Frozen smoothie kit and method

Abstract

A frozen pellet for blending with other ingredients to make a smoothie is formed of a sugar sweetened yogurt or yogurt formulation diluted with water and frozen solid at temperatures between 0° F. and 32° F. The frozen-solid yogurt pieces eliminate the need for the use of ice in the smoothie making process. Instead the frozen-solid yogurt pieces simply are blended together with fruits, preferably also frozen, and a liquid such as a juice, soda or milk to make a cold smoothie having a desirable thick consistency.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] None STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT [0002] None REFERENCE TO A “SEQUENCE LISTING”[0003] Not applicable. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0004] 1. Field of the Invention [0005] This invention relates generally to a frozen beverage, drink or snack such as a smoothie or the like and more particularly to a combination of frozen ingredients presented in a kit or package form for making a high quality smoothie either at home or in a restaurant setting. [0006] 2. Description of Related Art [0007] While the term smoothie means different things to different people, the classic smoothie includes a creamy dairy product such as yogurt, a sorbet or a sherbet blended together with fresh fruits, vegetables and a liquid such as juice, or milk, it being understood that other flavors or ingredients may also be added. A high quality smoothie characteristically is most desirably quite thick, similar in thickness to a milkshake ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0020] Because the yogurt and fruit ingredients of the smoothie-making package are frozen solid, there is no need to add ice cubes or crushed ice when making the smoothie. Eliminating the addition of ice provides the added benefit of ensuring a smoother mouth feel to the blended product by avoiding ice particles and also reduces the amount of liquid that is eventually added so the smoothie maintains a thick consistency that is not watered down by melting ice.

[0024] Using pieces of frozen solid yogurt or yogurt formulation allows the creation of a smoothie having a desirable consistency and cold temperature without the addition of ice to the blender. The amount of water that might be added to cause the yogurt or yogurt formulation to freeze solid for making the frozen solid pieces preferably is less than the amount of water that would be added as ice in the conventional preparation of a smoothie.

[0025] Because the frozen-solid pieces of the yogurt or yogurt formulation have an initial temperature well below freezing, the pieces fracture rather than melt during blending and this improves the quality of the smoothie. Consequently the smoothie made with the frozen-solid yogurt pieces or frozen-solid yogurt formulation pieces is less diluted and therefore desirably thicker than a smoothie made with unfrozen yogurt and ice.

[0031] Accordingly, in another aspect, the present invention may be characterized by a frozen-solid yogurt formulation containing a water content higher than normally found in a plain non-fat yogurt that may be blended with fresh or frozen fruit and a liquid such as juice, soda or milk in the absence of ice to produce a smoothie having the desirable attributes of a smooth texture or mouth feel, a thick consistency and being very cold.

Problems solved by technology

There is a relatively large number of variations on the basic smoothie recipe, but none is particularly convenient for making a high quality smoothie at home in that typical homemade smoothies may or may not be consistent in quality or remain as cold and thick over time as those made by a commercial establishment.

Such use of ice, even in a commercial establishment, may result in the smoothie having a crystalline or granular texture if the smoothie is not properly blended.

For example, if the blending time is too short, the ice may not be ground into small enough particle sizes leaving the smoothie with a granular mouth feel.

Thickness is another particular attribute that is difficult to obtain in a non-commercial setting.

The most common ingredient for thickening a smoothie made at home is banana but banana adds a flavor that may not be desirable.

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