Drug – bio-affecting and body treating compositions – Plant material or plant extract of undetermined constitution... – Containing or obtained from a seed or nut
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-22
2002-04-16
Tate, Christopher R. (Department: 1651)
Drug, bio-affecting and body treating compositions
Plant material or plant extract of undetermined constitution...
Containing or obtained from a seed or nut
C426S631000, C426S481000, C426S482000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06372267
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a versatile process for extracting fat from fat-containing beans and/or processing fat-containing beans to yield a solid product.
Documents are cited in this disclosure with a full citation for each appearing thereat. These documents relate to the state-of-the-art to which this invention pertains, and each document cited herein is hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Cocoa beans are produced by cocoa trees which are found in warm, moist climates in areas about 20 degrees latitude north and south of the Equator. In general, the seeds of the
Theobroma cacao
(of the order Sterculiacae) are known chiefly in two varieties: Criollo and Forastero, with Forastero divided into several varieties. A third group, called Trinitario, is essentially a cross between Criollo and Forastero and is not found in the wild. Criollo beans are pale brown in color while Forastero beans are a purple hue. The cocoa tree produces leaves, flowers and fruit throughout the year, and the ripe fruit or pod resembles a long cantaloupe, typically containing from about 20 to 40 almond-shaped cocoa beans.
The cocoa bean is comprised of an inner nib portion covered by an outer shell. On a dry basis, the shell of the bean comprises about 12 to 15% of the weight of the bean, while the nib and residual moisture amounts to approximately 85 to 88%. Typical analytical data ranges for chemical components of cocoa nib are: fat content of 48 to 57%; theobromine content of 0.8 to 1.3%; caffeine content of 0.1 to 0.7%; total nitrogen content of 2.2 to 2.5%; ash content of 2.6 to 4.2%; and water content of 2.3 to 3.2% (see
Pearson's Composition and Analysis of Foods,
9th Edition, 1991).
Various processes are traditionally employed to extract cocoa butter and cocoa solids from commercial cocoa beans. Typical methods of processing cocoa beans include the steps of (a) bean cleaning; (b) bean roasting; (c) bean winnowing; (d) nib grinding; (e) liquor pressing to produce cocoa butter and cocoa cake; (f) cake alkalizing; and (d) cake milling.
The initial step of typical cocoa bean processing methods consists of cleaning the beans to remove extraneous non-cocoa materials. Conventional bean cleaning separates beans from extraneous non-cocoa materials by either size or density using a cleaning machine which is a gravity, vibratory or aspiration table (See
Chocolate, Cocoa and Confectionery: Science and Technology
, 3
rd Ed
., by Bernard W. Minifie, page 35
; Chocolate Production and Use
, 3
rd Ed
., by L. Russell Cook, page 144-146; and
Industrial Chocolate Manufacture and Use
, 2
nd Ed
., by S. T. Beckett, page 55, hereby incorporated by reference).
Current cleaning technology is typically limited in separation ability to a minimum density difference of 10-15%. This reduces the efficiency of achieving an accurate separation of bean and extraneous non-cocoa materials and subsequently reduces the clean bean yield of the process. Additionally, conventional cleaning machines become easily clogged and require frequent cleaning. This also reduces the cleaning efficiency and the clean bean yield of the process.
Moreover, cleaning machines have a tendency to fracture the beans during cleaning which reduces the percentage of whole beans available after cleaning. These broken bean pieces can later give rise to problems during roasting and winnowing. For instance, small bean pieces will burn readily at the elevated temperatures used during roasting and may result in burnt and ashy flavored liquors which are unacceptable from a flavor viewpoint. Small bean pieces may also decrease the efficiency of the winnowing process because they can be lost during the aspiration of the shells and result in overall yield efficiency losses.
In most conventional processes, roasting of the whole bean or nib is an essential step in the manufacture of chocolate or cocoa. Roasting develops the natural flavor and aroma of the cocoa beans, and also loosens the shell so that it can be readily removed during the winnowing process. The degree of cocoa roast is a time/temperature dependent relationship, where the time can vary from 5 to 120 minutes and the temperature of the whole bean can typically vary from 125° C. to 150° C., and with respect to the roasting of nibs, an initial drying process step can be at just below 100° C. to remove the shell, with second stage roasting of nibs alone being at elevated temperatures up to about 130° C.; all of which depend on the construction of the machine, size of the batch and final product desired (See
Chocolate, Cocoa and Confectionery: Science and Technology
, 3
rd Ed
., by Bernard W. Minifie, incorporated herein by reference, especially page 37, 45-46
; Chocolate Production and Use
, 3
rd Ed
., by L. Russell Cook, page 146-152; and
Industrial Chocolate Manufacture and Use
, 2
nd Ed
., by S. T. Beckett, page 55-64, hereby incorporated by reference). U.S. Pat. No. 5,252,349 to Carter, Jr., hereby incorporated by reference, involves heating the bean to a temperature of about 152° C. to 160° C. for about 5 to 8 minutes.
The winnowing operation serves to separate the beans into the desired inner portion of the bean (nib) and the outer portion of the bean (shell). The principle of separation by a winnowing process depends on the difference in the apparent density of the nib and of the shell. Standard winnowing machines make use of the combined action of sieving and air aspiration. As discussed earlier, the shell is loosened during the conventional roasting step and/or other heating or drying steps. After loosening, the beans are typically broken between rollers or such devices to shatter the cocoa beans along natural fracture lines of the cocoa nib to facilitate shell removal during winnowing (see U.S. Pat. No. 2,417,078 to Jones, U.S. Pat. No. 5,252,349 to Carter, Jr.,
Chocolate, Cocoa and Confectionery: Science and Technology
, 3
rd Ed
., by Bernard W. Minifie, page 47-51
; Chocolate Production and Use
, 3
rd Ed
., by L. Russell Cook, page 152-153; and
Industrial Chocolate Manufacture and Use
, 2
nd Ed
., by S. T. Beckett, page 67-68, hereby incorporated by reference).
Some cocoa bean processing techniques include the use of thermal pre-treatment equipment to aid in the separation of the shell from the nib. This involves giving the beans a thermal shock by hot air, steam or infra-red heat (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,322,444 to Zuilichem et al., and British Patent No. 1,379,116 to Newton,
Chocolate, Cocoa and Confectionery: Science and Technology
, 3
rd Ed
., by Bernard W. Minifie, page 44-43
; Chocolate Production and Use
, 3
rd Ed
., by L. Russell Cook, page 155; and
Industrial Chocolate Manufacture and Use
, 2
nd Ed
., by S. T. Beckett, page 60-62, hereby incorporated by reference).
Infra-red pre-treatment uses infra-red heating to rapidly heat and expand the beans which assists in loosening the shells. The method consists of treating the beans with infra-red radiation for a period between one half and two minutes, during which time the beans are typically heated to a temperature of about 100 to 110° C. The infra-red radiation used has a wavelength between 2 and 6 microns which corresponds to a frequency in the range of 0.7 to 1.2×10
8
megacycles per second. This energy penetrates and excites the molecules of the bean which causes them to vibrate at their own frequency and results in rapid heating of the beans. However, there is no teaching or suggestion in the art of any processing technique involving heating, such as by infra-red, without a subsequent roasting.
The next step in most conventional cocoa processing, after winnowing, involves nib grinding. Nib grinding is typically performed in two stages, an initial grinding stage to convert the solid nibs into a fluid paste and a finish grinding stage to achieve the desired particle size. Both of these stages are asset, maintenance, and energy intensive.
The cleaned roasted cocoa nibs typically vary in cocoa butter content from 50-58% by weight. During the grinding, the nib is groun
Buck Margaret M.
Cipolla Giovanni G.
Hammerstone, Jr. John F.
Kealey Kirk S.
Romanczyk Jr. Leo J.
Clifford Chance Rogers & Wells LLP
Kelley, Esq. Margaret B.
Mars Incorporated
Tate Christopher R.
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