EP-4739805-A1 - METHOD OF PREPARING A SUGAR SYRUP COMPOSITION

EP4739805A1EP 4739805 A1EP4739805 A1EP 4739805A1EP-4739805-A1

Abstract

Described is a method of preparing a sugar syrup composition from a sugar beet- and/or sugar cane-derived aqueous sucrose composition containing sucrose and at least one further compound selected from the list consisting of kestose, raffinose, pyrrolidone carboxyl acid (PCA) and betaine. The method comprises inverting at least part of the sucrose of the aqueous sucrose composition by contacting the aqueous sucrose composition with a yeast, and contacting the aqueous sucrose composition and/or the at least partly inverted aqueous sucrose composition with active carbon.

Inventors

SIJTSMA, Ineke
JANSEN, Raf
RENSEN, Rik
DÖRR, Tillmann

Assignees

Tiense Suikerraffinaderij N.V.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260513
Application Date: 20240708

Claims (1)

CLAIMS 1) A method of preparing a sugar syrup composition from an aqueous sucrose composition that is derived from a sugar beet and/or sugar cane, the method consisting of the steps of: a) providing the aqueous sucrose composition, containing sucrose and at least one further compound selected from the list consisting of kestose, raffinose, pyrrolidone carboxyl acid (PCA) and betaine; b) inverting at least part of the sucrose of the aqueous sucrose composition by contacting the aqueous sucrose composition with a yeast, preferably baker’s yeast, for a first contact time, at a temperature from 20 to 60 °C, and a pH from 4 to 9, to provide an at least partly inverted aqueous sucrose composition; and c) contacting the aqueous sucrose composition and/or the at least partly inverted aqueous sucrose composition with active carbon for a second contact time; d) optionally applying at least one further process step, wherein the at least one further process step is applied at any of the moments selected from a moment intermediate between step a) and step b), a moment intermediate between step b) and c), a moment simultaneous with step b), a moment simultaneous with step c), a moment after step c), or a combination thereof; and obtaining the sugar syrup composition. 2) The method according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one further process step d) is executed and comprises a process step that is selected from the group consisting of diluting, concentrating, heating, filtering, purifying, adding further sugar ingredients, and combinations of two or more thereof. 3) The method according to claim 2, wherein the at least one further process step d) comprises a process step of filtering the sugar syrup composition after steps b) and/or c), preferably after steps b) and c). 4) The method according to claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the at least one further process step d) comprises a process step of evaporation of any one of the aqueous sucrose composition from step a), the at least partly inverted aqueous sucrose composition from step b), the aqueous sucrose composition and/or the at least partly inverted aqueous sucrose composition that was contacted with active carbon from step c), or a combination thereof. 5) The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the at least one further process step d) comprises a process step of dilution of any one of the aqueous sucrose composition from step a), the at least partly inverted aqueous sucrose composition from step b), the aqueous sucrose composition and/or the at least partly inverted aqueous sucrose composition that was contacted with active carbon from step c), or a combination thereof. 6) The method according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the at least one further process step d) comprises a process step of heating the at least partly inverted aqueous sucrose composition to a temperature of at least 50 °C before or during step c). 7) The method according to any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the at least one further process step d) comprises a process step of adding sugar, invert sugar, glucose, glucose syrup, fructose, fructose syrup, sugar beet molasses, sugar cane molasses, or any combinations thereof to the aqueous sucrose composition, to the at least partly inverted aqueous sucrose composition and/or to the sugar syrup composition. 8) The method according to any one the preceding claims, wherein contacting the aqueous sucrose composition with a yeast comprises adding the yeast to the aqueous sucrose composition and mixing the yeast with the aqueous sucrose composition. 9) The method according to any one the preceding claims, wherein contacting the aqueous sucrose composition and/or the at least partly inverted aqueous sucrose composition with active carbon comprises adding the active carbon to the aqueous sucrose composition and/or the at least partly inverted aqueous sucrose composition and mixing the active carbon with the aqueous sucrose composition syrup and/or the at least partly inverted aqueous sucrose composition. 10) The method according to any one the preceding claims, wherein the aqueous sucrose composition in step b) is contacted with the yeast at a temperature from 30 to 60 °C, preferably at a temperature from 35 to 55 °C. 11) The method according to any one the preceding claims, wherein the first contact time is at least 3 hours, preferably from 6 to 48 hours, more preferably from 9 to 42 hours, even more preferably from 12 to 36 hours. 12) The method according to any one the preceding claims, wherein the aqueous sucrose composition in step b) is contacted with the yeast at a pH from 4 to 8, preferably a pH from 4.5 to 7.5, more preferably a pH from 5 to 7. 13) The method according to any one the preceding claims, wherein the second contact time is at least 1 min, preferably at least 5 min, more preferably at least 10 min, even more preferably from 15 to 120 min. 14) The method according to any one the preceding claims, wherein the sucrose content in the aqueous sucrose composition is reduced in step b), on a dry matter basis, to below 50 wt.%, preferably to from 5 to 40 wt.%, more preferably to from 10 to 30 wt.%. 15) The method according to any one the preceding claims, wherein the sulfite content of the sugar syrup composition is less than 20 mg/kg, preferably less than 10 mg/kg, more preferably less than 5 mg/kg.

Description

METHOD OF PREPARING A SUGAR SYRUP COMPOSITION The present invention relates to a method of preparing a sugar syrup composition. Sugar syrup compositions are known in the art and may be obtained from different sources and/or via different methods. Sugar syrup compositions may for instance be produced by dissolving fully or partially refined sugar in water, wherein the sugar may be obtained from different sources, such as from sugar beet and/or sugar cane. Sugar syrup compositions may also be produced by enzymatic methods using starch rich materials, such as corn syrup. Yet another known method to provide sugar syrup compositions includes the evaporation of water from natural juices, such as maple juice, or from sugar solutions extracted from sugar-rich plants, such as sugar beet, sugar cane, or agave. A sugar beet syrup composition may for instance be produced by extracting most soluble substances from the sugar beet, filtering the obtained solution, and finally boiling down the filtered solution until a syrup is obtained with a dry matter content of typically at least 78 wt.%. W02005001144 discloses a method of preparing an invert liquid sugar, involving the steps of adjusting the pH of a sugar solution of water and natural sugar-containing juice to a range from 1.0 to 2.0 to obtain an inverted juice, filtering the inverted juice, decolorizing the inverted juice to obtain sugar syrup, demineralizing the sugar syrup, evaporating the demineralized sugar syrup, and cooling the sugar syrup to form the liquid sugar. Although the known methods yield sugar syrup compositions with an acceptable flavour profile, there is a need for further improvement in this field. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of preparing a sugar syrup composition derived from sugar beet or sugar cane with an enhanced flavour profile when compared to sugar syrup compositions known in the art. This and other aims are achieved by a method according to claim 1. According to the invention, there is provided a first method of preparing a sugar syrup composition from an aqueous sucrose composition, which aqueous sucrose composition is derived from sugar beet and/or sugar cane. The invented method consists of the steps of: a) providing the aqueous sucrose composition, containing sucrose and at least one further compound selected from the list consisting of kestose, raffinose, pyrrolidone carboxyl acid (PCA) and betaine; b) inverting at least part of the sucrose of the aqueous sucrose composition by contacting the aqueous sucrose composition with a yeast for a first contact time, at a temperature from 20 to 60 °C, and a pH from 4 to 9, to provide an at least partly inverted aqueous sucrose composition; and c) contacting the aqueous sucrose composition and/or the at least partly inverted aqueous sucrose composition with active carbon for a second contact time; d) optionally applying at least one further process step, wherein the at least one further process step is applied at any of the moments selected from a moment intermediate between step a) and step b), a moment intermediate between step b) and c), a moment simultaneous with step b), a moment simultaneous with step c), a moment after step c), or a combination thereof; and obtaining the sugar syrup composition. It was found that contacting an aqueous sucrose composition, containing sucrose and at least one further component selected from the list consisting of kestose, raffinose, pyrrolidone carboxyl acid (PCA) and betaine, with a yeast to invert at least part of the sucrose present in the aqueous sucrose composition, and contacting the aqueous sucrose composition and/or the at least partly inverted aqueous sucrose composition with active carbon, may lead to a sugar syrup with an enhanced flavour profile. Typically, the aqueous sucrose composition, that comprises sucrose and at least one further component selected from the list consisting of kestose, raffinose, pyrrolidone carboxyl acid (PCA) and betaine, is derived from sugar beet, sugar cane, or a combination thereof. The invented sugar syrup compositions derived from the aqueous sucrose composition may have the additional benefit that nutritional substances of the beet and/or cane, such as minerals and water-soluble vitamins, are retained. Sugar is the generic name for soluble carbohydrates, typically sweet-tasting, many of which are used in food. Carbohydrates can be monosaccharides, such as glucose, fructose, and galactose, or the carbohydrates can be disaccharides, such as sucrose, lactose, and maltose, or they can be higher saccharides such as oligosaccharides or polysaccharides, or they can be any combination thereof. Extraction and refining processes starting from sugar beet or sugar cane are known in the art. In general, after the sugar beets or sugar canes are harvested, they are washed and reduced in size to provide small pieces or slices. The sucrose present in those pieces is extracted into