Opaque low fat salad dressing with an improved mouthfeel

• US 6,060,106 A
• Filed: 12/16/1997
• Issued: 05/09/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Lipton, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Lipton A Division Of Conopco Inc
• Inventors: Piccininni, Dominick, De Fouw, Nanneke Joke, Aguilar, Zoila Christina, Harcksen, Gerrit Daniel-Johannes, Breitbart, Dennis Jay
• Primary Examiner(s): PADEN, CAROLYN A
• Application Number:
  US08/991,308
• Time in Patent Office: 875 Days
• Field of Search: 426/601, 426/602, 426/573, 426/575, 426/578
• US Class Current: 426/602
• CPC Class Codes: A23L 27/60 Salad dressings; Mayonnaise; Ketchup
• CPC Class Codes: A23L 29/212 Starch; Modified starch; Starch derivatives, e.g. esters or ethers containing starch hydrolysates, e.g. dextrin, A23L29/30
• CPC Class Codes: A23L 29/238 from seeds, e.g. locust bean gum or guar gum starch A23L29/212; pectin A23L29/231
• CPC Class Codes: A23L 29/25 Exudates, e.g. gum arabic, gum acacia, gum karaya or tragacanth
• CPC Class Codes: A23L 29/256 from seaweeds, e.g. alginates, agar or carrageenan
• CPC Class Codes: A23L 29/27 Xanthan not combined with other microbial gums

Abstract

The current invention deals with a low fat opaque pourable dressing where the opacity is achieved by emulsification of the oil in a pre-emulsion and then adding and homogenizing the pre-emulsion to a water phase containing the balance of the dressing ingredients.

Claims

1. A method for opacifying an oil in water type low fat salad dressing having about 3-10% oil comprising:

A. forming an oil in water type pre-emulsion having an average particle size of about 0.1 microns to about 10 microns containing about 40% to 75% water;

5% to 20% of an emulsifier selected from the group consisting of gum arabic, emulsifying starch and mixtures thereof and about 20% to 40% oil, by homogenizing the ingredients in a homogenizer at about 2500 psig to 10,000 psig;

B. adding a sufficient amount of the pre-emulsion to a separately prepared aqueous phase containing

40% to 65% water;

1% to 3% starch;

0.3% to 0.8% xanthan gum;

10% to 30% corn syrup;

0% to 5% dairy solids,

0% to 5% spices;

6% to 10% vinegar;

1% to 2% salt.

C. homogenizing the pre-emulsion and the water phase to form a final emulsion dressing having a hunter opacity of at least 80 in the absence of titanium dioxide and with no more than a total of 10% oil in the final dressing.

2. A salad dressing, prepared by the process of claim 1, containing about 7% to 50% of the pre-emulsion of claim 1 as the sole opacifying agent and sole source of oil wherein said pre-emulsion is formed of an emulsion of water, starch and oil having a particle size of about 0.1 to 10 microns, wherein the total dressing has a particles size of pre-emulsion dispersed therein of 0.1 to 10 microns.

3. A salad dressing, prepared by the process of claim 1, containing up to 10% fat comprising:

0.5%-4.5% starch;

0.1%-0.6% of gum selected from the group consisting of xanthan gum, carrageenan gum, locust bean gum and guar

0-0.3% of alginate derivatives selected from the group consisting of propylene glycol alginate; and

sodium alginate;

7%-50% pre-emulsion;

containing 3 to 10% oil on the final dressing basis;

0.1%-25% flavor cocktail consisting essentially of spice extractives, natural or artificial flavors;

0%-to 3.5% acidulant;

0%-30% sweetening agent;

3%-10% oil;

15%-80% water;

said dressing having substantially identical organoleptic and functional properties as other dressings with higher fat content, and having been opacified by the pre-emulsion of claim 1 said pre-emulsion having been subjected to high shear forces during processing and about 70% of said pre-emulsion having a particle size of less than about 0.5 microns.

4. A dressing as defined in claim 3 having as the sole opacifying component a pre-emulsion.

5. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein said pre-emulsion is formed in a two stage piston homogenizer utilizing 2500 to 10,000 psig in the initial stage and about 500 psig in the second stage.