Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Surface coated – fluid encapsulated – laminated solid... – Animal meat derived component
Reexamination Certificate
1997-12-19
2001-10-23
Corbin, Arthur L. (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Surface coated, fluid encapsulated, laminated solid...
Animal meat derived component
C426S513000, C426S641000, C426S646000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06306446
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to extrusion apparatus for the extrusion of food substrates, particularly meat. Specifically, the present invention provides a novel extrusion nozzle and also an extruded meat product manufactured using the new nozzle.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
EP-A-0720816 discloses a process for the manufacture of a natural, curved sausage product comprising co-extruding at least two meat doughs, and providing the co-extruded dough with a skin. At least one of the meat doughs is extruded through a venturi such that the fibres are randomised, and at least are one dough is extruded such that the fibres are substantially aligned. The two doughs are co-extruded side-by-side, so that on subsequent cooking, the different fibre orientations in the two doughs cause differential shrinkage of the doughs, thereby giving rise to curving of the product.
EP-A-0024790 discloses apparatus for co-extruding an inner core of meat with an outer, annular layer of fat emulsion. The apparatus comprises a stuffing horn and a nozzle which is fitted to the downstream end of the stuffing horn. Said stuffing horn comprises two co-axial tubes which define an inner conduit for the meat and an outer, annular conduit for the fat emulsion. The meat and fat are admitted to the stuffing horn at an upstream end using separate mechanical pumps. The extrusion head similarly defines two co-axial conduits which communicate with the corresponding conduits in the stuffing horn. The co-extruded product debouches from the extrusion head into a flexible, plastics casing which encircles the stuffing horn and extrusion head.
With reference to the stuffing horn, the innermost tube is supported in the interior of the outermost tube by means of a plurality of circumferentially spaced spacers or vanes. These vanes thus constitute obstacles in the path of the fat emulsion through the stuffing horn. As will be well known in the art, fat and meat emulsions of the kind which are generally employed in apparatus of the kind disclosed by EP-A-0024790 comprise fibrous meat or fat components and emulsifier(s). A problem which has been observed in co-extruded products manufactured using the apparatus of EP-A-0024790 is that there is a tendency for the outer fat emulsion layer to split in the direction of extrusion during cooking. It is thought that this splitting may be caused by a lack of cohesion between adjacent fibres in the emulsion that have been streamlined by passage over the vanes in the outer conduit of the stuffing horn, and by the depletion of such fibres in longitudinal zones within the emulsion downstream of the spacers.
An object of the present invention is to solve or at least alleviate this problem. Specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide means for manufacturing a co-extruded meat product having a core of a first extrudable food substrate and one or more contiguous outer layers of the same or different extrudable food substrates disposed wholly or partly around the core, wherein at least one of the outer layers consist of fibrous meat or fat emulsion, which co-extruded meat product has a reduced tendency for splitting of the meat or fat emulsion layer when the product is cooked.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to one aspect of the present invention therefore there is provided an extrusion nozzle for co-extruding a core of a first extrudable food substrate, with one or more contiguous outer layers of the same or different extrudable food substrates disposed wholly or partly around the core, wherein at least one of the outer layers consists of a fibrous meat or fat emulsion; which extrusion nozzle comprises a first inner extrusion conduit for extruding said first substrate therethrough and one or more outer extrusion conduits disposed wholly or partly around the inner conduit for extruding said one or more outer layers; characterised in that at least one of the outer conduits which is for extruding said fat or meat emulsion defines a fluid flow path having a first narrow portion of relatively small cross-sectional area followed by a second enlarged portion downstream of said narrow portion, which enlarged portion has relatively large cross-sectional area, the arrangement being such that when said meat or fat emulsion passes successively through the narrow portion to the enlarged portion, the fibres within the emulsion become disorientated thereby increasing the cohesiveness of the extruded emulsion.
In another aspect, the present invention provides extrusion apparatus comprising a stuffing horn and an extrusion nozzle in accordance with the present invention, wherein the stuffing horn comprises a plurality of nesting tubes which define an inner conduit and one or more outer conduits, and said stuffing horn can mate with the extrusion nozzle such that each stuffing horn conduit communicates with a respective nozzle conduit, wherein each tube is supported within its surrounding tube by a plurality of circumferentially spaced spacers.
In yet another aspect of the present invention there is provided a meat product comprising an extruded inner core of meat substrate and one or more co-extruded outer layers disposed wholly or partly around the core, wherein at least one of the outer layers consists of a meat or fat emulsion; characterised in that the fibres within the meat or fat emulsion layer are distributed substantially uniformly within the emulsion layer, and are disorientated, so as to improve the cohesiveness of that layer.
It is envisaged that usually the meat product will consist of the inner core of meat and a single outer layer of said meat or fat emulsion.
With reference to the extrusion nozzle of the present invention, said narrow portion may be defined by a wall across the flow path of the meat or fat emulsion, which wall has one or more holes formed therein so as to provide a constriction in the flow path. It will be understood that the enlarged portion in the flow path constitutes a “swirl” chamber, and the essence of the invention consists in the effect on the meat or fat emulsion by passing from the narrow portion into the enlarged portion. As the meat or fat emulsion enters the swirl chamber, it loses velocity and spreads out to fill the chamber before exiting the extrusion nozzle as the final extrusion. The spreading out process, and the collision of the relatively fast moving material entering the chamber with the material already in the chamber produces a substantially uniform emulsion with substantially random fibre orientation that maintains the cohesion of the fibres during the cooking process. The disorientation of the fibres in the outer, fat emulsion layer may also increase the cohesiveness between said outer layer and the core of meat substrate.
Downstream of the enlarged portion, the conduit may comprise an outlet having a cross-sectional area which is smaller than that of the enlarged portion. Said inner conduit is generally circular or elliptical in cross-section, and each of the outer conduits is of annular or ellipto-annular cross-section.
Following is a description by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings of methods carrying the present invention into effect.
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Komanowsky et al“, Production of Comminuted Collagen for Novel Applications”, USDA, pp. 410-422, Mar. 23, 1974.*
European Patent Office Search Report for corresponding UK Patent Application No. 9626575.6, dated Aug. 18, 1997.
Barker John Harry
Joll David John
Matthews Bernard Trevor
Wilson David Norman
Bernard Matthews PLC
Corbin Arthur L.
Ratner & Prestia
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