Virginia Patent of the Month – April 2022
Dr. Aly Gamay founded Gamay Food Ingredients in 1987, officially creating the first fat-free cheese production in the world. You might know it as Cheese Smart. Since then, they have worked to innovate the food industry through the formulation of various flavors and ingredients including liquid cheeses, dry sauces, seasonings, and more.
Recently, Dr. Gamay has focused his attention on the development of a pasteurized, shelf stable batter. Most households have made baked goods from boxes, with the pre-mixed ingredients. These dry mixes just need the addition of liquid ingredients, like eggs or milk. The batter then needs to be used right away or it risks going bad. A similar urgency is faced when you open any premixed doughs.
Pasteurizing has long been a solution to extend the shelf life of food. Unfortunately, major problems can ensue when exposing a pasteurized product to high temperatures – which are absolutely needed for baking. For instance, if the temperature of the batter reaches 55° C. or higher the batter can stiffen and become unpourable – a sure disadvantage in the processing and manufacturing.
Dr. Gamay’s batter is prepared in a way that maintains a desirable consistency. Their batter could be poured out of a squeezable bottle, making it easy to portion it as you bake. The formulation process includes a step to microbiologically stabilize the batter using heat. This is achieved by using starches with high gelatinizing temperatures, so that the heat from the stabilizing step does not ruin the batter. The addition and control over the liquid ingredients limits the total moisture content at a maximum of 35%. The final product can remain stable without refrigeration – even after the package is open. This means you can make one or two cookies and store the rest of the dough for later.
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