Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Internal application of nontransitory fluent material to...
Reexamination Certificate
2001-11-07
2004-08-24
Corbin, Arthur L. (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Internal application of nontransitory fluent material to...
C426S291000, C426S296000, C426S302000, C426S332000, C426S335000, C426S641000, C426S643000, C426S644000, C426S646000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06780449
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to vacuum tumbled food products and methods for preparing the same. More specifically, the present invention relates to vacuum tumbled food products and methods which employ an aqueous flavor solution and/or a dispersion of a lipid in an aqueous starch solution.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Techniques for processing and preparing food items, particularly protein based and/or seafood related items, are constantly changing and improving to meet stringent demands of the food processing industry as well as demands and expectations of the ultimate consumer. Not only is it desirable for these techniques to produce fresh quality products with improved flavors, nutritional values and shelf lives, many consumers also desire these products to convey a satisfying mouth feel while remaining visually pleasing.
One food processing technique which has been used to achieve some of the abovementioned desired properties is vacuum tumbling. Vacuum tumblers or vacuum tumble-massagers provide a method of mechanically agitating a food product such that moisture and/or seasonings at least partially penetrate the products. Processes for vacuum tumbling food products, particularly seafood related products, have been developed and are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,543,163, issued Aug. 6, 1996 to Groves, entitled “Method for Enhancing the Flavor and Shelf Life of Food Products”, incorporated herein by reference. The Groves process is know by those skilled in the art as the Grovac™ process, and involves a vacuum tumbling process that extracts the off-flavor components of particular animal products. According to this process, the tissue of the animal product is perforated prior to the vacuum tumbling process and a hypotonic saline solution, organic acid additive and yeast product are incorporated into the process. The vacuum tumbler is adapted to receive the animal products and a fluid mixture, which includes both water and sodium chloride. The Groves process is associated with enhancing the appearance and taste of the food products while improving their shelf life through the extraction of various chemicals.
While the abovementioned process has proven useful for solving some of the problems experienced within the food processing industry, developing improved food products exhibiting many of the desirable food-related attributes expected by many consumers has remained difficult. Accordingly, there is a desire for providing food products and methods for preparing such food products which exhibit all of these qualities while maintaining the quality and taste consumers expect.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide new processes for preparing food products and to provide improved food products. In one embodiment, the present invention is directed to a process for preparing a food product, comprising: (a) vacuum tumbling a food product with an aqueous flavor solution and with a dispersion of a lipid in an aqueous starch solution; and (b) freezing the vacuum tumbled food product in a liquid freeze bath. The invention is also directed to food products produced by such processes.
In another embodiment, the present invention is directed to a process for preparing a food product, comprising: (a) vacuum tumbling a food product with an aqueous flavor solution and with a dispersion of a lipid in an aqueous starch solution; (b) coating the vacuum tumbled food product with a second dispersion of a lipid in an aqueous starch solution; and (c) freezing the coated food product in a liquid freeze bath. The invention is further directed to food products produced by such processes.
In a further embodiment, the present invention is directed to a process for preparing a food product, comprising vacuum tumbling the food product with an aqueous flavor solution and with a dispersion of a lipid in an aqueous starch solution.
In still another embodiment, the present invention is directed to a process for preparing a food product, comprising: (a) vacuum tumbling a food product with an aqueous flavor solution; (b) coating the vacuum tumbled food product with a dispersion of a lipid in an aqueous starch solution; and (c) freezing the coated food product in a liquid freeze bath.
In yet a further embodiment, the present invention is directed to a vacuum tumbled food product comprising a coating formed from a lipid dispersed in an aqueous starch solution.
Accordingly, the present invention provides novel food products and processes for preparing such food products which overcome one or more disadvantages of the prior art.
These and additional objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, which is simply, by way of illustration, various modes contemplated for carrying out the invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of other different obvious aspects all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the specification is illustrative in nature and not restrictive.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The present invention is directed to food products and processes for preparing such food products. More particularly, the food products of the present invention are vacuum tumbled food products comprising an aqueous flavor solution and/or a dispersion of a lipid in an aqueous starch solution. Other embodiments comprise a freezing step such that the vacuum tumbled food products are frozen in a liquid freeze bath.
As used herein, “comprising” means that other steps and ingredients can be added. This term encompasses the terms “consisting of” and “consisting essentially of”. The phrase “consisting essentially of” means that the products and processes may include additional ingredients, but only if the additional ingredients do not materially alter the basic and novel characteristics of the claimed products and/or processes.
As used herein, “vacuum tumble” refers generally to a process for mechanically tumbling a product in a tumbler device, massager and/or chamber such that moisture, flavorings and/or seasonings are able to at least partially penetrate the product. In one embodiment, the vacuum tumbling process is conducted with a combination of one or more aqueous flavor solutions together with a dispersion of a lipid in an aqueous starch solution. As will be described in further detail below, in one embodiment the vacuum tumbling process is followed by the step of freezing the vacuum tumbled food product in a liquid freeze bath. In an alternate embodiment, the vacuum tumbled food product is coated with a second dispersion of a lipid in an aqueous starch solution. These embodiments are described in further detail below.
As used herein, “food product” refers generally to any edible item. In specific embodiments according to the present invention, the food product is a protein based food product, which includes, but is not limited to, meats, poultry and seafood. In a more specific embodiment according to the present invention the food product is a seafood product, such as shrimp, fish or the like. In yet further embodiments, the food product is a soup related component, such as a component of a cream based soup product. Those skilled in the art will appreciate, however, that any edible food product, whether natural or artificial, may be subjected to the processes of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the present invention, as the type of food product incorporated in this procedure is not intended to be limiting.
Aqueous Flavor Solution
The food products and processes for preparing such food products of the present invention comprise an aqueous flavor solution. In exemplary embodiments, processes for preparing food products according to the present invention may comprise a vacuum tumbling step wherein the aqueous flavor solution marinates and/or flavors the vacuum tumbled food product. As used herein, “vacuum tumbled food product” refers generally to any food product which has been subjected to a vacuum tumblin
Azure Waves Seafood, Inc.
Corbin Arthur L.
Dinsmore & Shohl LLP
LandOfFree
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