Dairy Salt, Method for its Production and Food Products Containing It

Abstract

Processing of milk raw material produces a dairy salt. Preliminary treatment of the milk raw is carried out, with pasteurization and its concentration by nanofiltration through a filter with a pore size of 0.001-0.01 μm, subsequent filtration of the obtained nanofiltration permeate through a membrane module with a pore size of 0.0001-0.001 μm of a reverse osmosis unit, electrodialysis of the obtained RO retentate, concentration of the concentrate or its concentration and drying. The dairy salts may be manufactured and used to salt food products, beverages, granulated cottage cheese, potato chips, crackers, and dips. A masking fraction with organic acid, amino acid, fatty acid, and sugar portions successfully hides the off-notes otherwise associated with potassium compositions. Food products salted with any of the dairy salts described herein achieve reduced sodium content without compromising flavor.

1 . A method for production of a complex dairy salt, comprising preliminary treatment of whey, pasteurization, and concentration by nanofiltration through a filter with a pore size of 0.001-0.01 μm to obtain a nanofiltration permeate, subsequent filtration of the nanofiltration permeate through a membrane module with a pore size of 0.0001-0.001 μm of a reverse osmosis unit to obtain a reverse osmosis retentate, electrodialysis of the reverse osmosis retentate, and concentration and drying. 
     
     
         2 . A method for production of a complex dairy salt, comprising preliminary treatment of whey, pasteurization and subsequent concentration by nanofiltration through a filter with a pore size of 0.001-0.01 μm to obtain a nanofiltration permeate, filtration of the nanofiltration permeate through a membrane module with a pore size of 0.0001-0.001 μm of a reverse osmosis unit to obtain a reverse osmosis retentate, mixing of the reverse osmosis retentate with the nanofiltration retentate, and subsequent concentration of the obtained mixture. 
     
     
         3 . A complex dairy salt obtained by the method according to  claim 1 , having the composition: 70-80% mineral salts, 10-20% protein, 6-9% organic acids, 0.5-10% lactose, and the remainder water. 
     
     
         4 . The complex dairy salt obtained by the method of  claim 2 , having the composition: 18-40% mineral salts, 4-6% protein, 2-3% organic acids, 30-70% lactose, and the remainder water. 
     
     
         5 . A food product comprising a complex dairy salt according to  claim 1 . 
     
     
         6 . A method for making a potassium-based composition having a masking fraction, said method comprising the steps of:
 i) combining potassium and sodium at a ratio of greater than about 2.0 to form a mineral component;   ii) combining the mineral component with the masking fraction to make the potassium-based composition, wherein said masking fraction conceals an off-flavor of the potassium, said masking fraction comprising:   a) an organic acid portion substantially consisting of lactic acid;   b) an amino acid portion consisting of one or more amino acids selected from the group consisting of: glycine, valine, and glutamic acid;   c) a fatty acid portion substantially consisting of one or more fatty acids selected from the group consisting of: myristic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, and linoleic acid; and   d) a sugar portion consisting of one or more sugars;   in a weight ratio of the organic acid portion:the amino acid portion:the fatty acid portion:the sugar portion of about 6-9:0.1-0.4:0.25-1.25:0.5-2.5, wherein said weight ratio is as a percentage of the potassium-based composition.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6  wherein the combining step ii) comprises about 85% to about 95% of the mineral component on a dry weight basis. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 6  comprising adding chloride to the mineral component after the combining step i). 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 6  the organic acid portion of step ii)a) comprises one or more of: citric acid, acetic acid, formic acid, fumaric acid, and oxalic acid. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 6  wherein the mineral component comprises one or more of: calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and sulfate. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 6  wherein the fatty acid portion comprises one or more of heptadecanoic acid, arachidic acid, behenic acid, arachidonic acid, and euric acid. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 6  wherein the sugar portion comprises primarily isomaltulose and galactose. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 6  the mineral component of step ii) comprises about 90% of the potassium-based composition. 
     
     
         14 . The potassium-based composition made by the method of  claim 6 . 
     
     
         15 . A method for making a product for consumption, wherein said product for consumption comprises a potassium-based composition combined with a salt, said method comprising the steps of:
 i) combining potassium and sodium at a ratio of greater than about 2.0 to form a mineral component;   ii) combining the mineral component with a masking fraction to mask an off-flavor of the potassium and form a potassium-rich composition with said masking fraction, wherein the masking fraction comprises:   a) an organic acid portion substantially consisting of lactic acid;   b) an amino acid portion consisting of one or more amino acids selected from the group consisting of: glycine, valine, and glutamic acid;   c) a fatty acid portion substantially consisting of one or more fatty acids selected from the group consisting of: myristic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, and linoleic acid; and   d) a sugar portion consisting of one or more sugar;   in a weight ratio of the organic acid portion:the amino acid portion:the fatty acid portion:the sugar portion of about 6-9:0.1-0.4:0.25-1.25:0.5-2.5, wherein said weight ratio is as a percentage of the potassium-rich composition; and   iii) combining the potassium-rich composition having said masking fraction with an edible substance for consumption.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15  wherein the combining step comprises adding the potassium-rich composition with said masking fraction onto the surface of an already salted potato chip. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15  where the adding step comprises mixing the potassium-rich composition with said masking fraction into an oil slurry for topically application onto said snack food product. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15  comprising the step of combining the potassium-rich composition having the masking fraction with one or more seasonings prior to topically adding the potassium-rich composition onto the surface of a snack food product. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 15  wherein the edible substance is a high-moisture snack food product, comprising a moisture content of at least about 50%. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19  wherein the high-moisture snack food product is selected from the group consisting of oatmeal, cheese dips, and salsa. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 15  wherein the edible substance is a savory product and wherein the combining step comprises mixing the potassium-rich composition in dry form together with one or more components of the savory product, thereby reducing sodium of the edible substance for consumption. 
     
     
         22 . The edible substance made by the method of  claim 15 .