Process for fat reduction in frozen dairy products
Methods of making a homogenized and pasteurized mix for making low overrun ice cream are disclosed. The methods include a high-pressure homogenization step and/or a high temperature pasteurization step to improve creaminess and/or melt resistance in an ice cream. Mixes and ice creams made using the methods described are also disclosed.
1 . A process for preparing a homogenized and pasteurized mix for an ice cream that has an overrun of less than 75%, wherein said process comprises a homogenization step for homogenizing the ingredients of said mix and a step of pasteurization of the mix, wherein said mix comprises at least 11% by weight of fat with respect to the total weight of the mix, wherein the mix comprises a fat globule size distribution, wherein at least 50% of the globules by volume have a particle size between 1 and 10 μm and the D90 of the globules is at least 5 μm.
2 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein said homogenization step is performed at a pressure of more than 8 MPa (80 bars) when said mix comprises at least 15% by weight fat, and wherein said homogenization step is performed at a pressure of at least 15 MPa (150 bars) when said mix comprises 11% to 15% by weight fat.
3 . The process according to claim 2 , wherein the homogenizing step is performed at a pressure of at least 9.5 MPa (95 bars) and less than 60 MPa (600 bars).
4 . The process according to claim 3 , wherein the homogenizing step is performed at a pressure of 10 MPa (100 bars) to 30 MPa (300 bars).
5 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the mix comprises a content of fat of 11% to 35% by weight relative to the total weight to the ice cream mix.
6 . The process according to claim 2 , wherein said pasteurization step is performed at a temperature in the range of 84° C. to 92° C. for a time of 30 seconds to 3 minutes.
7 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein at least 50% of the globules by volume have a particle size between 1.5 and 10 μm.
8 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein said pasteurization step is performed before said homogenization step.
9 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein said homogenization step is performed before said pasteurization step.
10 . A mix for an ice cream that has an overrun of less than 75%, the mix comprising at least water, fat, milk protein, and one or more carbohydrates, wherein said mix comprises at least 11% by weight of fat with respect to the total weight of the mix, and wherein said mix is obtained by a process according to claim 1 , and wherein the mix comprises a fat globule size distribution and the D90 of the globules is at least 5 μm.
11 . A process for preparing an ice cream, wherein said process comprises providing a mix as defined in claim 10 , aerating the mix to an overrun of less than 75%, and bringing the aerated mix to a temperature between −10° C. and −25° C., thereby providing an ice cream, and wherein the mix comprises a fat globule size distribution and the D90 of the globules is at least 5 μm.
12 . An ice cream comprising at least water, fat, milk protein, and one or more carbohydrates, wherein said ice cream comprises at least 11% by weight of fat with respect to the total weight of the mix, wherein said ice cream has an overrun of less than 75%, and wherein said ice cream is prepared from a mix obtained by a process according to claim 1 , and wherein the mix comprises a fat globule size distribution and the D90 of the globules is at least 5 μm.
13 . The process according to claim 6 wherein said process comprises the pasteurization step being performed at a temperature in the range of 87° C. to 92° C.
14 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the D90 of the globules is at least 6 μm.
15 . The process according to claim 14 , wherein the D90 of the globules is at least 7 μm.
16 . A homogenized and pasteurized mix for an ice cream that has an overrun of less than 75%, wherein said mix comprises at least 11% by weight of fat with respect to the total weight of the mix, wherein the mix comprises a bimodal fat globule size distribution having a first peak and a second peak, wherein the second peak of the bimodal distribution has a mode of at least 1 μm, and wherein the D90 of the globules is at least 5 μm.
17 . The homogenized and pasteurized mix of claim 16 , wherein the second peak of the bimodal distribution has a mode of at least 2 μm.