Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Processes – Molding – casting – or shaping
Reexamination Certificate
2002-05-30
2004-05-25
Yeung, George C. (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Processes
Molding, casting, or shaping
C099S353000, C099S494000, C099S516000, C426S277000, C452S037000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06740349
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF INVENTION
The present invention is directed to an apparatus and method for forming a proteinaceous emulsion or batter into shaped food products such as sausages, and more particularly to a method of stuffing and an apparatus including a stuffing tube slideably received in a mold tube.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Sausages and other formed meat products such as bologna, Vienna sausages, and the like typically are made by extruding a proteinaceous meat emulsion or batter into an artificial casing of a desired size and shape, and then cooking the batter within the casing. After cooking, the casing is peeled from the meat product and discarded. Once the casing has been removed, the shaped meat product can be cut into predetermined lengths and placed in suitable containers for distribution to consumers.
Various devices and methods for making casingless sausages have been proposed in order to form and process sausages and the like without the use of casings, which are undesirable because of added costs resulting from the requirements of providing casings and thereafter disposing of the used casings. Examples are U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,056,425 and 5,118,519 to Mally. The Mally patents disclose an apparatus which ejects partially shaped products onto a conveyor assembly. According to Mally, batter is pumped into a molding tube, and a treating assembly is formed as a continuation of the molding tube. The treating assembly functions to introduce treating fluid, typically a food grade acid solution, which causes a proteinaceous skin to form about the batter. A piston or ram mechanism causes the batter with proteinaceous skin to be deposited onto a conveyor belt. The conveyor belt then continues into a cooking apparatus. Once cooked, the product is canned.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,885,053 to Townshend discloses a process of forming a skin on an extruded meat emulsion by applying an acid to the surface of the emulsion as the extrusion proceeds. Acid is pumped from an outside source into a conduit into which emulsion is extruded, where acid treatment, emulsion flow, and subsequent treatments all occur in a single conduit. Accordingly, while the device in Townshend can be used in a stand-alone procedure, it is not suitable for a high output production process.
U.S. Ser. No. 09/690,358 (hereinafter “'358 application”), filed on Oct. 17, 2000, and with a corresponding PCT application being published under Publication No. WO 01/30164, is directed to an apparatus and method for forming casingless sausages. The '358 application and its PCT application are commonly owned with the present invention. The '358 application describes a molding tube that is slideably mounted about a stuffing tube, the stuffing tube comprising concentric inner and outer tubes. Emulsion is pumped through the inner tube of the stuffing tube and forced against the closed end of the molding tube, causing the molding tube to move relative the stuffing tube. The '358 application describes a stuffing tube with both inner and outer tubes, where the treating fluid flows in an annular passage between these tubes and is then released into the molding tube.
According to the '358 application, the treating fluid deposition should be continuous so as to evenly coat the inside of the molding tube, thereby forming a proteinaceous skin about the surface of the emulsion. However, the '358 application does not address controlling the relative amounts of emulsion and treating fluid which flow into the molding tube.
It would be desirable to provide an apparatus and method for forming a casingless food product of the type having telescoped stuffing and mold tubes, wherein a single stuffing tube is capable of making simultaneous depositions of emulsion and treating fluid, wherein the relative amounts of emulsion and treating fluid which flow into the mold tube are controlled and there is substantially no relative motion between the emulsion and treating fluid.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an apparatus and methods for forming a proteinaceous emulsion or batter into shaped food products such as sausages without the use of a casing. In one exemplary embodiment, a supply of suitable proteinaceous emulsion is provided, and the emulsion is conveyed under pressure through an elongated hollow stuffing tube into a mold tube, where the stuffing tube is slideably mounted co-axially within the mold tube, and treating fluid is conducted through a conduit formed in the stuffing tube wall. According to one method of the present invention, the stuffing tube is fully inserted into the mold tube and then retracted as emulsion exits the stuffing tube. Preferably, the mold tube and stuffing tube move axially apart at such a rate that the emulsion substantially fills the mold tube but essentially does not slide on the walls of the mold tube.
As the emulsion exits the stuffing tube and enters the mold tube, the treating fluid forms a skin over the surface of the emulsion, such that the treating fluid evenly coats the emulsion being deposited in the mold tube. The treating fluid is directed to the interior surface of the mold tube in such a manner that the interior surface of the mold tube is continuously wetted by the treating fluid, as the mold tube moves relative to the stuffing tube. Depositions of emulsion and treating fluid occur substantially without relative motion between the emulsion and the treating fluid, or between the emulsion/treating fluid and the interior surface of the mold tube. This ensures that the entire outer surface of the molded emulsion is contacted by the treating fluid, thereby forming a coagulated proteinaceous skin on the molded emulsion and, hence, preventing the emulsion from adhering to the interior surface of the mold tube to any significant degree.
Preferred treating fluids include diluted food grade acids, including but not limited to the following: acetic acid, ascorbic acid, citric acid, fumaric acid, malic acid, hydrocholoric acid, and phosphoric acid. Any suitable acidic material having some lubricating properties and being capable of reacting with the proteinaceous skin on the molded emulsion to form a coagulated, cohesive skin surface is suitable. Both organic and inorganic acid materials can be used as the treating fluid.
Preferably there is provided a smooth, steady deposition of emulsion from the stuffing tube that is received within a thin coating of treating fluid on the mold tube surface, the emulsion deposition occurring substantially without folds, ripples, or sticking spots on the emulsion product. The present invention provides that depositions of treating fluid and emulsion occur substantially without relative motion between the treating fluid and emulsion, meaning that the emulsion does not slide on the mold tube wall to any significant degree, the mold tube remains free and clear of emulsion residue, and product having the desired surface characteristics can be easily ejected from the mold tube after subsequent thermal treatment.
After the mold tube is filled with emulsion and the stuffing tube is fully retracted, the mold tube is separated from the stuffing tube. The mold tube with molded emulsion product inside is then subjected to a heat treatment to cook the emulsion. A length of formed product (e.g. sausage) can be removed from the mold tube for further processing. The product can be formed to any desired length or shape, subject only to limitations in the type of equipment used. Times for heat treating different types of molded emulsion product are well known to those of ordinary skill in the food processing arts.
Preferably, there is an approximately constant ratio of treating fluid to emulsion in the mold tube. Typically, the amount of treating fluid is quite small compared to the amount of emulsion, and preferably the ratio thereof is set at a predetermined level. The relative axial velocities of the stuffing and mold tube can be set, i.e., a retraction rate of the stuffing tube from the mold tube can be fixed at a desired level. The volume flows of th
Franklin Rodney L.
Harvey Andrew C.
Mentjes Marvin J.
Mueller Richard A.
Triplett Charles A.
Buckley Linda M.
Edwards & Angell LLP
Jensen Steven M.
The Dial Corporation
Yeung George C.
LandOfFree
Apparatus and method for forming casingless sausages does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Apparatus and method for forming casingless sausages, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Apparatus and method for forming casingless sausages will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3226973