Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Products per se – or processes of preparing or treating... – Organophosphatide
Reexamination Certificate
2000-04-25
2002-06-11
Paden, Carolyn (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Products per se, or processes of preparing or treating...
Organophosphatide
C426S609000, C426S811000, C106S002000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06403144
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to food preparation compositions such as cooking oil, cooking spray, and shortening compositions, and to the use of such compositions in preparing foods.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Food preparation compositions, such as cooking oils, cooking sprays, and shortenings are used in the preparation of cooked and fresh foods. Such cooked foods can include, but are not limited to, foods prepared by frying, baking, broiling, roasting, and the like. Conventional food preparation compositions can be applied to the cooking utensils, used as ingredients in baking, or can be used in marinating, frying, or sauteeing foods. Typically, conventional cooking oils and shortenings are employed to add flavor, texture, or color to food, and conventional cooking sprays are used to prevent sticking of the food to cooking utensils.
Recipes for food preparation often call out a desired level of cooking oil per amount of food being cooked. In order to achieve the desired effect of flavor and non-stick behavior, high levels of cooking oil are generally required. Such high levels of cooking oil result in high caloric intake due to the transfer of oil to the food being cooked. Further, such quantities of oil can result in splatter and mess in food preparation.
Flavored food preparation compositions, such as flavored cooking oils and cooking sprays, are commercially available. Such cooking sprays are generally not effective in transferring flavors and imparting desired texture to the cooked food; such cooking sprays can also cause excessive browning of the cooked food. Such cooking oils, while somewhat effective in transferring flavor to cooked food, typically add undesirable caloric content to the food.
“Compact oils” can be used in reduced amounts for cooking applications. Because less of the compact oil is needed for cooking, the cooked food products can contain fewer calories than those foods cooked with traditional oils. Compact oils can also contain anti-stick agents that prevent food from sticking to utensils during cooking. However, compact oils can produce an undesirable degree of foaming when used for pan and deep frying applications.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a food preparation composition which imparts improved taste and texture to cooked foods relative to the taste and texture provided by conventional food preparation compositions, yet which can be used in reduced amounts (accordingly providing fewer calories and less fat) relative to conventional food preparation compositions (e.g. less than the amount of cooking oil called out in a recipe).
Additionally, it would be desirable to provide a compact oil that can be used for pan and deep frying applications without an undesired degree of foaming.
In addition, it would be desirable to have such a food preparation composition which can be used as a spray for releasing food from utensils, as an ingredient for cooking and baking, and which can be used to enhance the flavor of non-cooked foods.
It would also be desirable to provide a food preparation composition which minimizes splatter during cooking, which provides easy release of cooked materials from utensils for easy clean-up, and which provides flavor and texture enhancement of cooked foods without adding an excessive amount of calories to the cooked food.
It would also be desirable to provide a food preparation composition that browns food to a desired level but that does not brown food excessively as do some cooking sprays.
In addition, it would be desirable to provide a food preparation composition that does not exhibit an unacceptable degree of foaming when used for pan or deep frying.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Applicants have invented a food preparation composition that delivers full fat taste and texture to cooked food, yet imparts a reduced number of calories to the food relative to conventional food preparation compositions. In addition, the food preparation composition does not exhibit an unacceptable degree of foaming when used for pan or deep frying. The food preparation composition also has excellent anti-stick, anti-splatter, and controlled browning properties.
The food preparation composition of the present invention comprises: (a) at least one anti-stick agent; (b) at least one flavor enhancing agent; and (c) at least one anti-foam agent. Preferably, the food preparation composition also comprises at least one edible oil and can also contain a mouthfeel agent, such as an oxoacid and/or a diglyceride. A preferred anti-stick agent comprises lecithin, a silica compound, or mixtures thereof. Nucleotide flavor enhancers are the preferred flavor enhancing agents, with disodium guanylate, disodium inosinate, and mixtures thereof being especially preferred. A preferred anti-foaming agent comprises a silica compound, a silicone polymer, especially polydimethylsiloxane, or mixtures thereof.
The edible oil of the present invention can include an oil base comprising triglycerides, such as vegetable oil. The oil base can also comprise diglycerides or mixtures of diglycerides and triglycerides. Alternatively, the composition can have a base comprising a fat substitute, such as a polyol polyester (e.g. sucrose polyester such as olestra), or a combination of triglyceride oil and polyol polyester. The composition can comprise less than about 60%, more particularly less than about 35%, and in some embodiments less than about 10% water. Water can be added to make soluble some of the flavor agents and relatively small amounts of flavor precursors such as alpha amino acids, reducing compounds, and vitamins.
The food preparation composition can further comprise a flavoring agent or enhancer. Preferred flavoring enhancers include nucleotide flavor enhancers such as disodium guanylate, disodium inosinate, and mixtures thereof. Other suitable flavoring agents or enhancers can also be used.
The food preparation compositions of the present invention enhance the natural, inherent flavor of the food without the necessity of adding a dominant flavoring, which can be the case with conventional butter flavored sprays and spice flavored cooking oils. Accordingly, the food preparation compositions of the present invention can preferably be used to bring out the natural flavor of food. However, in some embodiments, they can be used with other flavor ingredients to provide specific desired flavoring (e.g., butter, olive oil, fried flavor notes, spicy, tangy, lemon, garlic, herb).
The compositions of the present invention, when used as a replacement for conventional cooking oils, can be used at an amount of up to about ¾ of the level (weight or volume) of typical cooking oils per unit weight of food to be cooked, and more preferably at up to about ⅔ of the level, and still more preferably at up to about ½ the level. In one embodiment, the compositions of the present invention can be used at from about ¼ to about ½ of the level of typical cooking oils. Further, at such reduced levels the compositions provide non-stick cooking benefits, better browning of food and controlled browning of the food preparation composition, less splattering when cooking, exhibits an acceptable degree of foaming, enhanced food flavor, and a desirable cooking aroma, but with a lower calorie content. Accordingly, the compositions of the present invention avoid the trade-off made in conventional food preparation compositions between flavor and texture on the one hand, and low calorie health benefits on the other hand. Additionally, foods cooked with the reduced amounts of the compositions of the present invention have enhanced flavor and texture relative to the same foods cooked in a greater amount of conventional food preparation compositions.
Accordingly, in one embodiment of the present invention, an article of commerce comprises a food preparation composition, a container for containing the composition, and a set of instructions associated with the container. The set of instructions direct the user to use an amount of the food prepar
El-Khoury Nizar
Howie John Keeney
Lair Angela Louise
Lin Peter Yau-Tak
Sandy Jessie Linda
Clark Karen F.
Jones Melody A.
Paden Carolyn
The Procter & Gamble Co.
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