REDUCED FAT FOOD PRODUCT

1 . A reduced fat food product, comprising:

a base system comprising one or more ingredients selected from the group consisting of: dairy ingredients, water, juices, oils, sweeteners, vitamins, minerals, nutrients, flavors, colorants, and preservatives; and

a fat-mimicking system comprising microcrystalline cellulose, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, and one or more buffering agents;

wherein the reduced fat food product is substantially free of an additional emulsifier.

2 . The reduced fat food product of claim 1 , wherein the fat-mimicking system consists of:

a first blend comprising the microcrystalline cellulose and the sodium carboxymethyl cellulose; and

a second blend comprising the buffering agents, the buffering agents consisting essentially of disodium phosphate and sodium citrate;

wherein the first blend makes up approximately 45-55% of the fat-mimicking system and the second blend makes up the remainder of the fat-mimicking system, the fat-mimicking system comprising less than 0.5% of the reduced fat food product.

3 . The reduced fat food product of claim 2 , the one or more dairy ingredients present in an amount comprising at least 95% of the reduced fat food product.

4 . The reduced fat food product of claim 1 , a viscosity of the reduced fat food product greater than or substantially equal to a viscosity of a comparable food product, the comparable food product having a fat content at least 1.2 times the fat content of the reduced fat food product.

5 . The reduced fat food product of claim 1 , wherein the reduced fat food product comprises less than 20% fat.

6 . The reduced fat food product of claim 1 , the one or more buffering agents selected from the group consisting of citrate salts and phosphate salts.

7 . The reduced fat food product of claim 6 , wherein the reduced fat food product is substantially free of additional stabilizers.

8 . The reduced fat food product of claim 1 , wherein the pH of the food product is in the range of 6.5 to 9.0.

9 . The reduced fat food product of claim 1 , comprising 0.0001 to 10% of a combination of dairy ingredients comprising one or more of: milk solids nonfat, whey powder, and other dairy powders.

10 . The reduced fat food product of claim 1 , further comprising one or more of: carrageenan, guar gum, locust bean gum, modified food starch, gellan gum, native food starch, and xanthan gum.

11 . A reduced fat food product, comprising:

a base system comprising one or more ingredients selected from the group consisting of:

milk present in an amount between approximately 65 and 80% of the reduced fat food product;

cream present in an amount between approximately 20 and 35% of the reduced fat food product; and

a secondary ingredient selected from the group consisting of: colorants, sweeteners, flavors, vitamins, minerals, nutrients, preservatives, and other dairy ingredients; and

a fat-mimicking system present in an amount less than 2% of the reduced fat food product, the fat-mimicking system comprising:

one or more buffering agents; and

a blend comprising microcrystalline cellulose and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, the blend present in an amount between approximately 45 and 55% of the fat-mimicking system;

the reduced fat food product substantially free of other ingredients.

12 . The reduced fat food product of claim 11 , wherein the reduced fat food product does not include any of the secondary ingredients.

13 . The reduced fat food product of claim 11 , wherein the secondary ingredients exclude sweeteners.

14 . The reduced fat food product of claim 11 , wherein the secondary ingredients exclude vitamins, minerals, and nutrients.

15 . The reduced fat food product of claim 11 , wherein the secondary ingredients exclude sweeteners, vitamins, minerals, nutrients, and preservatives.

16 . The reduced fat food product of claim 15 , wherein the secondary ingredients exclude flavors.

17 . The reduced fat food product of claim 11 , the one or more buffering agents selected from the group consisting of: citrate salts and phosphate salts.

18 . The reduced fat food product of claim 11 , wherein the one or more buffering agents consist essentially of sodium citrate and disodium phosphate.

19 . The reduced fat food product of claim 11 , wherein the reduced fat food product comprises a creamer having a fat content less than 15%.

20 . The reduced fat food product of claim 19 , wherein the reduced fat food product comprises 20-25% total solids, the total solids comprising butterfat and milk solids nonfat imparted by the milk and the cream.