High-protein food of plate form

Details High-protein food of plate form High-protein food of plate form

2000-12-28

2001-12-25

Weier, Anthony J. (Department: 1761)

Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products

Products per se, or processes of preparing or treating...

Protein, amino acid, or yeast containing

C426S445000, C426S512000, C426S657000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06333063

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel high-protein food of plate form which has a protein content of 40% by weight or more and to a process for producing the same. More particularly, it relates to a high-protein food of plate form which belongs to the category called “proteins” or “compound proteins” used in the food field as a health food, a nutrient supplementary food and which is portable, easy to take, and crisp.
2. Description of the Related Art
High-protein foods called “protein supplements”, “compound proteins” or simply “proteins” have been spreading, with the primary selling point put on high protein and low fat. They have incorporated therein various vitamins, minerals, flavors, and the like in appropriate amounts and have now been utilized in the food field including health foods and nutrient supplementary foods. For example, they find use as an aid for strengthening the muscles for athletes, weight reduction for obese persons, supplying nutrition to postoperative patients, improving nutritional balance of diets, and the like.
The protein content, the main ingredient, of these high-protein foods is usually at least 70% by weight for athletes and at least 40% by weight, desirably 50% by weight or more, for other uses. From the standpoint of appeal to consumers and preservability, it is preferred for the high-protein foods to have a low lipid content, desirably 10% by weight or lower. For labeling as a low-fat food, the lipid content must be 3% by weight or lower.
It has been difficult to shape a high-protein food into a plate form because of its high protein content and a low lipid content. It is very difficult to make a high-protein food in plate form with, for example, a conventional process customarily used for making cookies or crackers. Therefore, most of the high-protein foods available are powders or granules. There are no lumpy or plate-shaped ones that have both a protein content of 40% by weight or more and a lipid content of 10% by weight or less.
The term “plate form” or “plate-shaped” as used herein is intended to mean a shape with a substantially constant thickness (acceptable variation: mean thickness±about 50%) with any cross section, which typically includes a sheet and a disc. Blocks, cylinders, and the like are also included.
High-protein products in powder form are usually sold on the market in cans or bags holding several hundred grams to one kilogram, which are inconvenient to carry. Some powdered products are packaged in bags holding several tens grams but still have the problem of inconvenience because liquid such as water or milk and a cup are always needed to dissolve the powder. In addition powdered high-protein foods hardly dissolve in water, milk, etc. and are not easy to take and also give no substance to get one's teeth into.
Ordinary plate-shaped foods containing protein, such as cookies, crackers and Japanese rice crackers, have a protein content usually of 10% by weight or less. It is rare for these foods to have a protein content exceeding 20% by weight. The lipid content of these foods, on the other hand, is usually 10% by weight or more and not infrequently exceeds 20% by weight.
Thus, having a small protein content and a high lipid content, ordinary protein-containing foods of plate form cannot serve for the intended applications of the above-mentioned high-protein foods.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a high-protein food having a protein content of 40% by weight or more which is portable, ready to eat with no need to dissolve in water, milk, etc. and crisp.
As a result of extensive study, the present inventors have found that a raw material composition having a protein content of 40% by weight or more can be shaped into a plate by processing in a batch type puffing molding machine.
Based on the above finding, the present invention provides a high-protein food of plate form which has a protein content of 40% by weight or more and a bulk density of 0.02 to 0.40 g/cm
3
.
The present invention also provides a process for producing a high-protein food of plate form which comprises puffing-molding a raw material composition having a protein content of 40% by weight or more.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The high-protein food of plate form according to the invention has a bulk density of 0.02 to 0.40 g/cm
3
, preferably 0.04 to 0.20 g/cm
3
. As long as it has a plate form with a bulk density falling within this range, it is not particularly limited in size. Taking portability, ease of eating, and ease of molding into consideration, the high-protein food is preferably 0.2 to 10 g in weight and about 0.03 to 3 cm in thickness per plate.
The protein content of the high-protein food of the invention can be selected appropriately from a range of 40% by weight and higher according to the type of consumers or the purpose of eating the food. Taking moldability, crispness, and flavor into consideration, a preferred protein content is 50 to 90% by weight, particularly 60 to 85% by is weight.
The source of protein used in the high-protein food of the present invention is not limited and includes protein-rich raw materials conventionally used in protein foods, such as a soy protein isolate, concentrated soy protein, milk protein, wheat protein (gluten), fish meat protein, and Spirulina. From the viewpoint of moldability, a soy protein isolate, concentrated soy protein, and milk protein are preferred. If desired, enzymatic decomposition products of these proteins are also useful.
The lipid content of the high-protein foods of the invention is preferably not more than 10% by weight, still preferably 3% by weight or lower.
It is preferred to incorporate into the high-protein food of the present invention 0.005 to 0.80% by weight, particularly 0.02 to 0.20% by weight, of a proanthocyanidin to make the food crisp.
The proanthocyanidin which can be added preferably includes extracts of grape seeds, which are commercially available from Kikkoman Corp. under trade names Gravinol, Gravinol Super and KPA-F.
The high-protein foods of the present invention can further contain various subsidiary materials customarily used in this type of foods. Useful subsidiary materials include sweeteners, such as sucrose, glucose, and stevioside; dietary fiber, such as cellulose and pectin; amino acids; peptide; vitamins, such as vitamins A, B
1
, B
2
, B
6
, B
12
, C, D, and E, and folic acid; minerals, such as calcium salts, magnesium salts, and iron salts; lecithin, herb extract, vegetable juice, fruit juice, and flavors. In particular, it is preferred to incorporate one or more nutrient supplementary foodstuffs selected from herb extracts, vitamins and minerals that have been used as an active ingredient of health foods.
An illustrative example of preferred formulations of the high-protein foods according to the present invention is shown below.
FORMULATION EXAMPLE
Protein
50 to 90 wt %
Lipid
10 wt % or less
Carbohydrate
0 to 45 wt %
Proanthocyanidin
0.005 to 0.80 wt %
Vitamins
0.0001 to 0.5 wt %
Minerals
0.01 to 0.2 wt %
The process for producing the high-protein food of plate form according to the present invention will be described with reference to its preferred embodiments.
The process of the invention starts with preparation of a raw material composition comprising raw materials of the high-protein food of the invention. That is, a raw protein, a carbohydrate, a proanthocyanidin, subsidiary materials, etc. are compounded into a raw material composition having a protein content of 40% by weight or more, preferably according to the above-described preferred formulation.
The raw material composition may be in powder form but is preferably granules, particles, spheres or plates having a water content of 5 to 30% by weight, particularly 10 to 20% by weight. The raw material composition can be prepared in a known manner. For example, a granular or plate-shaped raw material composition can be prepared as follows.
A mixed powder of the raw material

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