Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Products per se – or processes of preparing or treating... – Basic ingredient is starch based batter – dough product – etc.
Reexamination Certificate
2000-11-01
2003-12-02
Tran, Lien (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Products per se, or processes of preparing or treating...
Basic ingredient is starch based batter, dough product, etc.
C426S096000, C426S560000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06656516
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to low-browning bread products (particularly breadcrumbs), to food products incorporating such products and to processes for preparing and using such products.
The fast food service sector revolves around the need to take foods straight from the freezer and place in deep fat fryers until they are cooked and visually appetizing. For both visual and flavouring purposes, fast foodstuffs are frequently coated in breadcrumbs. However, after frying (typically by exposing the breadcrumbs to a temperature of approaching one hundred and ninety degrees centigrade for between two and four minutes), the crumbs turn dark brown or black and their organoleptic properties are adversely affected.
One method of cooking coated foodstuffs within the food industry is to deep fry foodstuffs at relatively low temperatures (as low as 175° C.), for upwards of ten or fifteen minutes. However, because speed of service is of paramount importance in many circumstances, it would be advantageous to increase the temperature of deep frying and so reduce cooking time (so increasing the speed of service and obviating- the need to prepare large quantities of food in advance).
There is therefore a need for a bread product that can withstand cooking, in particular deep frying, at high temperatures and/or for long time periods, whilst remaining light enough so that the crumb colour can be seen through the natural darkening of the crumb itself.
Studies have shown that the browning of crumb both during production and during frying can be attributed to two separate but not concurrent reactions: (i) enzymic reactions, and (ii) the Maillard reaction.
Enzymic Reactions
The mechanism behind the browning of fruits and vegetables and the browning of breadcrumbs or other bread products during manufacture are identical. When fruit and plant tissue is bruised or cut it rapidly turns brown or black. This discolouration is due to an enzyme catalysed reaction. It is generally accepted that enzyme-induced browning in fruits and vegetables is actuated by means of an enzyme system variously known as catecholase, diphenol oxidase, phenolase, polyphenol oxidase or tyrosinase. The correct nomenclature is O
2
: o-diphenol oxidoreductase (POR). It has been shown that foodstuffs containing wheat comprising a high level of POR visibly darken over time, in contrast to those foodstuffs in which POR is absent.
Maillard Reaction
Of greater significance however is the Maillard reaction. This form of non-enzymic reaction often occurs in stored or frozen foods and has been the subject of extensive research by many food scientists.
The term “Maillard reaction” is a term of the art which defines a complex series of chemical reactions between carbohydrates containing at least one carbonyl group and amino components derived from biological systems. In foods, the Maillard reaction results in both the production of flavours and browning.
Any form of foodstuff that contains soluble sugars that are also reducing sugars (such as glucose, maltose or dextrose) can undergo browning due to the Maillard reaction. The browning reaction observed during the frying of conventional breadcrumb is explained by the presence in flour of approximately 2.5% dextrose, maltose and saccharose. In a typical Maillard reaction scheme where glucose participates in the reaction as a reducing sugar, it is believed that amino groups on protein sources react with the glucose to form glycosylamine. Glycosylamine re-arranges to form what is known in the art as an Amadori and Heyns rearrangement product (for example, a hydroxymethylfurfural), which is responsible for the appearance of brown pigments. Dehydration or fission of the Amadori and Heyns rearrangement products can produce furan derivatives, reductones and other carbonyl compounds which also contribute to the brown pigmentation.
The rate of browning of a material and the final colour obtained, depends mainly on the operating conditions, namely the temperature and the duration of the heat treatment.
In order to avoid excessive browning of material during heat treatment, it is possible to control the temperature and duration of the reaction and stop it before the colour becomes too dark. However, when the main objective is to cook a coated foodstuff and/or heat it thoroughly, prematurely halting of the cooking process could lead to a loss in the development of flavour and at worst, lead to food poisoning.
Inhibition of the Maillard reaction per se is difficult to achieve. Either, (i) the pH of the food can be lowered which would reduce the amount of browning by slowing down the rate of reaction; (ii) the temperature of cooking can be lowered (although the reaction will still occur even in frozen foods but at a much reduced rate); or (iii) the optimum water content may be avoided (usually by raising the moisture level, but this would have adverse effects on the properties of a fried coating). While the inclusion of sulphur dioxide has been shown to reduce the browning of foods quite substantially (by interfering with the polymerisation reactions that result in hydroxymethylfurfural production), sulphur dioxide is toxic and unpleasant to taste and its use in the food industry is limited.
JP-A-57100177 suggests that a colour-inhibiting agent comprising at least one calcium salt, preferably calcium chloride, be added to the mixture of amino-acids and carbohydrates before the reaction. It is suggested that the mixture obtained is less susceptible to browning by the Maillard reaction during subsequent heat treatment.
CA-850600 relates to the addition of an organic compound which is capable of hydrolysis in contact with water, to the mixture of amino acids and carbohydrates.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,480,663 suggests the addition of 0.01 to 0.1 parts by weight of a compound which includes or is capable of developing a thiol group; however, the product obtained must be heated at 95-110° C. for between 1 and 5 hours.
Therefore there remains a need for processes for controlling the rate of browning of bread products (especially breadcrumbs) on frying, and in particular for low-browning bread products (such as breadcrumbs).
Thus, according to the present invention there is provided a bread product derived from a dough having a continuous network of developable protein, wherein the level of sugar (e.g. reducing sugar) in the product is sufficiently low such that browning under frying conditions is substantially reduced.
The bread products of the invention may therefore be described as “low-browning”, which is a term of art used to describe products in which the development of a brown colour on frying is retarded or suppressed relative to traditional bread products.
In preferred embodiments, the bread products may be crumbs (e.g. breadcrumbs such as Japanese crumb, extruded crumb or coating crumb), croutons, pizza bases or toasted sandwiches. However, the invention finds general application in any dough-based bread product which is ultimately fried prior to consumption.
A continuous network of developable protein is necessary for processability and good crumb texture and is a feature of most traditional bread-making processes. It may be achieved by mixing the dough under wholly conventional conditions. The state is characterised by a viscoelastic, non-stringy, non-sticky workable dough mass which can be further processed by, for example, tinning and baking. Those skilled in the art will be able readily to determine appropriate conditions from the rheological properties of the dough.
The term “developable protein” is a term of art defining any protein which can contribute to the formation of a continuous network during dough mixing and working thereby promoting the formation of a viscoelastic matrix within the dough. Preferably, the developable protein is gluten (where it may be present in the dough at a concentration of between 9 and 18% by weight). Lower concentrations may be used, but in such cases dough rheology and crumb texture are adversely affected and the processability of the dough is impaired. However, high co
Atkinson Jane L.
Dobson Adrian Robert
Frost Matthew J.
Goddard Simon J.
Howard Julie Ann
Birch & Stewart Kolasch & Birch, LLP
Kerry Ingredients (UK) Limited
Tran Lien
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