High protein food

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12178227-B2
Application number	US-202117168324-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 5, 2021
Priority date	Feb 7, 2020
Publication date	Dec 31, 2024
Grant date	Dec 31, 2024

Abstract

Described herein is a food that is suitable for use as a filling or topping for a shelf stable snack. The food has a protein content of at least 25% by weight, and a nut butter content of at least 50% by weight. The food retains a desirable eating experience, similar to a stabilized nut butter spread despite being resistant to melting and deformation during shipping, handling, and storage.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A food, comprising:
a. nut butter in an amount of at least 50% by weight of the food;
b. at least 25% protein by weight of the food, the protein including a powdered protein ingredient contributing at least 12% protein by weight of the food, the powdered protein ingredient having a protein content of at least 70% by weight of the powdered protein ingredient;
c. a stabilizing fat in an amount of about 10% to about 20% by weight of the food, wherein the stabilizing fat comprises palm oil, palm kernel stearin, and palm oil stearin, and contributes lauric acid in an amount of about 3% to about 10% by weight of the food, wherein the stabilizing fat has a Mettler Dropping Point of from about 38° C. to about 45° C., and a 10° C. to 40° C. solid fat content (SFC 10-40 ) profile, the SFC 10-40 profile having a formula of y=mx+b, where
y is solid fat content,
x is temperature in Celsius,
m is slope having a value between about −2 and about −5, and
b is a y-intercept having a value between about 95 and about 140, and the stabilizing fat has a 26.7° C. to 40° C. solid fat content (SFC 27-40 ) profile, the SFC 27-40 profile having a formula of y=mx+b, where
y is solid fat content,
x is temperature in Celsius,
m is slope having a value between about −1.5 and about −5, and
b is a y-intercept having a value between about 70 and about 150, and the stabilizing fat has a 10° C. to 26.7° C. solid fat content (SFC 10-27 ) profile, the SFC 10-27 profile having a formula of y=mx+b, where
y is solid fat content,
x is temperature in Celsius,
m is slope having a value between about −1.5 and about −3, and
b is a y-intercept having a value between about 100 and about 130;

d. a powdered food ingredient in an amount of about 8% to about 25% by weight of the food, the powdered food ingredient having a protein content of less than 70% by weight of the powdered food ingredient;
e. a differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) profile having a stabilizing fat endothermic peak between 30° C. and 35° C., wherein the DSC profile exhibits a curve that has less than 10% of its area between 35° C. and 70° C.;
f. a rheology inflection midpoint at 21° C. (RIM 21 ) and a rheology inflection midpoint at 37° C. (RIM 37 ), where the RIM 37 is at least 1×10 1 Pa greater than the RIM 21 ; and
g. a moisture content of less than 2.5% by weight of the food, wherein the moisture content does not solubilize the powdered protein ingredient and does not solubilize the powdered food ingredient.

2. The food of claim 1 , wherein the stabilizing fat has a SFC 10-40 profile with a formula of y=mx+b, where
y is solid fat content,
x is temperature in Celsius,
m is slope having a value between about −2 and about −3, and
b is a y-intercept having a value between about 95 and about 110.

3. The food of claim 1 , wherein the stabilizing fat has a SFC 27-40 profile with a formula of y=mx+b, where
y is solid fat content,
x is temperature in Celsius,
m is slope having a value between about −1.5 and about −2.5, and
b is a y-intercept having a value between about 70 and about 85.

4. The food of claim 1 , wherein the stabilizing fat has a SFC 10-27 profile with a formula of y=mx+b, where
y is solid fat content,
x is temperature in Celsius,
m is slope having a value between about −1.8 and about −2.5, and
b is a y-intercept having a value between about 105 and about 120.

5. The food of claim 1 , wherein the RIM 37 is from about 1×10 2 to 1×10 4 Pa greater than the RIM 21 .

6. The food of claim 1 , wherein the food includes nut butter in an amount of from 50% to about 65% by weight of the food.

7. The food of claim 1 , wherein the nut butter comprises peanut butter, almond butter, or cashew butter.

8. The food of claim 1 , wherein the powdered food ingredient comprises a sugar or a sugar alcohol in an amount of about 6% to about 20% by weight of the food.

9. The food of claim 1 , wherein the powdered protein ingredient comprises whey protein and soy protein, the whey protein and soy protein included at a ratio of from about 30:70 to about 70:30.

10. The food of claim 1 , wherein the powdered protein ingredient comprises whey protein isolate in an amount of from about 5% to about 15% by weight of the food and soy protein isolate in an amount of from about 5% to about 15% by weight of the food.

11. The food of claim 1 , wherein the food comprises a defatted nut flour in an amount of up to about 10% by weight of the food.

12. The food of claim 1 , wherein the powdered protein ingredient and the powdered food ingredient each include particles, where at least 80% of the pass through a No. 325 mesh.

Assignees

• Gen Mills Inc

Inventors

• Brown Allison
• Davlin Catherine
• Rosene Sara
• Seibold Jon Duke
• Weatherby Natasha

Classifications

• A23J3/14

  Vegetable proteins · CPC title

• A23D9/007

  characterised by ingredients other than fatty acid triglycerides · CPC title

• A23L33/105

  Plant extracts, their artificial duplicates or their derivatives · CPC title

• A23L25/30 Primary

  Mashed or comminuted products, e.g. pulp, pastes, meal, powders; Products made therefrom, e.g. blocks, flakes, snacks; Liquid or semi-liquid products (A23L25/10 and A23L25/40 take precedence) · CPC title

• A23L33/185

  Vegetable proteins · CPC title