possible variations of these examples to encompass a wide variety of compositions, ingredients, processing methods, and mixtures, and the naturally occurring levels of the compounds of the invention can be tailored for a variety of applications.

Preparation of example 1

The skim milk powder was reconstituted at a total solids content of 55% to 60% and heated to 45 ℃ for 20 minutes. The enzyme was contacted with the milk base at 60 ℃ for 1 hour. The enzyme was inactivated and the solution was pasteurized using 80 ℃ for 10 minutes. Homogenization is then performed and the solution is spray dried to form a powder. The enzyme used is derived from DSMA4。

In example 1, the enzyme was used at 3.2 wt% of the lactose content of skim milk powder.

In example 1, GOS yield was 26 wt% of the carbohydrate mixture. GOS yield was measured according to AOAC 2001.02.

Examples 2 and 3 and reference examples 1 to 3

A chocolate composition was prepared according to the following recipe:

composition (I)	Reference 1	Reference object 2	Reference 3	Example 1	Example 2
						Candy	43.85	34.32	34.32	34.32	29.3
Cocoa butter	16.05	16	16	16	24.2
						Defatted milk powder	15.49	31.52
Lactose-free SMP			31.52
						Powder obtained in example 1				31.52	39.3
Cocoa mass	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.4
						Cream	4.43	4.2	4.2	4.2	6.5
Whey powder	6.22				0.1
						Lecithin	0.51	0.51	0.51	0.51	0.6

The chocolate was prepared using standard techniques.

Example 4

A commercially available GOS source from Clasado was analyzed using the method of International Journal of Analytical Chemistry (2014 vol., article ID768406) and provided the following sugar profile (in weight%) based on DP2 to DP6 contents: DP 232.8%, DP 339.3%, DP 417.9%, DP 57.4% and DP 62.6%. Such GOS sources may be used in the carbohydrate mixture of the present invention.

Examples 5 to 6 and reference examples 4 to 10

The following formulations (all in weight%) were prepared using the following methods and procedures:

the mixture of dry ingredients and milk solids was refined using a 3-cylinder refiner.

The refined composition was then subjected to refining in Lipp Conche with the following parameters: before starting the refining step, 15% to 20% cocoa butter was added to the refiner, processed at 55 ℃ for 10 minutes at 500 rpm, and then the rotation speed was changed to 1200 rpm. The treatment is carried out for 220 minutes. The remaining cocoa butter and lecithin were added and the rotation was changed to 1500 rpm and the treatment was continued for 10 minutes.

The chocolate was then manually tempered to 29.8 ℃ on a marble countertop.

A commercially available source of powdered GOS was used from example 4.

Samples were evaluated by a panel of trained panelists using the following procedure.

Tasting was performed in 2 portions for 2 hours each. In the first taste test, panelists evaluated the flavor of 9 samples, and in the second taste test the appearance and texture of the whole group was evaluated.

In the first taste test, panelists were provided with 1 square per sample presented in a random design. They were asked to eat each piece in full in order to evaluate the flavor. Evaluation was performed under red light to mask color differences.

In a second taste test, panelists were provided with 1 square and one half of each sample presented in a random design, asking them to eat each piece at all in the following manner:

eating the entire cube to assess appearance and texture, an

The half squares were eaten to assess thawing time and oral coverage.

Panelists provided sample scores of 0 to 10, with positive characteristics favoring higher scores and negative characteristics favoring lower scores. Data were evaluated using the Monadic method.

As can be seen from the results below, the present invention significantly reduced the sugar content without a significant reduction in organoleptic properties. This is very surprising in view of the existing problems in replacing sugar and the problems that are expected to arise when introducing a dietary fibre based leavening agent into chocolate, which is a product where organoleptic properties, i.e. mouthfeel, are very important.

The present invention obtained results comparable to or superior to the reference examples with significantly superior sugar reduction values.