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EP-4277470-B1 - CHOCOLATE COMPOSITION AND METHOD FOR OBTAINING THE SAME

EP4277470B1EP 4277470 B1EP4277470 B1EP 4277470B1EP-4277470-B1

Inventors

  • KÖGMEN, Elif
  • COPPIN, Stephanie
  • DE SCHINKEL, DOMINIEK

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20220114

Claims (15)

  1. Use of a tigernut flour, for preventing, or delaying, or both, fat bloom in a chocolate foodstuff, preferably a dairy-free chocolate foodstuff.
  2. The use according to Claim 1, where said chocolate foodstuff has a centre which is enrobed with a chocolate, wherein said centre does have more than 20 wt.% fat, preferably vegetable fat, such as cocoa butter and fat from nuts.
  3. The use according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein said tigernut flour consists of particles having a D 90 particle size of less than 800 µm, preferably 400 µm.
  4. The use according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said chocolate foodstuff further comprise, or essentially consists of, sugar, cocoa liquor, emulsifier, such as lecithin, and flavouring.
  5. A chocolate comprising : - from 20 to 60 wt. % of a sweetener, such as a sugars and/or sugar alcohols; - from 6 to 40 wt.%, preferably from 16 to 30 wt. % of tigernut flour; and - from 0 to 60 wt. % of cocoa liquor, or - from 0 to 30 wt. % of cocoa butter, or- both, wherein the chocolate comprises at least either cocoa liquor or cocoa butter.
  6. The chocolate according to Claim 5, wherein said tigernut flour consists of particles having a D 90 particle size of less than 800 µm, preferably 400 µm.
  7. The chocolate according to anyone of Claims 6 , wherein said chocolate has a solid fat content at 20°C ranging from 50 to 65%, more preferably ranging from 50 to 60%, measured with the stabilizing method at 26°C.
  8. The chocolate according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein said chocolate is a dairy-free chocolate.
  9. A chocolate foodstuff comprising: - a centre comprising at least 20 wt. % of fat, preferably from cocoa and/or nuts; and - a coating of said centre comprising the chocolate of anyone of claim 5 to 8.
  10. A method for manufacturing a chocolate foodstuff, and in particular a dairy free chocolate foodstuff, wherein said method comprises a step of mixing at least cocoa butter, cocoa mass and a sweetener with at least 8 wt.% of tigernut flour to obtain a mixture.
  11. The method according to claim 10, wherein said tigernut flour consists of particles having a D 90 particle size of less than 800 microns, preferably 400 µm.
  12. The method according to anyone of claim 11 and 12, wherein said method includes the successive steps of blending said mixture to obtain a blended mixture, refining said blended mixture to obtain a refined mixture, conching said refined mixture to obtain a conched chocolate mixture, eventually finishing said conched mixture by adding a flavouring and/or an emulsifying agent to obtain a finished chocolate mixture.
  13. The method according to anyone of claims 11 to 12, wherein said conching step is carried out at a temperature lower than 90°C, preferably ranging from 75°C to 89°C, preferably from 70°C to 80°C.
  14. Use of a chocolate according to any one of claim 5 to 9, for dipping in a frozen foodstuff, in particular an ice cream or a dairy-free ice cream.
  15. A frozen foodstuff, in particular an ice cream or a dairy-free ice cream, covered by a chocolate according to any one of claim 5 to 9.

Description

Field of the invention The invention relates to the field of chocolate products and methods for obtaining chocolate products. Prior art What is generally called "chocolate", "dark chocolate" or "milk chocolate", is usually obtained by blending cocoa liquor, eventually cocoa nibs, with sugar (or other sweeteners), cocoa butter, butter fat (oil), milk powder and/or milk crumbs and emulsifier. Flavouring agents such as vanillin, cinnamon, cassia oil, essential oil of almond, lemon, orange etc..., varieties of balsams, resins and combination thereof are commonly added to the mix. Butter oil is derived from unsalted dairy butter by dehydration and removal of curd. It is also used as an anti-bloom agent in dark chocolate. Other fats than cocoa butter and butter oil may only be used under some specific conditions which relate to the quantities used and to their physical and chemical properties. If they are not respected, the use of the term "chocolate" can be prohibited by national legislation. These may vary. Hence the definition of a chocolate or a chocolate composition in this specification will be used in its broadest meaning and refer to the presence of cocoa liquor and/or cocoa butter in a foodstuff. Manufacturing processes for chocolates involve the basic operations of mixing of the ingredients, refining of the mixture, pasting or partial liquefaction of the refined mixture and conching (or an alternative process), and finally adjustment of viscosity and flavouring of the chocolate. Milk products are major ingredients in the chocolate and confectionary industry. Milk chocolate is a popular product whose taste and mouthfeel is extremely distinctive. However the use of milk makes this product unsuitable for some consumers (vegetarian or vegan consumers or peoples developing milk allergies). Hence, a great number of dairy free alternatives to "cow's milk" chocolates have been trialled. The most frequent alternative to cow's milk for chocolate is a mixture of rice glucose syrup, rice flour and inulin. Such products are not satisfactory from the point of view of texture (it is too hard) and mouthfeel. Furthermore, from a sensory point of view, they are high in sweetness and fail to replicate the creaminess of a milk chocolate that consumers appreciate. Cyperus esculentus Lativum (also called chufa, tigernut, atadwe, yellow nutsedge, and earth almond) is a crop of the sedge family widespread across much of the world. C. esculentus is cultivated for its edible tubers, called earth almonds or tigernuts, as a snack food and for the preparation of "horchata de chufa", a sweet, milk-like beverage. Soaked tigernuts are blended with water to produce a whitish liquid called chufa milk which is flavoured by adding e.g. sugar, salt, spices etc... to obtain the horchata drink. Flour of tigernuts is sometimes added to biscuits and other bakery products as well as in making oil, soap, and starch extracts. It is also used for the production of nougat, jam, beer, and as a flavouring agent in ice cream and in the preparation of kunnu (a local beverage in Nigeria). Chocolate compositions are particularly prone to fat bloom. Fat bloom is a whitish, greyish coating on the surface of milk or dark chocolate. It has a greasy appearance as it arises from changes in the fat structure and from fat crystals appearing on the surface of the chocolate. It can be caused by unsuitable tempering, incorrect cooling methods, warm storage conditions, the addition of fats incompatible with chocolate butter, abrasion and finger marking (particularly under warm condition). Fat bloom appears in particular when chocolate is used to enrobe centres which comprise soft fat, such as praliné filling or a mixture of nut paste and chocolate. Fat bloom does not harm the eating qualities of the chocolate but is very detrimental to its appearance. Consumers are very sensitive to the appearance of a chocolate product and fat bloom has to be avoided. Dairy-products used in particular in milk chocolate are known to delay fat bloom in chocolate. As mentioned in the thesis "Process development and evaluation of tiger nut based chocolate products" by Frank A. Asante, published in 2015, Engineering, by the KWAME NKRUMAH University of Science and technology, Kumasi, Ghana, cow's milk is regarded as improving the shelf life of chocolate products by inhibiting fat bloom and playing an important role in taste and colour. The thesis further reports that the high level of oil in tigernut reduces its potential as an ingredient in chocolate bars because many vegetable oils have been found to reduce the formation of stable β crystals resulting in reduced gloss, texture, resistance to heat and fat bloom. (p.114). Tigernut products are thus not seen as a suitable alternative to cow's milk in the manufacture of chocolate because of its high vegetable fat content. Hence, the use of a tigernut extract is widely seen as unsuitable to replace dairy products because its fat content wou