Methods of encapsulating liquids in fatty matrices, and products thereof

Claim 1

A process for making edible microcapsules containing a multiplicity of liquid cores, comprising the steps of: a. heating an edible shell material selected from the group consisting of edible fats, edible waxes, edible resins and mixtures thereof to a temperature sufficient to liquify said shell material; b. forming an emulsion of said liquified shell material with an edible liquid core material, said edible liquid core material being immiscible with said shell material and having a boiling point, at ambient atmospheric pressure, above the temperature sufficient to liquify said shell material, whereby said shell material is in continuous phase and said liquid core material is in discontinuous phase; c. transporting said emulsion in turbulent flow conditions, thereby maintaining said shell material and said liquid core material in the emulsified state, to a low temperature zone, said zone formed by flowing a gas at a temperature maintained below the temperature sufficient to liquify said shell material and above the temperature at which said liquid core material solidifies; d. delivering said emulsion into said low temperature zone by flowing said emulsion through a spray nozzle and spraying said emulsion into said low temperature zone and maintaining said emulsion so delivered in said low temperature zone for a time sufficient to cool said shell material into form-retaining condition and to form microcapsules containing a multiplicity of liquid cores made from said liquid core material, as the discontinuous phase, surrounded by said shell material, as the continuous phase, and whereby said multiplicity of liquid cores comprise from about 1% to about 35% by weight of the microcapsule; and e. Recovering the microcapsules formed from step d.