Patent attributes
A milk product containing milk, pectin and juice from fruit, vegetables and other natural ingredients is disclosed, which uses a significant percentage of real milk and which minimizes the chalky-taste of prior art fruit-flavored milk products. A process for making such a milk product is also disclosed, wherein milk and pectin are pre-mixed and homogenized prior to blending in the juice and any other ingredients. The resulting blend is further homogenized. The product disclosed herein may contain other ingredients. The preferred stabilized milk product includes from about 0.25 to about 10.0% of milk protein including solid milk proteins; from about 5 to about 98% of juice; from about 0.1 to about 2.5% of cations; and from about 0.01 to about 5.0% of a stabilizer, preferably pectin; wherein the stabilized milk product is an aqueous fluid having a pH in the range of from 3.2 to about 6.5, and wherein the average particle size of the solid milk protein particles ranges from about 1.0 to about 22.0 micrometers. In preferred embodiments the milk product may also contain fruit particles having an average particle size ranging from about 62 to about 498 micrometers.
