Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Processes – Heat treatment of food material by contact with glyceridic...
Reexamination Certificate
2001-06-14
2004-09-07
Yeung, George C. (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Processes
Heat treatment of food material by contact with glyceridic...
C426S519000, C426S523000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06787174
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the manufacture of sautéed onion to be used as a raw material in cooking of, e.g., a hamburger, a croquette, soup or stew, and sofrit to be used as a raw material for a pasta sauce or the like (sofrit meaning, as exemplified by a sautéed food of a herb vegetable such as carrot, onion, celery, or the like, a sautéed food of vegetable containing onion insofar as the present invention is concerned). More particularly, the present invention relates to the manufacture of sautéed onion and sofrit which are superior in, inter alia, sweet taste and caramel flavor, have a good shape-retention property (i.e., a good shape-retainability), and can greatly improve the flavor of such food products as mentioned above. More particularly, the present invention relates to a sautéing machine (rotary sautéing machine) suitable for manufacture of the sautéed onion or the sofrit, a method for manufacturing the sautéed onion or the sofrit, and food products obtained by using the sautéed onion or the sofrit and having an excellent flavor quality.
2. Prior Art
As a method for manufacturing sautéed onion, there has been known, for example, “Method for Manufacturing Sautéed Onion and Food Products” disclosed in (1) Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 14352/2000.
And, in connection with this method (invention), it is described that “an object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing sautéed onion which is excellent in sweet taste (i.e., sweetness), can suppress generation of a bitter taste (i.e., bitterness), an acrid taste (i.e., acridity) or an astringent taste, and can improve the flavor of curry or the like. Another object of the present invention is to provide a food product having a high flavor quality with the use of such sautéed onion” based on the recognition of the prior art that “it is known that sautéed onion is, in general, used as a vegetable basic ingredient when making curry or the like, whereby a spicy flavor is given to the resultant curry or the like. However, when onion is sautéed as a vegetable basic ingredient and, in particular on a commercial scale, there easily occurs the problem that the bitterness, the acridity or the astringent taste is produced in a final product, resulting from using cut raw onion.” And “the present invention is based on such findings that onion can be brought into contact with the heat transfer surface of a sautéing machine without being piled up, whereby the temperature is increased in a short time, when the onion has been cut in such way that the resultant cut pieces have a specific volume and a flat-type pot is used as the sautéing machine, and furthermore, in this case, sautéed onion which is strong in sweetness and can suppress the bitterness and the like, can be manufactured, if the sautéing treatment is performed under the specific temperature and time conditions” (paragraphs 0002 to 0004 of the “Detailed Description of the Invention” section in the above patent document).
“That is, the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing sautéed onion by sautéing cut onion with the use of a sautéing machine, which method comprises the steps of: (a) cutting raw onion to such size that the resultant cut pieces have a volume of 0.02 to 8 cm
3
; (b) using a flat-type pot as the sautéing machine; (c) putting the onion immediately after cut into the sautéing machine, followed by increasing the temperature of the mass put within the sautéing machine to 90° C. within 35 minutes, by the said 90° C. being meant the 90° C. when causing the temperature of the mass to reach the temperature described in the following (d) as being required for sautéing treatment of the onion after put into the sautéing machine; and (d) performing the sautéing treatment at a mass temperature of 90 to 102° C. for 10 to 120 minutes. Furthermore, the present invention also provides a food product which has been produced by using the sautéed onion obtained by the above-mentioned manufacturing method” (paragraph 0005 thereof).
As has been described above, one of the essential characteristics of this method lies in the use of a flat-type pot as the sautéing machine, and in connection with the reasons for using the flat-type pot is described that “the cut onion is then sautéed with a sautéing machine. As the sautéing machine, a flat-type pot is used (one of the indispensable constituent features of the invention (b)). A shape of the flat-type pot is constituted by a bottom wall and side walls erected therearound substantially vertically, and in particular, a shape having a flat bottom wall or a fallen bottom wall and also having, for example, a flat central portion and a curved surface therearound or a curved surface on the entire surface is desirable. The heat transfer area of a flat-type pot (usually, the area of the bottom wall) is preferably 0.1 to 1.2 m
2
, and the cubic capacity (i.e., the volume) thereof is preferably approximately 0.01 to 0.5 m
3
. Using a flat-type pot having a wide heat transfer area can assuredly attain the temperature-elevating conditions of the sautéing processing of the later-described indispensable constituent feature (c). As the heat source for a flat-type pot is preferred a heat source which is of an electric type, an electromagnetic induction type, a direct heating type using the combustion of gas, a steam type provided with a jacket, or the like. Furthermore, a flat-type pot having an agitation function is preferable” (paragraph 0007 thereof), and in Example 1 thereof was used a flat-type pot of a direct heating type and having agitation function in consistency therewith.
And, as to the application of the sautéed onion manufactured in the above manner, there is the description that “the sautéed onion manufactured by the method according to the present invention can be used for various kinds of Western-style boiled foods such as curry, hashed meat, stew and others or used for roux for cooking these foods (This may be a solid state, a liquid state or a paste state, or it may be diluted with water to be used for boiling or may be used for boiling without being diluted). It can be extensively used for various kinds of foods such as a variety of sauces, hamburgers or the like. In particular, in case of Western-style boiled foods or sauces, the use of the sautéed onion according to the present invention preferably provide a food with the high quality having a body taste or a mellow taste. The sautéed onion is also useful as a material ingredient on the commercial scale” (paragraph 0012 thereof).
As is apparent from the above description, the aimed-at sautéed onion disclosed in the above-mentioned patent document (1) has no shape retention property or no shape retainability and, in consistency therewith, it is described that “it is desirable that the sautéing processing is carried out in such a manner that the yield of the sautéed onion would be 25 to 75%. The sautéed onion may be cracked or finely crushed with a commit roll or a colloid mill” (paragraph 0011 thereof).
As a method for manufacturing sautéed onion, there has been also known “Method for Manufacturing Sautéed Onion” disclosed in (2) Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 23633/2000.
This method (the invention) was achieved with the object similar to that of the method disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese patent document (1), and on the basis of the recognition of the similar prior art as that described in the same Japanese patent document (1), and it is described in the Japanese patent document (2) that “the present invention is based on the findings that the above-described problem can be solved by cutting peeled raw onion into a predetermined shape, and effecting processing the cut onion under certain conditions followed by performing sautéing processing. That is, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing sautéed onion comprising the steps of: cutting peeled raw onion into a predetermined shape; bringing the cut onion in contact with 50 to
Hirota Tomoyuki
Hoshikawa Eri
Sada Morihiro
Tanabe Makoto
Ajinomoto Co. Inc.
Oblon & Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt P.C.
Yeung George C.
LandOfFree
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