Brown butter and systems and methods for the continuous production thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12256751-B2
Application number	US-202218073434-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 1, 2022
Priority date	Oct 12, 2012
Publication date	Mar 25, 2025
Grant date	Mar 25, 2025

Abstract

A system and method for the continuous production of brown butter involves concentrating butter while retaining solids non-fat in the butter, and continuously transferring and heating the concentrated butter to cause the solids non-fat in the butter to react in a Maillard reaction to form a brown butter product. The system may use one or more of a heating vessel, an evaporator and a reaction vessel to form the brown butter in the continuous process. A brown butter product derived from butter includes reacted solids non-fat particulates from a Maillard reaction suspended by nascent fat crystals nucleated about the reacted solids non-fat particulates and by large fat crystal structures joined to the nascent fat crystals.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A dairy product, comprising:
butter comprising fat, protein, sugar and moisture, wherein at least a portion of the protein and the sugar are in the form of reacted solids non-fat particulates from a Maillard reaction,
wherein a particle size of the reacted solids non-fat particulates from the Maillard reaction in the dairy product are smaller compared to solids non-fat particulates from a Maillard reaction produced from a stove-top brown butter process,
wherein nascent fat crystals are nucleated on the reacted solids non-fat particulates, and
wherein fat crystals larger than the nascent fat crystals are adhered to the nascent fat crystals and suspend the reacted solids non-fat particulates in the dairy product.

2. The dairy product of claim 1 , wherein the dairy product includes from about 94 to about 99 percent total solids.

3. The dairy product of claim 1 , wherein a moisture content of the dairy product is less than 6 wt % of the dairy product.

4. The dairy product of claim 1 , wherein the dairy product is derived solely from butter.

5. The dairy product of claim 1 , wherein a median particle size of the reacted solids non-fat particulates ranges from about 41 μm to about 73 μm.

6. The dairy product of claim 5 , wherein the median particle size of the reacted solids non-fat particulates ranges from about 57 μm to about 73 μm.

7. A dairy product, comprising:
butter comprising fat, protein, sugar and moisture, wherein at least a portion of the protein and the sugar are in the form of reacted solids non-fat particulates from a Maillard reaction, and wherein a median particle size of the reacted solids non-fat particulates from the Maillard reaction ranges from about 41 μm to about 73 μm.

8. The dairy product of claim 7 , wherein nascent fat crystals are nucleated on the reacted solids non-fat particulates.

9. The dairy product of claim 7 , wherein fat crystals suspend the reacted solids non-fat particulates in the dairy product.

10. The dairy product of claim 7 , wherein the dairy product includes from about 94 to about 99 percent total solids.

11. The dairy product of claim 7 , wherein the dairy product is derived solely from butter.

12. The dairy product of claim 7 , wherein the dairy product includes a reduced moisture content relative to butter.

13. The dairy product of claim 7 , wherein the dairy product includes a moisture content that is less than 6 wt % of the dairy product.

14. The dairy product of claim 7 , wherein the median particle size of the reacted solids non-fat particulates ranges from about 41 μm to about 57 μm.

15. The dairy product of claim 7 , wherein the median particle size of the reacted solids non-fat particulates ranges from about 57 μm to about 73 μm.

16. A dairy product, comprising:
reacted solids non-fat particulates from a Maillard reaction, wherein the reacted solids non-fat particulates are suspended by:
nascent fat crystals nucleated about the reacted solids non-fat particulates; and
fat crystals adhered to the nascent fat crystals, the fat crystals being larger than the nascent fat crystals.

17. The dairy product of claim 16 , wherein a median particle size of the reacted solids non-fat particulates ranges from about 41 μm to about 73 μm.

18. The dairy product of claim 16 , wherein the dairy product is derived solely from butter.

19. The dairy product of claim 16 , wherein a moisture content of the dairy product is less than 6 wt % of the dairy product.

20. The dairy product of claim 16 , wherein the dairy product includes from about 94 to about 99 percent total solids.

Assignees

• Land Olakes Inc

Inventors

• Paddock Jill
• Igielski Nicole
• Aurand Thomas
• Dinesen Richard

Classifications

• A23C1/12

  Concentration by evaporation · CPC title

• A23D7/0053

  Compositions other than spreads · CPC title

• A23C15/12

  Butter preparations · CPC title

• A23C15/14

  Butter powder; Butter oil, i.e. melted butter, e.g. ghee {; Anhydrous butter} · CPC title

• A23C15/02 Primary

  Making thereof · CPC title