U.S. patent number 3,860,732 [Application Number 05/023,986] was granted by the patent office on 1975-01-14 for salt substitute.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Cumberland Packing Corporation. Invention is credited to Benjamin Eisenstadt.
United States Patent |
3,860,732 |
Eisenstadt |
January 14, 1975 |
SALT SUBSTITUTE
Abstract
This invention relates to sodium-free salt substitutes which
avoid the bitter aftertaste of known sodium-free salt substitutes.
The compositions of the invention comprise potassium chloride alone
or potassium chloride plus ammonium chloride mixed with lactose
and/or dextrose and cream of tartar.
Inventors: |
Eisenstadt; Benjamin (Brooklyn,
NY) |
Assignee: |
Cumberland Packing Corporation
(Brooklyn, NY)
|
Family
ID: |
21818257 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/023,986 |
Filed: |
March 30, 1970 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
426/649;
426/658 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A23L
27/45 (20160801) |
Current International
Class: |
A23L
1/237 (20060101); A23l 001/22 () |
Field of
Search: |
;99/143 ;426/219 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Naff; David M.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Steinberg & Blake
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A sodium-free salt substitute, consisting essentially of a
sodium-free salt selected from the group consisting of potassium
chloride and a mixture of potassium chloride and ammonium chloride,
at least one substance selected from the group consisting of
lactose and dextrose in an amount of about one-tenth and one-third
the amount of said sodium free salt by weight, and cream of tartar
in an amount of about one five-hundredth and one one-hundredth the
amount of said sodium free salt by weight.
2. Composition according to claim 1 wherein said sodium-free salt
is potassium chloride.
3. Composition according to claim 1 wherein the amount of said
substance is between about one-sixth and one-fourth the amount of
said sodium-free salt, and the amount of cream of tartar is between
about one three-hundredth and one two-hundredth the amount of said
sodium-free salt, all amounts being by weight.
4. Composition according to claim 3 wherein said sodium-free salt
is potassium chloride.
5. Composition according to claim 1 wherein said substance is
dextrose.
6. Composition according to claim 1 wherein said substance is a
mixture of lactose and dextrose.
7. Composition according to claim 4 wherein said substance is
dextrose.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is well known that persons with high blood pressure, tendency to
edema, heart trouble, etc. are often advised by their physicians to
reduce their salt intake. What the physician actually means by this
is that the individual should not use common salt or sodium
chloride because of the effect of sodium on the blood pressure.
It is also well known that foods prepared without common salt have
a flat, undesirable taste. Therefore, persons on sodium-free diets
or on so-called salt-free diets generally use salt substitutes such
as potassium chloride, ammonium chloride, and mixtures thereof.
Sometimes glutamic acid is used in such mixtures and sometimes
sodium glutamate is used as a salt substitute either alone or in
combination with potassium chloride and/or ammonium chloride.
However, all of the known salt substitutes suffer from the
disadvantage that they are highly bitter, and in fact, the
bitterness is generally so strong as to overcome the salty taste,
and the overall taste is less than desirable. In fact, the taste of
known salt substitutes is in general so bad that physicians have a
great deal of trouble in keeping their patients on sodium-free
diets.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Generally speaking, the present invention mainly comprises
sodium-free salt substitute comprising potassium chloride alone or
potassium chloride plus ammonium chloride, in admixture with
lactose alone or dextrose alone or lactose plus dextrose and cream
of tartar, which is of course also known as potassium
bitartrate.
It is accordingly a primary object of the present invention to
provide sodium-free substitutes which have a salty taste and which
are substantially free of any bitter taste.
It is another object of the present invention to provide
sodium-free salt compositions which can be sprinkled on food like
common salt to achieve a desirable salty taste without undesirable
bitter direct taste or bitter aftertaste.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be
apparent from a further reading of the specification and of the
appended claims.
It has been found that while lactose alone, or dextrose alone or
lactose plus dextrose has a fairly good effect in blocking out the
bitter taste of the potassium chloride and/or ammonium chloride,
with a minimum of undesirably affecting the salty taste thereof, a
truly noticeable salty taste is only achieved by adding cream of
tartar (potassium bitartrate) to the mixture. It must be noted that
the use of cream of tartar alone, that is with the potassium
chloride and/or ammonium chloride, is not sufficient to block out
the bitter taste of the product.
Relatively small amounts of lactose and/or dextrose and cream of
tartar are sufficient to have a pronounced effect in improving the
taste of the sodium free salt composition. Although relatively
larger amounts can be used if too great an amount is used there
will not be any further improvement in the flavor, and as a matter
of fact some of the saltiness of the flavor is removed by the use
of too great amounts of lactose and/or dextrose and cream of
tartar.
Most of the commonly available sodium free salt compositions use
mixtures of potassium chloride and ammonium chloride. Such mixture
can be used according to the present invention. However, it is a
considerable advantage of the present invention that it is possible
to use potassium chloride alone rather than a mixture of potassium
chloride and ammonium chloride, because the combination of lactose
and cream of tartar is sufficient to overcome the bitter taste of
potassium chloride with ammonium chloride. The avoiding of the use
of ammonium chloride actually further improves the taste of the
salt substitute composition of the present invention.
The amount of lactose and/or dextrose in the composition of the
present invention is preferably between about one-tenth and
one-third of the amount of the sodium-free salt substitute
(potassium chloride alone or potassium chloride plus ammonium
chloride), by weight. Most preferably the amount of the lactose
and/or dextrose is between about one-sixth and one-fourth the
amount of the potassium chloride or potassium chloride plus
ammonium chloride.
Only very small amounts of cream of tartar are needed in the
composition, though it has been found that these amounts are
necessary in order to obtain a true depression of the bitter taste
without adversely affecting the salty taste of the composition. The
amount of cream of tartar is preferably about 1/500th - 1/100th of
the sodium-free salt substitute (potassium chloride or potassium
chloride plus ammonium chloride), and most preferably about 1/300th
- 1/200th of the amount thereof, by weight.
It should be noted that lactose and/or dextrose have been found to
be suitable with potassium bitartrate for the purposes of the
present invention to block out the bitter taste of the sodium-free
salt substitutes without undesirably affecting the salty taste of
the composition which is not surprising in view of the fact that
these substances are chemically sugars. However, they must be used
with potassium bitartrate in order to obtain a good saltiness along
with the blocking out of the bitter taste of the potassium chloride
or the potassium chloride plus ammonium chloride.
Although it is preferred according to the present invention to use
potassium chloride alone as the sodium-free salt substitute, it is
also possible to use a mixture of potassium chloride and ammonium
chloride, in which case it is preferred that the amount of
potassium chloride be about 10 - 30 times the amount of the
ammonium chloride, by weight.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The following examples are given to further illustrate the present
invention. The scope of the invention is not, however, meant to be
limited to the specific details of the examples.
EXAMPLE 1
250 lbs of potassium chloride, 50 lbs. of lactose and one lb. of
cream of tartar are thoroughly mixed to provide a uniform
mixture.
The resulting mixture can be used in place of common salt by
persons who are required to restrict their sodium intake. This
composition can be shaken like common salt and will give a
relatively good approximation of the salty taste of common salt
without any substantial bitter taste which normally occurs with
sodium-free salt substitutes.
EXAMPLE 2
A sodium-free salt composition is prepared as in Example 1, using
275 lbs. of potassium chloride, 25 lbs. of ammonium chloride, and
100 lbs. of lactose and 3 lbs. of cream of tartar.
EXAMPLE 3
A sodium-free salt composition is prepared as in Example 1, using
300 lbs. of potassium chloride, 30 lbs. of lactose and 3/4 lb. of
potassium bitartrate.
EXAMPLE 4
A sodium-free salt composition is prepared as in Example 1, however
using dextrose instead of lactose.
EXAMPLE 5
A sodium-free salt composition is prepared as in Example 2, however
using 75 lbs. of lactose and 25 lbs. of dextrose.
EXAMPLE 6
A sodium-free salt composition is prepared as in Example 2, however
using 75 lbs. of dextrose and 25 lbs. of lactose.
EXAMPLE 7
A sodium-free salt composition is prepared as in Example 2, however
using 50 lbs. of lactose and 50 lbs. of dextrose.
The basis of the present invention is fully revealed from the above
discussion and modifications and adaptations therefor are and
should be considered as falling within the meaning and range of
equivalence of the following claims:
* * * * *