Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Products per se – or processes of preparing or treating... – Poultry egg is basic ingredient
Reexamination Certificate
1999-04-08
2002-05-21
Hendricks, Keith (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Products per se, or processes of preparing or treating...
Poultry egg is basic ingredient
C426S094000, C426S613000, C426S568000, C426S330100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06391371
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention is generally directed to an egg product having a high proportion of real egg. This egg product has a reduced free water content as compared to the free water content of natural whole eggs, and does not become tough or rubbery when frozen and reheated.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Eggs are a popular and nutritious food product. Their appealing flavor and texture have caused them to be prepared and consumed in numerous ways, particularly as a breakfast food. Traditionally, eggs have been prepared as a separate dish, or as part of a dish such as omelets, quiches, sandwiches, and recently in breakfast burritos.
As time becomes more and more valuable to the consumers of food products, and the demand for nutritious, quick and easy to prepare foods has grown, producers have sought to provide prepared food products that contain eggs. Because of the difficulty in storing and preserving fresh eggs, these products have often been stored in the freezer, to prevent the growth of undesirable microorganisms in the egg product.
Although freezer storage can be an effective method of storing egg products without growth of microorganisms, the method has given rise to other challenges in the production of egg-containing food products. Because a whole egg is made up of about 70% water by weight, when a prepared egg product is frozen ice crystals are formed. When these crystals melt the water is not completely reabsorbed into the egg product, and some of the water “weeps” out of the eggs. If the eggs are prepared separately, this results in the thawed eggs sitting in a puddle of water and may also result in the eggs having a rubbery texture. If the eggs are prepared as part of the filling of a food that has a crust or pastry component, this results in the transfer of water to the crust or pastry and a soggy texture. Further, the high levels of free water in most egg containing products result in relatively slow reheating times when the product is exposed to radiant heat, such as in a toaster. This is especially problematic when the egg product is used as part of a filling.
In the past, this problem had been addressed by the use of powdered eggs that are reconstituted when combined with additional ingredients. This system allowed the free water in the egg product to be easily controlled, but still resulted in the product having undesirable textural characteristics. The reconstituted egg product has a tendency to become tough or rubbery when it is frozen for storage and then thawed for consumption. This tough texture is believed to be caused by a loss of water when the egg protein is denatured in the dehydration process.
The prior art has attempted to overcome these problems in a number of different ways. Rapp et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 4,469,708, describe a freeze-thaw stable egg product and a process for preparing the product. The product comprises loosely cohered pieces of cooked egg in a batter coating. The egg mixture contains water binding carbohydrates such as a cold-water-insoluble starch and a hydrophilic colloid. The moisture content of the egg mixture is about 72 to about 80%.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,640,731, Kaplow et al. disclose a shelf stable egg product wherein dried egg white, whole egg solids or egg yolks are blended with 20-40 wt-% of a polyhydric alcohol. This mixture is then combined with starch hydrolyzate solids and an antimycotic to form a shelf stable egg product having a moisture range of 14-32% and an A
w
of between 0.65 and 0.80.
Kahn et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,244,976 disclose an intermediate moisture content frozen egg yolk composition containing egg yolk, sugar, water and a stabilizer. In order to maintain the bacteriostatic effect of the mixture, the sugar to water ratio is at least about 1:1.
Each of the prior art methods of preparing a freezable egg product have certain undesirable features. For example, if large amounts of glycerol are used, the bittersweet taste of glycerol becomes very pronounced and it becomes necessary to mask the taste of glycerol. If large amounts of sugar are used, unless the product is a dessert product, it is necessary to reduce the flavor impact of the sweetness component, for example, by incorporating a bitterness principle such as quinine and caffeine.
Clearly, a substantial need exists for an egg based product that is suitable for freezing which does not become rubbery or tough during storage and may be quickly reheated.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In one aspect, the invention provides an egg product having low water activity (A
w
) and a reduced free water content that does not become tough or rubbery during freezer storage, and can be easily reheated. The egg product comprises at least 30 wt-% of an egg source, a humectant system and a tenderizer. Unless otherwise specified, all weight percentages are based on the total weight of the product.
In the egg product of the invention, the free water ordinarily present in eggs is bound by the humectant system. The binding substantially reduces the amount of free water available to freeze and form ice crystals. The tenderizing component of the egg product of the invention enhances the organoleptic properties of the product, such as texture, mouthfeel, consistency and so on. The invention therefore also provides an egg product having a reduced amount of free water comprising at least 30 wt-% of an egg source, a humectant system, tenderizer and a flavor enhancing agent.
In the egg product of the invention, the free water ordinarily present in eggs is bound by the humectant system of the product. This substantially reduces the amount of free water available to freeze and form ice crystals. While a natural whole egg is made up of about 70% total water by weight, in the product of the invention about 48% to 52% of that water is bound, leaving about 18% to 22% total free water. This reduced free water content results in less water being available to freeze and form ice crystals when the product is stored in a freezer. These ice crystals must be melted before the water can be heated, resulting in increased heating times. This problem is solved by the product of the invention. Because of the reduced free water content up, less ice crystals form upon freezing the product and as a result, less time is needed to reheat the product to acceptable eating temperatures.
The invention also provides food products containing the egg product of the invention, such as a filled pastry product, either alone as the filling or with other ingredients in an egg sandwich, pita pocket, breakfast burrito, omelet, or quiche that may be conveniently stored in the freezer until needed.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The egg product of the invention having reduced amounts of free water comprises an egg source, a humectant system and a tenderizer.
The egg source component provides the egg product with the desirable organoleptic properties of real eggs. Use of a real egg source results in a composition with the appearance, texture, flavor, and mouthfeel of real whole eggs. In particular, the egg product of the invention may be frozen and reheated without the texture becoming rubbery or tough.
The egg source of the invention is preferably natural whole eggs and ingredients that are predominantly made up of natural egg components, such as dried egg yolk, liquid egg yolk, dried egg white, liquid egg white, dried whole egg solids, or combinations thereof. The egg source may contain minor amounts of additives. For example, the dried egg white may contain sodium lauryl sulfate as a whipping aid. Preferably, the liquid components of the egg source are from fresh eggs. The preferred egg source is real whole eggs. A preferred dried egg white is available from the M. G. Walbaum company of Wakefield, Nebr. A preferred dried egg yolk is available from Primegg Limited of Cameron, Wis.
Typically the total egg source comprises at least about 30 wt-% of the egg product to provide the desired qualities. If too little of the egg source is present, the egg product will not have the desired “real egg” taste. For op
Bhatia Usha B.
Graves John R.
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