Simplesse is a multi-functional dairy ingredient made from whey protein concentrate used as a fat substitute in low-calorie foods. Originally brought to market in 1988, the manufacturer, CP Kelco (a former NutraSweet subsidiary), sells Simplesse to food processors as a "microparticulated whey protein concentrate" in dry powder form, and recommends that it be labelled as dairy protein on food labels. Older versions of the product also contain egg whites.
The protein is partially coagulated by heat, creating a micro dispersion, in a process known as microparticulation. It is due to the small particle size of the protein that the dispersion is perceivable as a fluid with similar creaminess and richness of fat.
History
Simplesse began in 1979 as "a substance that gelled like egg white but crumbled like Styrofoam." At that time, Shoji Yamamoto, an associate of Norman S. Singer at Canadian beer company John Labatt Ltd. in London, Ontario, brought Singer the whey protein substance. Labatt licensed the product to NutraSweet, a subsidiary of Creve Coeur, Missouri, United States chemical conglomerate Monsanto, in 1984. An initial version of the product, approved for use in frozen desserts like low-fat ice cream substitutes by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), was introduced to the public about that same time as being "the first completely natural fat substitute."
Product
Simplesse is a protein-based fat substitute derived from milk proteins that allows calorie reductions of up to 80 percent compared with foods that contain fat. Described in a United States patent abstract as "a proteinaceous, water-dispersible, macrocolloid comprising substantially non-aggregated particles of dairy whey protein,"